The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1905-02-02
EXPENDITURES.
lNo. 81

"A great uedI Aao uooh e'io o'oo"'
extravaganza and fraud in pension
matters, but it meets with little
favor from the public. Much of
this complaint comes from states
formerly in rebellion. This is
natural. 1t is not to be expected
that a boy will, without making
faces, pay for d ruler with which
he was spanked. The great ma
jority of the. people, however,
North and South, realize that every
man that went: into the military
service of the government posses
sed a certain earning capacity.
This earning capacity was an asset
Just the same as was any other
property. Its possessor depended
on. it for livelihood for himself
and to furnish sustenance for those
dependent on him 1t had 4 money
value. The government did not
buy this capacity; it only rented it
for a stated period. If during
such service this earning capacity
was, by wounds, sickness, confine-
ment in prison, or rigors of the
service, the party suffering such
loss is entitled TO a just and liberal
recompense therefore, and in case
of his death :those whom he was
legally bound to support are en-
titled to inherit his. stipend during
the period of their dependency.
a'his is the pension theory of this
government. Pensions of this
character are not gratuities but
obligations which the government
IS as much bound to pay as it is to
tedeem the bonds, and even more
80, for one IS payment of money
which even if lost may be regained,
1.-THE other is payment for health,
Strength, vigor, the power to earn,
(which when once gone can never
sbe recovered. 1t is fai:, just and
Reputable that the claimant should
fbe given the benefit of every doubt;
ia slight preponderance of evidence
fought to establish his case, for it is
4almost self evident proposition
; that any extended period of camp
or war service in military capacity
Twill wear man out more than the
same length Of time spent in civil
!avocations, and thus lessen his
learning capacity. The American
/ people are. willing to 60 even
\ farther thap this. They are not
( only willing to pay for loss of earn
ing capacity IN time of war service
but to pay for the motive that
prompted men to serve, and hence
:: the Law of 1890, that provides 2
pension for every disabled soldier
regardless I where he incurred the
disability provided he did not cause
The same b his own action.
The p3ople do not demand
economy put liberality in pension
expenditu Is. They ask and de-
mand thkt every soldier and
soldiers widow entitled to.a pen
sion recei3e one, and in as large an
amount asa liberal construction OF
the law md circumstances will
Justify. They also want justice,
and they Ire equally anxious that
every Fl hudulent pensioner be
dropped from the rolls, The
pension tSll is regarded as a roll
of honor hnd the fund is regarded
by the loyal citizen as sacred one.
A person who will steal from it is
placed in the same class as the thief
: who steall a communion service out
of . churfh. That there are thou
sands Of fraudulent pensioners,
there is no doubt. There were
A,O4l, s24 pensioners on the rolls
in 1901, 80, 994 of these saw actual
service, s,ose are widows and 80
per cenf of the first mentioned
entered the service voluntarily-of
their own free will and choice.
There are approximately $4,000
widows of soldiers who saw actual
service who were wives at time the
service Vas rendered. The others
are what you may term co1qse,pl
rc-~'~~"~s II is hord to fioi,rn