Sunday Washington globe., 1901-12-29

inRtOn last week and visited the GLOBES
sanctum. The Minnesota Blizzard" is
the name facetiously given Mrs. William
Blaisdell, who for a number Of years has
been hghting for justice at the hands Of
Commissioner II. Clay Evans and Secre-
tary Hitchcock. She has in recent years
however, turned to Congress for redress,
but so far without result Notwithstanding
that she is backed by the solid Minnesota
delegation in Congress.
The statement of her claim to recognition
at the hands of Congress is thus given in
her own words:
William Blaisdell volunteered as mem
Der of Company f, Fifth Minnesota In
fantry in 1862 His pension was suspended
in July 1898, under an order Of Grover
Cleveland to all post masters, to report all
suspicious" claimants. II so happened at
that time that the post master at Pelican
Rapids was a very bitter enemy Of mine
He reported this claim No I3soo3 as a
Fraud" AS his legal guardian took Mr.
Blaisdell to Fergus Falls before the board
Of Pension Examiners, DR.. Mclean and
others, and as a result of this examination
he was sent to the ST. Peter Asylum
went and stayed with him some four
months.
Through the help Of our friends in lack
son county and Senator Washburn, his pen
sion was restored and ! was permitted to
bring him home. This was in 1891 He
was transferred to the Fergus Falls Asylum
as soon as it was occupied by patients
There he was secretly discharged as cured
In 1903, after Cleveland was elected the
second time, this post Office order was re-
newed and nearly half of the pension claims
were suspended, and our claim was cut
from SIS down to $40, and yet the certificate
read to the duly appointed guardian.
This was in 1893 and ] was his duly ap-
pointed guardian. 1t was about this lime
that they tried to kill my guardianship by
trying to have me incarcerated in the Fer
gus Falls asylum. Oh, the conspiracy The
cruel persecution Of me, and for WHAT Just
because would not submit my person to
the libertines Of Pelican Rapids God
knows this is the trnth. The tears stream
down my cheeks as / rehearse the facts of
my terrible sufferings brought about by the
nefariOus plots of these men, trying to bury
an innocent woman alive in a living tomb.
May God deal with them as they dealt
with me, without mercy is my prayer
cannot forgive them. Bat my friends from
Fergus Falls and all over the state rallied
10 my assistance For the neNAeSk k8tmonths
the contest over my guardianship, in the
Supreme Court, and whether they could in
carcerate a sane person in the asylum for the
insane AS all know, the conspiracy to
have me declared insane did not succeed.
The terrible suffering I endured was not
known by my friends at the time because
they did not know the whole truth.
Through all this terrible ordeal lived at
home and fulfilled my duty as wife and
guardian to this insane soldier the hero of
36 battles and many skirmishes.
Our home had been mortgaged to get
means for his support and medical treat
ment and in 1895 the mortgage was fore
closed and we lost the farm, worth S2. 500.
In 1905 Mr.. Blaisdell became 50 unman-
ageable and so insane that could no longer
manage him He would escape and run of
into the woods and hide. The neighbors
would help me. hunt him up and get him
back home / called upon the county COM
missioners for help to take clre Of him
When they came to see him they all said he
must be placed in the Fergus 'alls asylum
for treatment. Soon after h, was taken
there, on August co. 1895, he died
His death record reads: Died of Or
ganic Dementia and Exhaustion, August 26
1905" Now can you solve tle problem
and explain why am held outof my legal
rights as pensioner and all balk pay held
awav from meY As a widow was given
sra a month, which establishes the fact
that he died Of disease contracted in the
army. Now, again, !, Marie J Blaisdell
was an army nurse in Fort Smelling in 1862
and was allowed a nurses pension and
should have had 81, 100 as back ply, whereas
| only receivedsS4oo.
There is a law on the statute books Of the
United States that says no perscn can draw
swo pensions over the same period Of time
| They took away my widows pension for
fear the United States would be cheated.
was really entitled to both pensions, or
| could not have drawn either. Where Is
| Justice in this2 The widow is cheated by
the law out of $50 Can you see it in any
/ other lightl And this by Republican ad-
ministration Why our statesmen do not
see me get justice is a puzzle to many
people in my state. II certainly il not JUS
tice to a constituent. / will not sly at this
time what think Of the Pension Office,
but rest assured have my opinion
Through all of our troubles tie news
papers of the whole country hav. always
treated US we'll I wish to thank the news
paper people and especially thosi Of my
own state for their kindness.
MARIE ]. BLAIsDELL.
p. S.--Here is a question to our Iwn law
yers: What power has the Pension Office to
make rules that defeat law, aud nix such
rules with the law7 They do not etplain to
me who has the power to do this hing.
was taught hat Congress made outlaws.
Now again if they have hewn tothe line
OF the law in my Nurses Pensisn Case and
robbed me of $50, why don't they las
awake nights to do me exact justice in my
husbands case2 We both have records oi
actual service in the War Of the Rebellion
as good as any in this great government o.
the United States. He served four year
and have proved my record by the com
mander Of the post at Fort Smelling in 1867
and by the governor Of our state at tina
time, and by three commissioned officers
Six or seven Of the men that we're uader M
care in the hospital we're accepted BY thu
Surgeon General Of the United States ans
the whole delegation Of Minnesota Wha
more need be said2 am now told by on'