The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-12
SOME ROMANTIC STORIES CLEANED
FROM THE PENSION ROLLS.
Ia Two Cases the Soldier Hus-
band Left His Legal Wife
in the Lurch.
ISansas City journal.


The story was brought to light by a
special United States pension examiner
who was detailed TO investigate a claim
which the undoing of the hero as well
as the heroine Of the little romance. These
pension examiners be IL known. examine
into the legal aspects only of the cases
presented TO them. One of the first things
that is done in every case is to determine
abe marriage relations OF the claimant. in
order TO establish absolutely. IL the person
be a widow, her right TO the pension asked
Tor. or. IL a man, in order to avoid any
future difficulty in the claims from widow
and children. The utmost secrecy is MAIN
tained I'm such Investigations. and even
when gross violations of state laws on
marriage are discovered they are not re-
ported local authorities.
The Kansas City man whose past has
just been uncovered by this means is now
a firm believer in the axiom that the world
IS a small place. With his past nearly
forty years behind him he thought he
safe until il suddenly stalked into his
house one day and met him face to face
This man. who must, by reason of the
secrecy maintained by the Pension De-
partment. be nsmeless. served during the
civil war as a private soldier in a Massa-
chusetts regiment. At the close Of the war
he went to Pennsylvania and was married
soon afterward TO a girl whom he had met
under romantic circumstances during his
term of service. She was young and pretty,
and had little fortune OF her own, so that
for year or more everything went beauti-
fully. and the couple were as happy as the
regulation bride and groom usually are. In
the second year, though, the troubles be-
gan. The brides mother came TO live with
ner. She was not young nor pretty, but
she was a great many other things that
charge of the home. the bride, the man
and everything else in sight. Presently
family circle, another daughter and the
daughters daughter. and the various gen.
erations of daughters shared the maternal
managerial Instinct. Home was no longer
heaven TO the man, and he expressed HIM
self quite freely TO the bride. But IL was
her mother and her sister and her sisters
child. and she would not let them be
abused. As long as she had a home it
was theirs. and. anyway, was 1T not her
money that had bought the home? So the
man decided that 1t was up to him-and
went West.
HE DIED IN THE WEST"
Five years passed. and rumor came from
the West that the man was dead. So the
bride donned a widows veil and the mother
and sister dutifully wore black, too. for the
conventional year out. however. than the
conventional consolation came. in the form
OF another ex-soldier. They were married
and settled down in the little Pennsylvania
town. Children came TO them, and in the
course OF years grandchildren. and their
lives were full and contented. Last year
the soldier husband died, and the widow
applied for pension on his war record.
In the investigation into her claim the fact
OF her first marriage developedl and also
the fact that there had been no positive
proof of the husbands death. All she
knew was that "he had died in the West"
tAecSSrdingly the matter Nv was s put into the
structions to find the man, dead or alive.
The case was a good deal of a problem.
The man had not been heard of since 1867.
and to anyone who lives west of Buffalo
the West Is pretty big place. The
local examiner. however. conceived the
idea of writing to the mans old comrades
in his Massachusetts company, in the hope
that some of them might have seen OF
heard of him. Accordingly a letter was
dispatched TO every surviving member of
the company. By this means the case was
advanced eight years. for of these COM
rades said that he had seen the man in
Chicago in 1876 and that he was then talk
ing of joining the regular army The pen
sion examiner, who ought to be detective,
then decided that ii was not improbable
that the man might be drawing pension
his regular army record Accordingly
he wrote all the pension agents in the
United States to learn if such a man was
on their lists. Much to his surprise came
the reply from the agency I'm Topeka, stat
ing that the man was on their roll and that
he lived In Kansas City, on Southwest
boulevard
1t was easy after that. The pension
agent called on the man Immediately. in
troduced himself, and was in turn intro
duced to the mans wife and four children
Tie situation grew. The wife was curious
and the children were curious The man
was wary. When the pension agent finally
got him alone he faced him with the rec
ord of his previous marriage. The man
went white and lied like a gentleman.
ut is not true. and you cannot prove it. y
he answered -
EFT is true, and 1 can prove it, replied
the agent. and produced copy of the mar
riage certificate and photographs of the
couple taken at the time of their marriage
BACK TO THE OLD HOME.
Then the man broke down and cried like
n child. Yes. it is true. it is all true, and
even more than you know is true" he said
After I came West I prospered and met
the woman who Is now my wife. From the
first 1 loved her. But 1 never forgot the
fact that i was legally bound to a woman
. who had proven herself so weak that
could not even respect her. So IL went or
for years, and I never once forgot my OBJ.
legation. l do not know how the rmol
reached her that was dead, unless it may
nave Deen p the time was hurt in q fire
Finally could not stand to live any longer
the way i was. and decided TO go back tC
my wife and do my duty by her. | go
there at night and went right out to oul
old home From the street / saw a mar
reading by the table. Presently a woman
whom recognized as my wife came In Will
q bundle in her arms. IL was a baby. The
man rose, looked at the baby, kissed it, anc
then the mother. and they went out of IN,
room together. 1 knew that would not b,
welcome visitor. AS L turned away
asked a chance passer-by who lived there
He told me, and also told me who tn,
woman had been before her marriage.
had made no mistake. / came back Yves
that night. / felt that she had freed me b,
her own action. or course. l knew tina
legally she was still my wife. But no on
knew, and il Is long way from Pennsyl
yania TO Kansas City. And then, too,
loved the other woman. And so we wer
married. and we have been happy. and n,
one has ever known. She thought me dead
and 1 am dead 10 her. Let her have he
pension from her second husband. i woul,
never put stone in her way"
But the United States pension depart
ment thinks differently of such matters
And the grandmother in the little tow
sion because she has never been a widow.
AN INNOCENT VICTIM.
Another past which this same pension
agent has discovered is quite as romantic
except that in this case a woman was tn
innocent victim and the deception prac
ticcd on her was deliberate. This womal
has lived her life in Kansas City; she 4
a church worker. and has brought up
family of law-respecting sons and daueh