The National tribune., 1908-03-26
THE WIDOWS. PENSION BILL.

'oih' e''ueiiatieHts5 ana was sent Dack
to the House fof concurrence. The
House refused to concur in the amend
ments, and 4 Committee of Conference
was appointed with Senators McCum-
Der. Scott and Tolliver representing the
Senate. These are members of the Sem
ate PensionsCommhtee, of which Sen
ator McCunlber is the head. The House
was represented sbE Cyrus A. suIloway
of New Hampshire. Chairman of the
Invalid Pensions Committee. and two
other members
Shortly after this action Chairman
Sulloway expressed himself to promi-
lnent member of the Grand Army of the
Republic and a member of the G. A. r.
National Pension Committee as strongly
opposed to the action of the Senate and
against concurring in its amendments.
He said that last year the Senate had
passed the McCumber bill, which the
House had adopted by a unanimous
vote and without the change of a word
or letter. In turn the House had adopt
ed the widows pension bill by unani-
!
where it had been subjected to impor-
tant changes. He did not think this
was right in many ways, and particu-
larly because it was another exhibition
of the Senate's treatment of the House.
For years the Senate had been practi-
cally debating to the House as to what
| Legislation to pass. and he and the other
members of that body were not little
indignant at this. He would not concur
in the amendments, but would do all
that he could to defeat them, even to
the extent of rejecting the bill. When
Senator McCumber was told of this at
titude of Chairman Sulloway he deeply
regretted that there should be any such
feeling, and said that he considered the
changes made by the Senate did not
warrant this attitude. The bill was a
House bill, and would be known as
such, with Chairman Sideways authorr
ship fully recognized The only impor-
tant change was that of extending the
limitation upon the marriages to the
date of the passage of the act and ex-
cluding widows of the Spanish War.
To a representative of The National
Tribune Chairman Sulloway expressed
himself decidedly opposed to the Senate
amendments. and particularly to the
extension of the limitation of marriage.
He said that if this limitation was broken
down it would be broken down finally,
and we should have hosts of young girls
marrying old soldiers, some of them on
their deathbeds, merely to secure their
pensions. Every woman who had mar
ried soldier subsequent to the act of
June 81, 1890. knew that she would not
receive a pension at his death, and so
there was no bad faith. He never would
consent to the sweeping away of the
limitation upon marriage, because the
consequences were too serious, and he
felt that he was sustained by the mass
of veterans themselves. He would rath-
er see the bill rejected than accept the
Senate amendments.
The National Tribune dissents wholly
and strongly from Chairman Sulloway,s
view. This talk of young girls marry
ing old soldiers for their pensions, If
sincere, which we greatly doubt, is max
ing mountain out OF mole hill. We
can never bring ourselves to think so
lightly of American womanhood as to
believe that any number of our women
are willing to sell themselves to a de-
crepit old man for the beggarly little
pension they will receive after his death
The thing is Incredible The most hast
been made of a few instances occurring
around the Soldiers Homes and among
the loose characters which are found |
in the drinking dens, and which, alas |
a small proportion of the veterans in |
the Homes will persist in frequenting. |
Taking these all together and viewing |
them in their worst light, they are, after
ALL but fraction of a percentage of |
the whole. The great mass of the vet
erans are living in the country or in
small towns and leading the lives of |
reputable citizens of those towns. The
women they associate with and whom
they would be likely to marry are as
reputable as themselves, and their mar
riages are as subject to the public opin-
i'H VI tHe community as any Otlsr /
marriage. Any young woman who
would beguile an aged veteran into
for the sake of his pension
would lose her reputation as effectually
as she could by any other prostitution
Of herself. This is plain Methodist Fpis-
copal truth, which everybody knows. In
opposition to this view of Chairman
Sulloway is the fact that widowed vet
Grams are in depiorable situation, as
they need strongly the comfort, COM
and devotion of some good
who will care for them in their
declining years help them with their
children and otherwise be a helpmate
TO them that they can only find in a
wife. 1t is inexpressibly pitiable that
-he women who in the Is years which
have elapsed since the passage CT the
act of 1890 have been good and faith
ful wives to their husbands shall nowi
be denied a pension by this great, rich
Government cn such a flimsy and un-
worthy pretext. 1t is violation of the
Inbroken policy of the Government ever
since its foundation, and is an injustice
hat should not be cont;hued.
AT the same time we want the wild
ows' pension bill passed. and will &C
cept it with or without the Senate
looking to future legisla-