The National tribune., 1904-06-09
FOREIGN PENSIONS.

The Chicago Daily News exhibits its
lowing editorial in regard to foreign pen
sions:
'sThe pension policy Of the United
States Is too liberal, and that Of the Ger.
man mar Empire too nggecdIg Last year
who served in the civil war or to their
widows and children. Germany paid a
little over $2,5OO.OOO to invalid soldiers
who served in the war with France which
made the German Empire. The Secretary
of the Interior in his last report esti-
Union armies at 100000. OF these 7OO,-
600 draw pensions. There are still living
| 100000 of the men who fought for Ger
many third of q century ago. Of these
| only SS.641 are aided out of the I'm
perial Treasury. There the average pen
sion is $2S.56 year. Here it is $13349.
| These are indeed striking differences.
'It is not to be wondered at that the
Reichstag recently expressed itself unani-
| mously in favor Of more generous policy.
should no longer be required to furnish
! proof of total disability and that the
| widows of pensioned veterans ought to be
allowed to draw the pensions for three
months after the death Of their husbands.
There arc on the American pension rolls
ing is done for the widows or dependent
children of the German soldiers.
"The Secretary of the Imperial Treas
ury said to the Reichstag that it would
be better not to increase expenditures for
pensions until the financial situation could
be studied more closely. That means that
in his opinion Germany, which is spend
ing much money on the navy and has no
surplus revenues, can not afford to do more
for the veterans. Tie Empire certainly
would be bankrupted if it were to initiate
the recklessly extravagant pension policy
of the United States. But there is mid
die road between parsimOny and prOdigal-
ty, and 1t does seem as if the Empire
could do a little more for the men whose
valor made it,
There are two things which the "News"
doesn't understand, and doesn't under
stand them with great thoroughness. The
first is that the pension system of Ger
many is not confined by any means to the
disabled men upon its pension roll. All
bestowal of public employment, from a
position at the head of the Government to
the watcher at a railroad crossing, is con-
fined to those who have served in the
army. or their widows. A man can not
even flag train at railroad stopping
place, unless he has been in the German
army. The first requirement upon enter
ing the civil service is honora BILE discharge
from the army, and all the small posts
around the Government, and even on the
railroads, are carefully reserved to vet
Grams and their widows. This is a part
of the German military system which we
might copy with advantage.
The second is that our pension roll rep
resents not merely much more fighting
than that done by all the men on the Ger
man pension roll, but more real, hard
fighting more wounded and dead, than by
all the pension rolls of Europe combined.
There were more battles fought, more
killed and wounded. more service to break
down the constitution in our war of the
rebellion, than in all the wars Of Europe
combined since Waterloo, or within the
lifetime Of anybody now on any pension
roll in Europe. These are plain, every
displays Grass ignorance in not knowing
should know, and the editor of the News"
displays Grass ignorance in not knowing
them.