The National tribune., 1907-10-10
INTELLIGENT DISCRIMINATION.
The Pension Bureau Should Exercise
Wide Discretion In Allowances.

Editor National Tribune: In your
columns of June 20 l found three very
Interesting articles; namely: Fraud
Charged" impaired Vision" and
Everybody Answer Here" Allow me
to say, dear comrade, that your paper
is so wisely diversified as to matter,
and SO broadly adapted to the wants
of the old soldiers, that all the old boys
of the war ought to read it. After
reading these articles, my mind was
awakened, and / want to write you a
few lines. Discrimination is the word
want to use. The loss of sight and
being in Libby Prison are uDcomforta-
bic experiences. The Government ought
to pension the sufferers from blindness,
or from prison life, handsomely.
am thinking about class of soldiers
who made long campaigns with short
rations and passed thru many bloody
battle or who suffered everything but
death in the hospital with typhoid fever
or other diseases, yet were plucky
enough to stick to the marches and the
conflicts until the end. Many such
men have never seen a well day since;
the longer they live the more misery
they endure. Such men are surely de-
serving of $50 per month as those
who lost leg or arm. / know good
many very worthy men who lost limbs,
who have been promoted to lucrative
positions in life, or elected 10 Office,
simply because they are crippled, and
they do their work we'll Not so with
the soldier U,lose constitution has been
undermined by army diseases. Many
"a soldier getting an invalid pension, AMI
whose life has been rendered really
sacrifcial by the fact that he can
neither do professional or manual la
Dor, is worse off so per cent than the
wounded man or the armless one. EN-
.y..tvz. IL
TALLY crippled constitutionally, mentally
or physically. We cannot get work by
the hour. AS the boys advance in years,
these evidences of physical disabilities
ought not only to be recognized when
the soldier is examined, but the Pen
sion Department ought to generously
anticipate these almost universal signs
of departing strength, according to the
best of medical authority. The long
ly limited b. the length of time In SER
vice as well as by the hard marches
and long fighting and experiences in
sieges like Vicksburg, and just discrim-
nations ought to be made with men
who are 65 years old, in these matters
We are passing away rapidly, and in
10 years lot of us will have stacked
arms" and crossed the blessed river
love the old soldier for his intrinsic
value to the country. Yes, I love
them as ] love my life and love "Old
Glory" I want to live long enough to
see our National Flag the flag and the
only flag floated in the American breeze
had a brother. Sam, with me in the
29th Wis, and had another brother
Isaac. who died in Tennessee and was
buried in an unknown grave. Sam and
will still read The National Tribune
and enjoy is greatly And let me say
dear Editor, that as the successful
champion of the pension rights Of the
old boys, you are doing a work ION
ages telling" Not only the old gray
headed veterans. but their CONS and
their sons sons, will remember you
| with undying gratitude. Were you doing
| this for the paltry dollar there is in it
| it would be different; but you stand
by us when many are against us. and
| you advocate our cause when you gel
criticism and curses. Very few are get
ting too large a pension now. A wise
and just criticism in handling the eases
of the diseased in old age would work
great comfort and blessing to the really
needy. Nothing short of s25 per month
can enable an aged couple to keep the
wolf from the door. Many such are
getting sl2. God bless the boys of tho
civil war. and God bless the work O.
your unique paper-W. r. Dorward
Co E 29th Wis