The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-01-18

service pensions for previous wars.
The DIRECTORS say that they recognize
the justice and right of the Govern
ment, following it's practice with the
veterans of all former wars, giving the
veterans of the rebellion a general SER
vice pension. and Of passing the law
at once. so they may get some benefit
from it before they die But these OBJ
jectors can not see why the rate for
Union veterans should be made higher
than that for veterans of the Revolu-
ton. War of 1912, Mexican and Indian
Wars
There is the best of reason for this.
All things considered, $12 a month rep
resents no more, if as much, as IS a
month did to veterans of previous
wars. Money has since become very
much more plentiful, and its purchas-
ing power has greatly lessened. Thus,
$12 a month will not really buy as
much of the actual necessaries of life
for the veteran of the rebellion as IS
a month did for the veterans of the
Revolution and the War of 1912.
The best demonstration of this is the
pay of enlisted men at different periods.
The United States has always paid it's
enlisted men in time of peace about an
equivalent of the going rate of wages
for unskilled labor. AS it's enlistments
man about as much as he would make
in other employment. and as it was
good policy to have none but first-class
men it had to offer what would be an
inducement to that grade of recruits.
From 1885 to 1890 the pay of a
private soldier was 81 a month. This,
including rations. shelter and clothing,
was apparently the ruling rate for able
bodied farm-hands and Iaborers gen.
orally. The pension of So month CIV
en- the Revolutionary veterans at that
time was therefore twice the pay Of
the army. If 81 a month then repre-
living as well as $13 a month does now,
then by the same ratio the rate of the
Service Pension should be about $26 a
month.
Four dollars a month seems to have
been too good wages, the Government
was offered more men than it wanted,
and in 1890 the pay was reduced to SO
years. This proved lower than fair.
average wages. and in 1895 the rate
was raised again to 81, at which it re-
manned for three years and was then
raised to SIS a month.
1t remained at IS a month from 1898
till the Government was hard-pressed
for men for the War Of 1912, when IL
was raised to IS a month, at which fig
ure it only remained three years. AS
soon as peace was signed 1t was drop
ped back to IS a month, and remained
there Is years.
Owing to rising wages and the in
creased cost of living, the pay was in
creased in 1888 to IS a month, at which
it remained until 1898. when it was
dropped to 81. 1t remained at 81 for
16 years, all through the Mexican War
and the California gold excitement.
The great increase in money, due to
California gold, and the rapid rise in
wages, due to the development of the
country's resources, demanded a strong
increase in the pay, in order to get the
and Aug. 4, 1854, the pay was raised to
$11 month, at which it remained
seven years. being raised to $13 a
month Aug. 6, 1861.
During the war of the rebellion the
Government made no effort to accom-
modate it's pay to the prevailing rate
of wages. 1t was too strongly in need
of money. in the first place. and in the
second it relied upon the patriotism Of
| its young men to make the necessary
sacrifice. The constant depreciation of
| the paper money required some &C
ton, however, and May 1, 1864. the
pay was raised to $16 month. an act
| that had no rational basis, since it was
not pretended that the addition of SO a
|
equal to what the s13 a month had
been at the time hundreds of thousands
of the soldiers enlisted. Nor was the
increase retroactive. to cover the period
of the greatest decline of the value OF
| the money in which it's soldiers had
| been paid. The logical thing to have
| done was either to continue the rate OF
| sf3. and continue the appeal to the
soldiers patritic seif-sacrifice, with q
promise to make good when the Treas
| ury was in a more prosperous condi
ton. or else to raise the pay to n point
where it was equal the purchasing
power Of $13 month Aug. s, 1861, As
the greenback was worth 100 cents or
/ the dollar in 1861, and but Sc cents
| May /. 1864, the pay would have to be
| raised to $23 to make it equal to wha
| il was at the outbreak Of the war, and
| then common justice required that II
be made retroactive to cover the ser.
| vices of about 1000, 900 men for three
years. This was not done-could no.
be done. 1t was one of the injustice:
and inequalities consequent upon tn.
war and the condition of the country