The National tribune., 1903-05-07
TIE DUTY OF ALL UNITING UPON THE
SERVICE PENSION BILL.

l nv
question about absolute duty and ex-
pediency of all veterans and friends of vet
Grams uniting their utmost efforts to push
a simple and plain So per month service
pension bill through the next Congress. To
succeed in anything we must unite, and
we must have public sentiment with us.
We can have the sentiment of the country
solidly in favor of a So per month service
pension bill, where it is doubtful if any
other measure will secure this. The peo-
pie are now ready to grant that much
recognition to the men who saved the
country, and it will require no explanation
or persuasion to get them to agree to its
justice. No other bill, no matter how just
or how much can be said in its favor. will
meet this requirement. Any other will re-
quire time, and time is of all things of the
utmost of importance to men and women
of the age that the veterans and their
widows now are. We can not afford as
| we might have done years ago, to spend
years in discussing proposed pension legis-
lation. Fifty thousand veterans die every
year. with fully 1000 passing away each
week, and proportionate number OF
widows. 1t is unwise, even cruel, to en-
bark in discussions which will retard the
passage of legislation for their relief.
What is imperatively needed is law which
will help them at once. Any delay means
cruel denial. No legislation, however just
and beneficial it may be, secured four or
| five years from now, can be of the slightest
interest or benefit to the quarter of mil
lion veterans and like number of their
widows who will inevitably die before it
can be placed on the statute books. Nor
will the passage of the plain. straight ser
vice pension in any way interfere with or
prejudice the passage of the per diem or
any other legislation in the future. 1t will
rath,r help them, if we can get SO per
month for every man who served 30 days
or more. 1t will facilitate the passage in
the future of laws which will give an addi-
terms. Anybody ought to be able to see
| this.
Every body who is at all familiar with
the state of public opinion and the condi-
ton of mind in Congress will not hesitate
to say that if all the veterans and their
friends concentrate their efforts upon Sc
curing the passage of 4 straight service
pension bill, Congress will not fail to
harken to the request and pass the bill at
an early date. The simpler and palmer
We can make the provisions of such BILL
the greater will be its chances of prompt
enactment. Every additional clause or
feature engrafted on to the bill is fraught
with danger in its passage through both
Houses. There are plenty of men in both
Houses who are so unfriendly to pension
| legislation that they will avail themselves
of any pretext to vote against additional
| pension expenditure. This is not asser-
| ton, it is based upon actual experience in
securing legislation. For example, when
| the Act of June % first came up it con-
tanned provision restricting its operation
to those who had no other means of sup
port. This was at once denounced as "a
pauper BILL" and many men who were OPP
posed to all pension legislation, but lacked
the courage to vote against the measure,
took advantage of this pretext to defeat
|
shorn of this Objectionable feature. and
came up without any reference to the pc
cuniary condition Of the claimants, these
men were particularly vehement against
giving the same pension to a millionaire
and to poor old soldier who is actually
in need" We recall these experiences to
show what danger there is in incorporat-
| foo& i
Senators and Representatives are to take.
advantage of any excuse which will seem
to justify them in voting against pension
measure.
| To put per diem, or any other feature
in the bill is therefore to give some man
who is at heart hostile to all pension legis-
lation pretext for voting against the bill.
1t is the same with other provisions that
many comrades desire to see inserted.
We repeat what we said last week about
the endless trouble given the veterans and
! their widows by the insertion-made with
the best intentions-of the clauses about
mot due to his own vicious habits,' Gin
capable of earning a support by manual
labor" "open and notorious adultery" ETC.,
etc.
We reiterate that the bill should be
made as plain, brief, and simple as words
can convey the meaning, and renew our
suggestion of last week:
BE it Enacted, etc.
''Sec. /. The Secretary of the Interior
is hereby authorized and directed to place
upon the pension rolls at not less than S12
1 n hn of who
served in the United States army navy
or marine corps. during the war of the
suppression of the rebellion-that is to
say, between the dates of March 4, 1861,
and Dec. 81, 1S60-and was honorably
discharged.
'.Sec. 2. Also, at the same rate, the
names of the widows of all such men who
have died. or who may hereafter die.
"Sec. 8. Said pensions shall commence
with the passage of this act"