Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-09-04
ACOSTLY BLUNDER.
Veteran Got His Insurance and Pen
sion Papers Mixed.

zone Of the strangest mistakes / ever
heard Of" said a man who keeps one eye
open for the curious and the odd in life,
to the New Orleans Times-Democrat,
was the one made by the man who got
his insurance application and his pension
papers mixed, and as a result of the mis-
take he lost out at both ends Of the line.
l might remark here that it would be
good thing for the government and the
country generally If few hundred thous-
and men in the United States would make
the same mistake. If the pension authori-
ties could get hold Of the insurance poll
cies, or rather the applications which are
made for insurance by many of the men
who are drawing pensions, they would
find that they are carrying q rather Wig
orous set of fellows on the roll.
THE case have in mind amply illus
trates the point. The man lived in the
mountainous regions of one of the central
western states, and being a consistent Re-
publican, and having fought for the union
in the sixties, he concluded that he would
get in on the pension deal. He got in all
right and had been drawing a pension for
years when he made the mistake TO which
have referred. He made an application
for an increase in his allowance. My re-
collection is that he had been getting
about IS a month, or S24 every quarter.
He wanted to raise the allowance. to $l2
month. He fixed up the papers. He set
forth in extenso the condition of his
health. recited all the ailments which had
swooped down upon him as a result of ex-
posture during the war, and when he had
finished his application for an increase in
the pension allowance his life did not look
like it was worth anything. He was
simply a physical wreck had constitution
al troubles and all that sort of thing, and
was simply dragging his feet through the
world. 1t was all caused by the game
fight he put up for his country, Of course.
About the same time he was dickering
with an insurance company and had filled
out an application blank for policy OF
s., 600. The facts set forth in his applica-
ton for insurance made him one of the
healthiest men in the world. There was
not a blemish anywhere in his makeup.
He was hefty, vigorous and a rosy
checked picture Of health generally. He
had no kind of ailment, was perfectly
sound and really there hadn't been any
weak, siclxly folks in his family as far
back as he could trace them. So far so
good. When the poor fellow got ready
to send his papers on he made the hor-
rible and disastrous mistake of sending
his pension papers to the insurance COM
pany and his application for insurance
went to the pension office. You can guess
the result. The insurance company was
inclined to make sport Of the blunder, and
they told the applicant plainly tat they
had not yet started into the business OF
insuring men who were practically on
their way to the graveyard. Iney simply
turned him down with a few curt and cut
ting remarks. The pension authorities at
Washington, while q little more dignified
IN what they had to say about the mans
application for an increase in pension, yet
took occasion to congratulate him on the
splendid state of his health, and remarked
In passing that the government would be
iii A. I'D tyfa
completely from the wars hardships. They
not only refused the increase which he
made an effort to get, but an investigation
was made and the mans name was
stricken from the pension roll. The blunder
cost him the pension he had been getting
for years, and the insurance people decid-
ed that they would rather not take the
risk. The fellow lost both ways. The
moral of the tale is that IL never pays
to push good thing too far"