The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-04-30
A SERVICE PENSION BILL.

The Service Pension Bill should be rs
direct idea. Every clause and phrase
added is a distinct danger. since they may
afford hooks for unfriendly executants to
hang objections to paralyze the admins
| tration of the law. We all remember
painfully how the phrase in the Act of
| June %, 1S90-"who are now or who may
hereafter be suffering from a mental or
physical disability of permanent charac-
ter. not the result of their own vicious
habits. which incapacitates them for the
performance of manual labor in such a
degree as to render them unable to earn
support" was tortured to make it de-
feat the true intent and purport of the
law. That phrase was formulated after
years of the most earnest study by leading
comrades of the G. A. r.. by the G. A. II.
National Committee on Pensions. and by
the Committees on Pensions of both
Houses. Senator C. II. Davis. one of the
ablest men who ever sat in the Senate,
and a devoted comrade. who was Chair
man of the Senate Committee on Pen
sions. gave personal and exhaustive study
to it. and it was believed by everybody
that it would render exact justice. 1t
was framed to prevent drunkards ana de-
bauchees from having the benefit of the
law. but to give it to everybody else. When
the Cleveland Administration came in,
with the proclaimed intention of greatly
reducing the pension expenditures. they
lacked the courage to repeal outright the
Act of June 81, as the more radical de-
sired. but they set their legal sharps to
work to find some way to
Keep the word of promise to the ear
But break it to the heart
of the veterans. The sharps pounced upon
that phrase. which they held introduced
an entirely new principle into pension
legislation, and rendered worthless all pre-
cedents.' They put construction upon
it which substantially defeated the intent
Of the law, and was the source of unnum-
bered miseries to the veterans. 1ndigna-
ton at this defeated the party at the next
election, and brought in Mckinley, but
Evans retained the obnoxious cOnstruc
ton. until he was driven from office.
There was something of the same kind
with the phrase open and notorious adul-
terry" in another law, which was put in
at the instance of the G. A. r. to keep
VIGOROUSLY abandoned women off the roll
IGNORED by the mothers and widows of
veterans. Under Lochren and Evans this
was tortured into warrant for the yilcst
and most insulting scrutiny of the charac-
ter of every woman on the roll, or who
applied for a pension.
We want no opportunity for this or
anything akin to it in the new law. We
want no hooks for any legal sharp or any
hostile Commissioner to hang on his dead
ly work. We should regard every word
in the law with suspicion, and closely
scrutinize its possibilities for trouble. The
intent of the bill is that every man who
served 80 days or more, and was honor
ably discharged, shall Immediately receive
a pension of at least S12 month, with
a like pension for the widows of those who
have died, said pension to begin with the
passage of the act, and be payable upon
application.
Our idea of such bill would be some
thing like this:
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 $12
a month the name of every man who
served in the United States army, navy
or marine corps, during the war for the
suppression of the rebeliOn-that is to
say, between the dates of March 4, 1861,
and Dec. 81, 1S65-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. 3. Said pensions shall commence
with the passage of this act.
Now, comrades, what do you think of
that: Let us have your suggestions. They
should all be, however, in the nature of
simplifying it, and making it more effec-
tive.
Keep in mind that every additional word
may be a snare, to work untold evil