Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-13
UNJUST TO VETERANS
CoMMANDER-IN-CH TANNER
ENTERS A PROTEST.
Opposes Clause IN Pending Bill Pre-
scribing Age Limit for Pub
lie Service.

Commander-in-chief James A. Tanner OF
the Grand Army OF the Republic has FOR
warded to Representative James A. raw
ney. chairman of the House committee on
appropriations, a communication strongly
opposing the enactment OF section 3 OF Ihe
legislative and judicial appropriation phi'
which provides that after June 80 lSVo'
there shall not be employed in any eXecu-
tive department or government establish
ment in the District of Columbia any per
son in the classified service, over seventy
years of age" etc. Commander Tanner
says. among other things:
so far as indicated by anything In the
report. this recommendation came IRON
the full committee: yet. were the same ruie
to be applied to those In high "a low places,
three members OF your committee would
have been debarred from signing IT. The
distinguished Speaker of the House, 50 ac-
tive that many people fear he must De
reckCned with in 1903, would have to Win
held his approval unless you hurry the Dill
through before May I. while of the thirteen
members of the Senate committee on ap-
prOpriations who have the last guess at
this bill east of the White House. whose
average age is sixty-seven. all but four -wo
democrats and two republicans, ana they
by tight squeeze, would be rescued IRON
consideration of your automatic time reg
ister'' upon its arrival at the northern
wing OF the Capitol.
"A whole lot OF people have been having
trouble concerning time registers and the
like lately. 1t has been handed down to
me since before | began to read, that he
who is faithful In a few things shall be
ruler over many but you reverse all this
and enact that the aged man may do great
things, but shall not be newer of wood
nor drawer Of water. l think you better
take water on this proposition. respecting
which L have a few earnest words to say
to you.
Operation of Penalty.
1.-THE operation Of the proposed penalty
for loyal and faithful service would fall
so heavily upon those who bore the burden
of the battle in the Union army that I
must treat 1t IL they were the sole ben
eficiaries. 1t is for them. my comrades. I
speak. I am indisposed to shirk this duty
l owe to them, and could not if l would.
They stood with me when TO stand meant
victory then, that the Congress OF the
United States should meet ever since and
now in Washington instead of Richmond:
that the stars and stripes should float for
ever and a day over all, emblematic of a
united, prosperous, happy country.
Il venture to say that you won't find
a confederate soldier behind your bill. Only
this moment I indorsed an earnest request
to our soldier President to honor a confed
crate brigadier whom your proposed 1imi-
because. when, having the power to denote
or discharge a large number of my COM
rades, he placed his resignation in the
hands of his superior if a single one of
them was TO be disturbed. They are hold
ing down the same desks today with ex-
ceptional ability, too and a delegation of
them has just left me, filed with the graft
tude common to all but republics.
According to the best estimate We can
make, 10000 of the Union army are now
living. Providence has blessed these men
with a vast aggrega ton of sons and sons
in-law, and l cannot be far out of the way
when | assert that the survivors OF the
vanishing army and their allied domestic
relations aggregate nearly or quite five mill
lion adults of this land Few of this num-
Der but directly or indirectly, would be af-
fected by the proposed legislation. Many,
1t is true. only remotely. but as to the vet
eran and his wife and dependents the re-
duction and dismissal from wage-earning
work. not because Of any lessening of
wage-earning capacity. but because the old
man of today was born long enough ago to
have helped save his country in his coun-
try's hour Of need. comes directly home so
the humiliation will be felt by his children
and his childrens children so long as his
tory endureS."