The Savannah morning news., 1901-07-02
1T WOULD BE A COSTLY CHANGE.

1T WOULD BE A COSTLY CHANGE.
1t is estimated that it would cost the
government about 5000, 900 year to have
such man in the Pension Office as the
Grand Army Of the Republic wants there
That is about the amount that Commits
sioner Evans saves for the government.
But of what does Gen. Sickles and the
Grand Army of the Republic complain?
There are no specific charges against
he gives a wrong construction to the PEN
sion laws. All that is said against him is
that he might be more liberal in the con-
struction of them-Iberal enough to let
several thousand pension claims, which
are now barred out yearly by his rulings,
slip through the Office. He could do that,
of course, but If he should he would not
have an easy conscience. But what do the
pension sharks and pension claimants care
about the commissioners conscience?
What they want is money from the treas
ury.
1t does not look now as If Commissioner
Evans would be removed. Indeed, the
President could not now remove him with
out giving color to the charge that there
was a bargain during the last campaign
re specting the office of Commissioner of
Pensions.
Gen Sickles, who it is believed, is a
candidate for Commander of the Grand
Army, asserts that he was promised by
the Republican National Committee that
If Mr.. Mckinley were reelected Commits
sioner Evans would be removed. He is not
able to prove this assertion, but he has
correspondence which shows that one of
the national committeeman did write him
a letter in which the former expressed the
opinion that the Commissioner would be
removed in the event of Mr.. McKinley's
reelection 1t seems that in the Western
states, according to Gen. Sickles, the
Union veterans had about made up their
minds to vote for Mr.. Bryan unless some
assurance were given them that the Com
missioner would be removed. What the
veterans were after was more pension
money. If what Gen. Sickles says is cor
rect they cared nothing for the principles
of their party-they We're ready to aban-
don their party because the President re-
fused to let them get their hands deep
into the treasury.
Gen. Sickles says that If the newspapers
of the South made such charges against
Confederate veterans as the Northern pa
rers make against the Union veterans.
tEeir Offices would be raided and DESTROY
ed Gen. Sickles well knows that there is
no probability that Southern newspapers
would make charges against Confederate
veterans like those made against Union
veterans in the newspapers of the North.
for the reason that Confederate veterans
would not make such claims on the treas
ury as Union veterans are alleged to be
making. As matter of fact the South Is
exceedingly modest in making claims
against the government. We published the
other day the amounts claimed by the
different states for expenses incurred in
preparing troops for the Spanish-Ameri-
can war. These amounts showed that
many of the Northern states expected To
get enough from the general government
to practically relieve :heir citizens from
taxation for year or two. The Southern
states claimed just about what it had cost
them to assist in equipping their soldiers.
The Northern states-at least some of
them-claimed a great deal more, in some
Instances several times as much as the
government was willing to allow them.
The truth about the matter is that the
entire country is getting tired of seeing
steady increase in the pension burden.
The idea of discussing $i40,OOO.O0O a year
In pensions 80 years after the close of
the Civil War appears to be unreasonable.
The probability is that Commissioner
Evans viii stay in the pension office until
the end of his term. 1t is the testimony Of
all who have investigated that ONCE THAI
its business could not be carried on more
systematically. economically or honestly.
The fault that is found with him--and a
very good fault it is for a pension COM
r1isioner-is that he does not permit the
pension attorneys to run his office.