The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-26
TUESDAY, JANUARY 2e, 1904.
KILL IT QUICKLY.

It is somewhat of an agreeable sprprise to find The New York Tribune opposing the service pension project The Tribune is one of the stalwart Republican news papers which generally endorse any Re- publican policy. but in this case 1t can not stand for the Deliver proposition. and its reasons are worth printing:
 Whether the cost be small or great, the principle of 8 service penSle.~is yicioLs. -ks.saa1 atsm to be apppa1sed on a cash basis? IS evefEa~ man Who shouldered a musxet at his co6htYJ's call, irrespective of his needs or his wounds, going to be- come a hanger-on of the Treasury? The pension attorneys want this, and sent tnent has been artfully worked up Tn its favor among veterans wno probably have not carefully thought out all that 1t implies. But we do not believe that the great body of brave and patriotic men, who are proud of their part in saving the Union, wish to lower the standard of devotion for future generations and teach the world that men who do not need pen- sions think that they must be subsidized for having been patriotic. We do not pek heve they care thus to cheapen their ser vice: To the veteran who for any reason needs aid, and to those dependent upon him, a grateful country will ever be de- lighted to minister. The country is not yet prepared, however, for the doctrine
 
 duty thereby acquires title to the aims of the taxpayers. his fellow citizens. Thousands of ninety-day soldiers would. under this bill, be entitled to pensions who never were in battle and who, so Tar as the war is concerned. are just as well on. physically and financially. as their fellows who did their duty in civil life. They are mostly worthy men, who point with pride to their names on the army lists. But to make such service an excuse for unneeded pensions Is to cheap en 1t, and also cheapen the pension list and detract from the distinction of those who hold honorable place on it by req son of special suffering.
 In another place The Tribune states that the only argument that can be made for such a law is that it is not as dangerous now as 1t would have been ten years ago. And we may add that it would not be as dangerous ten years hence as it would be now. And a score of years from now such a law would be less dangerous to the Treasury than it would be today. The increase to the pension roll that would immediately follow the enactment of such a law would be such burden as would stagger even our Government, much as 1t has borne. and can bear. It would be dif- ficult. in an off-hand way, to fix the sum that would be required under such a law, but it would be enormous.
 And another point to be considered in such legislation is the dangerous prece- dent that would be established for future Congresses. Already a very large per centage of those who enlisted for the little difficulty with Spain are applying for pen- sions. and if the Deliver project should become the law, how long would it be before every man who fired a gun at tar get practice in the camps at Chickamau- ga. Mobile or Miami would be applying for a service pension? And as other wars, little or big, took place, the men would expect to be placed op the roll as soon as they shed their army uniforms.
 But aside from all questions of expense, and all dangers of such precedent sucn a Jaw would be vicious in theory and de- grading in practice. It would reduce ser vice in time of war to a mere commer- ciAl basis and place all soldiers in the rank or position of mendicancy. The man who voluntarily fought on either side dur ing our great war was a patriot, and did so because he felt it a matter of duty to obey the call of his country. Just how pension can be looAed on as a badge of honor is a problem We are unable to solve. That those who were disabled in the service of the Union and who are now in need should be pensioned, is not dis- plIted, but that men who are III no sense needy. and who were not in any way in- jufed in service should be pensioned is absurd. There are cases where pension Is. really 8 badge of dishonor, and those sases are not few. either. The Dolliver project should be elubbed real hard.
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 And still the plaintive cry goes m.