The Savannah morning news., 1903-01-30
Tile srArE PENsIoN Law.

Every member of the Legislature
ought to read the report which the
grand jury of Fulton county made a
few days ago in regard to the states
pension system. II members of that
body ever doubted that the state was
paying~Out a great deal Of money for
pensions for which the law does not
provide they would find ample reasons
in that report for getting rid OF their
doubt.
1t has always seemed remarkable to
us that the Legislature has so persist
emily refused to investigate the charge
that many persons were drawing PEN
sions who were not entitled to them.
1t has taken the ground apparently
that there was no evidence to sustain
the charge. 1t cannot take that posi-
ton any longer. The grand jury of
Fulton did not do its work thorough
ly for the reason that 1t did not have
the time but it discovered enough to
justify the belief that a very large per-
centage of the pensioners should be
dropped from the pension list.
The grand jury says that some of the
men who are drawing pensions on the
ground that they are veterans are not
veterans at all: that wealthy men are
drawing pensions: that widows are get
ting pensions who are not widows of
veterans and that many of the PEN
sioners, both men and women, in max
ing their applications have no regard
for the law.
1t seems that in Fulton county alone
there are siXty-one pensioners who say
in their applications that their ser
vice was rendered in companies and
regiments other than those of Geor-
gia. How is it then that they are
drawing pensions from this state? In
that same county-Fulton-t are
twentyfour widows whose husbands
enlisted from other states than Geor-
gia. Are they not illegally on the pen
sion list: In the opinion of the Fulton
county grand jury they are. Here are
eighty-fve pensioners from one county
that ought to be stricken from the pen
sion list But that number does not
include all who are improperly on the
list. There are widows of soldiers of
other states and widows and veterans
who have comfortable incomes who are
helping to swell the pension burden.
The records also show that but little at
tention has been paid to the law in
making applications, so that many per-
sons are pensioners who would not be
able to get pensions if they complied
with the law strictly. 1t is probably
safe to say that one-third of the per-
sons on the pension list from Fulton |
county would be dropped from that
list if the pension laws were strictly
adhered to.
The pension burden is now more than
$4,000 a year. and the amount is
steadily growing. The Legislature is
appropriating more every year than
the amount of the revenues. thus In
creasing the states floating debt. At
the rate at which the states debt is
being increased, it will not be long be-
fore the states credit will be impaired.
And all on account of the manner in
which the pension laws are being
abused.
There is no opposition to paying PEN
sions to INDECENT Confederate veterans
and the widows of such veterans, but
there is a strong sentiment against
paying pensions to men and women in
comfortable circumstances, and to
those who have no claim whatever on
the people of this state.
VIII the Legislature at 1t summer
session take notice of this matter, or
will it ignore it, as it has been doing
for several years? The question is an
important one, one in which the peo-
pie of the whole state are profoundly
interested.