The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-02-27
PURGE THE PENSION ROLL!

Senator Scott Of West Virginia is
| trying TO get vote in the Senate on
the Sulloway pension bill, He is press
ing for vote on this bill this week,
and it is possible that he may get it, I,
the chances, however, are the other
way The Senate will be much pressed
for time on routine matters in the few
days that remain TO it, and the fear
of monstrous swelling of the pension
appropriation by reason of the passage
of this bill is likely 10 prevent vote.
Senators oppose the bill because il
would swell the annual appropriation,
as they claim, 10 upward OF S200,000,-
600, and if il would do that. there is
certainly reason for the opposition. At
he same time. we confess that we do
not understand why the legitimate pen
sious should cost so tremendously as
they do ON any fair, honest basis. The
World s Work magazine has recently
been publishing an eliminating series
Of articles on the 'sPension Carnival, -
in which it is shown that fraud, impos.
ture. and various forms of Euavcry
have been successfully worked in swell.
ing the pension roll. which is thereby
degraded from roll of honor. as it
ought 10 be and was meant TO be, TO
a gratuity in a large degree to those
that have deserved nothing al the hands
OF the Government The last number
Of that magazine was devoted To the
matter of exposing the reckless work
of Congress in correcting records
OF dcsertcrs, bounty-iiumpcrs, and per
sous dismissed from the service during
the Civil War on conviction of crime
by military courts. These undeserving
persons. the presence of whose names
on the pension roll is an offense to tho
honorable, high.miuded soldier. have
had their records corrected (actual.
ly falsfed) by acts Of Congress by the
thousands. II is openly known and in
fact is officially stated in the reports
accompanying bills carrying this sort
of falsified corrections that the per.
sons were deserters, bounty-iVnpcrs, or
military criminals. These disabilities
arc removed by act Of Congress, and
ity which their own acts or the tribunals
which sat upon their cases, fixed upon
them, and n pensionable status is there
by unworthily created for them. IL
is difficut to consider with patience.
procedure Of this sort, and one would
suppose that member of Congress
would undertake "A case like that with
the greatest reluctance
The Sulloway pension bill does not
grant any princely pension to any Of
the old soldiers. but 10y reason Of the
fact that the appropriations are al
ready SO very large for pension pur-
poses, the financial objection to pass
ing that bill is weighty. It seems TO
us, however, that the pension list
should be Thoroughly revised, and that
the time has come now TO perform that
work. When it comes 10 the point that
the strongest argument that can he
used against fair pension 10 the old
men who, in their youth, served their
country, is that the roll would be
swcllcd 10 an Impracticablo burden it
is surely time that an inquiry were
made as to the status Of the hundreds
of thousands of persons whose names
are already upon that roll with view
of finding whether they really belong
there Clearly every dcsertcr, bounty
Jumper, every one convicted Of crime
and drummcd out Of the service, should
have his name taken from that roll
Every one whose name is there by vir-
tue Of fraud and imposturc, false i'm
pcrsonation, or bogus claim of any
sort, should have his name removed.
This is d movement that il seems TO
us the veteran soldiers of the war would
themselves enthusiastically support.
There rs no reason why they should be
shut off in their old age from a fair
pension merely because the roll is
swelled by bogus or unfit names to such
an extent rs 10 exclude them from
what the Government would otherwise
willingly pay them. A general and
thorough revision of the pension roll,
| without regard TO special acts of Con
| prcSH. ia thp d,u,and ,xT fI,, i;,,,. .,.I