Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-04-23
Pension Funds and Iniquities

Editor Journal-The writer has always been
against pensions for Confederate veterans and
that is his position today, and he has his
reasons for the faith that is in him."
a. The Confederate soldier served a gov
eminent that ceased to exist when he laid
down his arms in Gs5. He was Confederate
soldier. For the Coefederate states. the ;.
storm Graded nation that fell'-he fought.
His oath of enlistment bound him to serve
that government, and at its bidding he fought
till it's armies were overwhelmed and It's re-
sources exhausted. The nation that he served
went down IN defeat and everything that he
had placed upon the altar OF its success was
him by the United Daughters of the Confed-
eracy, a glorious band Of women organized
to perpetuate the memory Of his heroic deeds.
From their hands he proudly accepts this
token of their appreciation, and to me 1t is
an all-suffieient reward for my services TO
the Confederate states.
(2) The records OF the Confederate states
were in large part destroyed, and there is no
way to prevent frauds in pension applications.
Judging from the little that has come under
my personal observation I have no doubt that
there are hundreds Of unworthy men drawing
pensions in Georgia today and ! think the
judges Of our courts should at every term
charge grand juries to look into this matter
and purge the pension lists. This should APP
ply especially to the list OF so-called 'indi-
GENT veterans.
(s) The pensioning Of men who were per-
manentiy disabled often works injustice. A
veteran who by reason OF having lost an arm
secures election TO an office that supports
him, has no right, II seems to me, to ask
that his name be entered the pension roll.
90 II each state is expected to pension its
own soldiers and and this seems TO be the
case should men who never served in a
Georgia regiment be paid a pension by the
state of Georgia? Is not this being done7
90 Georgia has generously provided home
for INDECENT veterans who have no relatives
to take Of them Is not this enough?
(6) Is not the offering OF a pension under
present conditions a temptation to false
swearing? The recorcs OF certain court in
Georgia, which the writer can name. show
the following: In a suit for damages. the
claimant swore that for many years previous
to his accident he had been doing all kinds
carpenter MISUNDERSTANDING over
head ceiling and Smuggling, and HIS average
wages we're one dollar and forty cents a day.
Six months before he swore to these facts
in open court this man sent in applica-
tion for a pension, in which he stated that
because Of wounds in three places in battle
he had done no work for many years. not
even garden work. it thought hemor-
rhage Of the lungs might result from STOPPING
over. The Judge threw the case our Of court.
leaving the jury and spectators to form their
was the truth. An old friend Of mine once
remarked in my hearing that his observation
was that most men will steal land and lie
about their tax returns" I'm sure he might
have added. and some will swear falsely to
get on a pension roll"
The Confederate soldier fought for prnci-
pie Let him not besmirch his record 10y a
greedy scramble for a few dollars from the
state treasury as a reward for service that
money could never have secured
B. NJ zETTLER.