The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-10
new SERVICE PENSION ACT
Eugene E. Stevens Critieises Legis-
latiVe Measure of Congress.
Piece of HUngIinE and
Injustice.

Editor The Washington Herald:
The new service-pensi0n act seems 20
be monumental piece Of legislative
bunglng and injustice. such as Congress
has not achieved in q long time.
To begin with. the law. instead Of au-
thorizlng the pensioning Of the old sol
diers as they hereafter attain the age Of
sixty-two years as was obviously in-
tended. is so phrased that il may be nee
essary 20 constTue il to include only those
who arrived at that age at or before the
date of the act Nor viii those here
after reaching the age Of seventy and
seventy-hve, apparently, receive the high
CT rates Of Si5 and so. respectively
Next. the law takes no cognizance Of
the joint resolution Of July ]. 1902, which
corrected and removed many hardships
of the pension act OF June q 1880. now
virtually superseded by the new act, so
far as the earlier act relates to survivors
Of the civil war. Not a few of the young
men and boys Of the volunteer army in
the DAYS Of the war thought il all right
10 take French leave of one command
and join another. These were marked
as "deserters" on the rolls Of the organ
ization they quit in this informal manner
The resolution Of 1852 relieved these cases.
where there was nothing in the circum-
stances that could be construed as "boun-
ty-jumping," and an honorable discharge
was received from the last enlistment
Furthermore, thefe were many of the
Coutederates, particularly of the con
script class. that repented and Joined the
Union forces. The resolution of 1862 ad
mitted these to the benefits of the act of
1880 if their repentance was not later
than January /, 1855.
Under the new pension act, as passed
an honorable discharge, it seems. must
be of record for every enlistment, and
the ex-Confederates, no matter what the
circumstances attending their apparent
disloyaity or how early their enlistment
in the Union ranks, are barred by the
old statutes which require proof of 10y
atty through the entire period Of the
war.
As TO the Mexican war survivors. the
deficiencies Of the new .,Ct are aDpar-
emily even more oppressive in their re-
suits Probably q majority Of the Next
can war survivors were in one way or
another connected with the Confederate
cause or were in sympathy with it, as
residents of the Southern States. and
could hardly expect 90 prove their loyalty
to the Union during the civil war period.
If they cannot they do not appear to
be benefited by the provisions Of the new
law. The Mexican war service-pension
act OF 1881 eliminated the question of dis
loyalty from claims thereunder, but in
the absence of like elimination in the
present act. the old loyalty tests apply,
81 4. la
are probably not entitled under the new
act. Practically all these old men of the
Mexican war would come in the S20-per-
month class. being seventy-flye years of
age or upward.
The Mexican war survivors. who are
not disqualified under the loyalty tests,
are confronted with the fact that where
as the former statute Of 1897 specifies
pensionable service as sixty days in
Mexico. or on the coasts or frontier
thereof or en- route thereto. In the war
with that nation, or were actually en-
gagged in a battle in said war, the pres
ent salute reads sixty days in the war
with Mexico" obviously a narrower
limit Certain Missouri and Arkansas
volunteer organizations. known as Pow
ellis Battalion and Gray's Battalion. that
served on the Southwestern frontier
keeping the old Santa Fe route open for
the forwarding of supplies, and the sur
vivors of which are now peRs.oued under
the Mexican war seryice-Dension acts, are
also left unprovided for, though probably
intended 10 be included
The foregoing is the bill as il came
from the Sena"e COMMITTEES on Pensions.
where it began its course through Con-
Cress.
Lastly, there was fastened on the bill
on the floor Of the Senate the following
provision, which appears as the third sec
ton OF the act: That no pension att0r-
ney, claim agent, or other person shall
be entitled to receive any compensation
for services rendered in presenting any
claim to the Bureau of Pensions, or Sc
curing any pension. under this act"
This extraordinary proposition was or
fered and adopted FOR the avowed pur-
pose Of protecting (?) the pension appli-
cant under the bill from the pension at
iorneys.' In the House this absurd prop