Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1907-09-05


Mr.. Sheath and the Pension Bill.
IF the managers Of the Democratic
campaign in the State had some one to
give them q little sensible advice they
would not be importuning old soldiers
organizations to pass resolutions attack
ing the Republican candidate for State
Treasurer on his action regarding the
pension bill at the last session of the
Legislature. The Democrats are try
ing to put the old soldiers in a false
position.
Representative Sheatz made per-
fectly clear and straightforward state
ment on the subject in his Williams
Grove speech on Wednesday, As
chairman of the Appropriation Com
mittee it was his business to ascertain
as nearly as possible how much money
it would be necessary to appropriate
to pay the pensions provided for in
this bill The only obtainable figure
showed that there were about $4,000
who were likely to apply for pension,
and that the average annual payment
to each person would be $50 80 That
made it necessary to appropriate S5,-
$4,000 to cover the fifteen months for
which it was required to provide before
the next legislature appropriation
would become available.
The calculation was carefully made
upon United States penson: statistics,
and there were no others upon whichit
could be made. The figures showed
that to pass the bill with an appropria
ton of$1, 100000 only would be to de-
lude the old soldiers. That amount
would not have paid one fifth of the
demands. More than four-ffths of the
pensioners would have been compelled
to wait until the next Legislature
nearly two years hence-could make
up the deficit. Mr.. Sheath was not in
favor of that policy. He desired that
all.who would be entitled to pensions
under the law should get their money
as the law provided, and that there
should be no discrimination in favor
of those who were the smartest in get
ting in their claims.
The amount appropriated by the bill
as it came from Mr.. Sheatz's .Appro-
priation Committee was carefully figur-
ed. The original proposal to appro-
pirate only 81, 600, 900 made the bill
farce, and would have been a cruel
deception to practice on the old sold
iers. 1t would have been great deal
better to appropriate larger amount
than needed instead of allowing less
than one-fifth the amount required.
Whatever was not called for would
have remained in the Treasury. But
the original act did ust provide that
S1,000,009 should be divided proper
tionately. 1t fixed an amount that
each pensioner should receive, and
Mr.. Sheath and those who voted with
him were carrying out that provision
when they raised the amount of the
appropriation.
So ,unscrupulous has been the opposi-
ton effort to misrepresent the record
of Mr.. Sheath that it has been stated
he voted against the pension bill.
That assertion is false, and will injure
only the persons who make it. MIR.
Sheatz not only voted for the pension
bill, but he saved it from being a de-
ception and trick. He also voted for
measures which passed the House, and
which, had they become laws, would
have raised by additional taxation an
amount of revenue sufficient to have
paid in full all the pensions provided
for in the act, and not left four-fifths
of the pensioners with nothing as
would have been the case had the bill
become law with the original 81 ,O00,-
900 appropriation.
A candidate of the sincerity, char
acter and record of Mr.. Sheath is not
to be beaten by efforts to make the old
soldiers of Pennsylvania victims of
demagogic Misrepresentation. There
is too much depravity in the method
TO appeal to anyone's intelligence