The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1911-04-13
JAMESON ON PENSIONS.
His Plea for Justice to Soldiers of the
Civil War and Their Widows.

His Plea for Justice to Soldiers of the
Civil War and Their Widows.
| In a speech in the national house
of representatives, Feb. rs, 1911, on
the subject of the Identification Of
the Panama Canal" Hon. w. D. Jam
| ieson, of Shenandoah, took occasion
| to make plea for the Sulloway pen
sion bill to be enacted into law. That
bill was passed by the house, but
| failed to come to a vote in the SEN
ate. In his speech Mr.. Jameson said
in part:
"In 1890 the total appropriations
for the support of the government
were $3S5,522, 1867. This congress
has appropriated over $1,025, oOO,-
900. We are expanding money with
lavish hand in all other directions.
Why can not we pause for moment
in this mad rush Of spending to mete
out a little justice to these old SOL
diers and their faithful companions?
Mr. Speaker, l wish you could have
been with me in my little room in
Shenandoah the day before | started
to Washington for the beginning OF
this session, the first part of Decem-
Der, and have seen the old, worn,
poorly clad, and poorly kept widow
of one of our war veterans as she
same into my home and told me her
simple story of distress and suffer-
ing. Clad in the cheapest garments
of the poor, on that cold winter
morning with little old cloak worn
by the use of many winters and but
little protection from the chilling
blasts of a December wind, her red,
bony hands that showed the effects of
continuous and hard work, with
the joints draw out of shape by the
pains of disease and covered with
poor old mittens that were scarce a
covering at all, her head wrapped up
in a little, old cotton scarf whose
edges were frayed and which was
worn thin by an already too long
service; this old woman carrying in
one of her pockets crust of bread
that she had been nibbling at-prob-
ably an important portion of her
morning meal-her face cOntorted
by the suffering of years and her
eyes the picture of woe and distress
because of the worries OF her condi-
ton, the members of her family hav-
ing died and leaving her alone in this
big and cold world to provide for her
self, broken in health because of the
years of her day-and-night devotion
to a husband whom Whe had loved
and cared for during his several last
years, a husband who had served for
years in the Union army and whose
health had been undermined by the
hardships which he had to undergo
in the camp and on the march and
during the battles-I say, if you con-
gressmen could have seen her that
December morning as she pleaded
with me for some help from this
great government to sustain her
with the actual necessities of life
during her last years, you would join
with me, am sure, in an earnest eff
fort to provide for her and for the
old veterans, unless you have hearts
of stone.
During the time that l have been
honored with being member of this
house of representatives l have been
brought into very close contact with
many, many cases of want and dis
tress in the conditions of the old SOL
diers living in my district, and l wish
that | had the power to picture to
you many of these conditions as |
nave found them-Old men, MANNED
and crippled and blind and physical
ly wrecked, suffering the tortures of
bodily pain, and worse than that, suf-
fering the mental anguish that comes
from the knowledge of their lack Of
provision for the necessities of life.
| know that if all who have to do
with determining whether or not this
Sulloway bill shall become law
could go with me into these homes
and see the conditions face to face
of these old veterans and their faith
full wives the expenditure of moneys
for the fertilization of the canal
and for the building of new battle
ships and for the maintenance of an
immense standing army and for all
the extravaganza of government
which we see about us on every side,
| say that all these would be laid to
one side until we had made decent
and fair provision for these honored
patriots of the sixties.
Mr.. Speaker, in justice to the SOL
der and to the soldiers widow, who
sacrificed their everything for us that
we might be free and enlightened
and a united people with a country
in which there is neither north nor
south nor east nor west, and but one
flag, l hope that we may pass this
and other needed pension bills, and
thus give to these worthy and deserv-
ing ones that to which they are so
fully entitled
IAn