The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-02-11
NOPENS|ONS FOR Vets
Effort to Create Sentiment Favor
able to 1t Unavailing.
A DIXIE REPRESENTATIVE
DOESN'T WANT THE SOUTH IN
SUITED In SUCH a WAY.
Startling Revelations Made On the
Bunco Printing Contract, Which
Make the State Pay So, 900 Above
Big Profts-Bill Passed the House
to Reimburse Cedar Cityites.

yesterday afternoon placing Itself on
record in opposition TO a sentiment
favoring legislation by congress for the
pensioning Of Confederate veteran SOL
diers of the civil war, who have reach
1 ed the age of 81 years, regardless OF
/ disability accruing from service or
since. This sentiment overturned, the
house rejected the resolution favorlng
| the Densioning of aged Union soldiers
suffering from no disability.
! The matter came 10 in the form OF
| house joint resolution Ne. 6, offered Dy
Representative Stewart, by request.
The resolution proposed that the sem
ators and the representatives from
Utah in congress be requested to assist
in securing a fair and liberal service
pension to every Union soldier veteran
of the civil war, not already pension
er, regardless of any disability accru-
| ing from said service or since, When
ever any of such soldiers shall have ar
rived at the age of 62 years
| The committee. on memorials to con-
gress recommended passage of the
resolution after amending by inserting
| the words and Confederate, between
Union and Soldier" By way of
argument, the committees report
stated:
This amendment, your committee
believes, to be not only an act OF mag
nanimity, but fully justified by the late
war between the United States and
Spain, where the loyal sons of the
north and south fought side by side
with equal courage and distinction for
| the maintenance of our country's honor,
thus obliterating forever all feelings of
sectionalism or question of loyalty"
Representative Cummings opened the
debate by announcing his objection to
A. fnT a1~o "a
| soldiers because it was his belief that
it would be placing a premium on re-
bellion in the future rather than en-
couraging loyalty. He was willing
that the Confederate veterans or any
others who We're in needy circum-
stances to be made subjects of the
country's bounty, but to do anything
that might rekindle the spirit Of seces-
sion would be unwise in his opinion.
Representative Fisher was Of the
same opinion as Mr.. Cummings. He
| added that if the amendment prevailed
he would ask to be excused from voting
on the resolution.
Supporting the amendment Repre-
sentative Bennion said: ITO have
pensioned Confederate soldiers twenty
five years ago might have been an en-
couragement to rebellion and dis
loyalty to the flag of our country, but
the Union is firmly cemented together
now and it would obliterate any sec
tional differences if congress would pro-
vide q bounty for the soldiers who
fought for the south. The modern
tendency of nations like ours is to be
more humane and more generous. In
the late war the magnanimity of the
United States surprised the whole
world. We hired Spain to take her
own soldiers back and after conquering
the enemy our government bought it's
islands. It is proposed now that the
United States shall pay off the Cuban
soldiers. If this nation can afford to
be generous toward foreign, half-civi-
liZed foes we can we'll enough be liberal
with our own countrymen, after they
have shown their worthiness for a
quarter of century and more.
Representative Smith believed the
Confederate pension plan would tend
to unity the west and the SOUTH He
deemed the principle to be just. The
rebels fought for what they believed to
be right and to pension their veterans
now would be reward for their hav-
wonders in building up their destroyed
section.
MIR. .JOHNSON'S ELOQUENCE.
LAS one who was born and raised in
the south, as representative of south
ern sentiment, 1 protest" proclaimed
Representative Johnson, against the
passage of such a measure as this. My
father and all my male rela tives fought
in the rebel army. The victory was
decided justly, and to the everlasting
honor of this country. The confede-
rates valiantly fought for what they
believed to be right, but after the war
they returned to their plows and to
their workshops The representative
veteran confederates do not want to be
pensioned. For a generation they have
maintained themselves, and the nation
is under no obligations to them. They
do not want to be pensioned. The peo-
pie of the south don't ask it, and will
not receive pensions. Let the dead past
bury its dead! If this nation wants to
do a generous and appropriate act, let
it appropriate money to improve and
beautify the resting places of the thou
sands Of unknown confederate dead.
Make the soldier cemeteries of the south
as beautiful and we'll kept as are those
of the north. In the name of God, don't
insult the south by passing such a
mea as this
Having been in the south. Mr.. Han
sen believed from what the people had
told him pensions would be ACCEPTABLE.
The angel of peace had spread her
wings over the whole country, and the
time had now come for the nation to
exhibit magnanimity and charity to-
ward the people of the south. President
Mckinley on his recent trip through
the south, on the occasion of the peace
jubilee, had expressed himself in favor
of pensioning the worthy confederate
veterans, and, in his opinion, the peo-
pie of this state should also endorse the
sentiment of generosity.
"At this time" said Representative
Mansfield. II think 1t would be unwise
to pass such a resolution as this in any
form at this time AS to President Nc
Kinley's sentiments, I believe he was
carried away with enthusiastic welcome
which the people of the south accorded
him. To pass this resolution will re-
open the question of sectional hatred.
an issue that seems to- have been for
ever settled. Why agitate it? The
proposition will surely meet with OPP
position. The pension rolls should be
a roll of honor Weed out the unwor-
thy pensioners and the frauds. The
United States pays more fer pensions
than other like nations pays for mainte-
nance of their standing armies. Our
pension laws. which. I understand. give
a bounty to every disabled soldier and
every veteran. over the age of &c years,
are / believe, about right. Why re-
duce the age limit?"
Representatives Lapish, Parry and
Murdoch favored the amendment to in
clude confederate veterans
In Mr. Robertson's opinion it would
not be.'the part, of wisdom for Utah to
exert an influence on the question of
pensioning confederates at this time
He favored leaving the states congress
sional delegation uninstructed in the
premises.
Representative Richards remarked