The National tribune., 1899-07-20
AWAITING THE VERDICT.

Grand Army of the Republic. In compan!
with the Acting Commander in Chief tha
Committee has been to Washington, seen tn
President Secretary of the Interior and Com
missioner of Pensions, heard the statements
of the editors of THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE
and number of other comrades and hav,
separated and returned to their various home.
to consider the information gained, and pre-
pare their report for the National Encamp
ment
This is by far the most important work tina
the National Committee on Pensions or any
other organization in the Grand Army Of tn,
Republic has been charged with for a number
of years. There can be no exaggeration o.
the gravity of its responsibility. The entire
question of justice and fair treatment of hun
dreds Of thousands of veterans and their de
pendent oneS-of the fulfllment of sacred
promises TO those much deserving, aged and
broken men and women is now in the hands
of these five comrades for consideration and
decision.
Fortunately, those hands are most able.
Five comrades could not be selected whose
names would inspire more confidence. Al
the head of the Committee stands Comrade
r. B. Brown, of GAINESVILLE o., editor of the
Courier of that city, soldier of fine record in
the 18th Ohio, man of integrity and ability,
and jealous comrade OF the q. a. r. He is
Past Commander of the Department of Ohio
G. \. r.
Next comes Col. Halbcrt b. Case of Chatta
nooga Tenn, lawyer, and who served as a
First Lieutenant in the 7th o. He is Past Com
mander of the Department of Tennessee,
G. A. r., and has been member of the Pen
sion Committee for several years.
Comradc John W. Burst, of Sycamore, ILL.,,
was gallant soldier in the 1O5th Ill., where
he rose to the rank of First Lieutenant, and
from which he was discharged on account of
loss of leg in battle He is Past Commander
Of the Department of Illinois. G. A. r., and has
been strongly urged by hosts of comrades for
Commander in Chief
Past Commander in Chief John Palmer
was an enlisted man in the Goth n Y, of ex-
cellcnt record, and served until disabled before
Petersburg by wound from which he still
suffers. He has been an active and jealous
cow rada ~, tho n A p arar cinca ifS forma
ton, and has been given all the Offices in the
gift of the comrades.
Comrade Charles Clark Adams of Boston,
Mass, is jealous comrade, and substantial
hardware merchant in Boston.
These comrades have had pleasant inter
views with the President and Secretary of the
Interior, and, naturally, Commissioner Evans
has done his utmost to impress them with the
correctness of his course. As his official
Life is virtually in their hands, We can rest
assured that he has left nothing undone to
prepossess them in his favor Now it remains
for veterans of the country and their depend
ent ones to thoroughly present their side of
the case The pension system has so many
phases that but few could be considered in the
limited time that the Committee could spend
in Washington The Committee has done
the wisest thing in separating and going to
their homes for further consideration. and
will come together later, when their individual
views will be consolidated into formal report.
1t is highly desirable that these comrades
should be fortified in every possible manner,
so that their position can be made impreg
nable They should be given irrefragable
proofs of the way that the pension system has
been working throughout the country.
Now, therefore, We urge, in the strongest
terms, that the comrades everywhere imme-
diately supply the members Of this Committee
with all the proofs they have Of their griev-
ances against the Pension Bureau in their
several localities, and of the feelings Of the
relatives on the subject
Don't write 10 the Commander in Chief, or
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE, the President or
Secretary of TIE Interior, but write directly
to the member of the Committee nearest your
homes.
Do not write essays on the subject of pen
sions, but give concrete cases. with the names,
regiments and circumstances, numbers OF pen
sion claims, ETC., ETC., all stated as clearly and
concisely as possible If convenient it would
be well to support the statements by alii-
davits All these will be treated as strictly
confidential, so that no one need fear to
write what he wishes the Committee to know
Let Posts and other organizations send
memorials, petitions, remonStrances and
similar documents, attested by the signatures
Of the Commander and Adjutant, and the seal
of the Post. No matter if this has been done
before, do it again. The former communica-
ton possibly reached somebody's waste
basket Now it will go where it will do some
good, and have weight in determining action.
And do it at once. There is no time to lose
The better way is TO divide up the work.
giving each member the correspondence from
the section nearest TO him. This will greatly
facilitate the work of examination. There
fore, We suggest
l. That all letters, petitions, memorials
and communications from comrades and
Posts in the New England States be sent to
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