The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-01-15
A PENSIONERS DIFFICULTIES.

The Tribune has recently had some
observations in regard to pensions
which have, as we believe, received
the appreciation of the thinking public.
| Partly in support of our position ana
partly to show the practical diflicnl.
| ties which pensioners sometimes face
| in the drawing Of what is due them,
we give place to the following letter
| from a former Union soldier, who
! lives in what is known as the Deep
Creek country, and whose recital is
recital Of facts;
Editor Tribune ;-Apropos to your re-
cent editorials regarding the service pen
sion bill now before Congress, the writer
like yourself--gave over four years OF his
| time In active field service. His view
comedies with your Interpretation $ TO
what service pension" should be. The
man who would not serve his country
until after being drafted, the man who
entered the army for the sake of tho
bounty and the convict who volunteered
for tho sake OF securing his release from
prison, as also the man whose service
was so short that health could not be i'm
paired should not be placed upon the
same footing with soldiers who faced the
cannons mouth. the namc of battle and
the life destroying march and siege, the
water soaked swamps and malarious
roisons of the southern country. A dis
tinction should be made. This great
American Government can never rclnstate
the service soldiers health. Dollars and
cents cut but little figure when the life
OF the nation is endangered. An appre-
ciative Congress should bcstow its re-
wards proportionatcly to the service reu-
6ered
While upon this subject it seems not
out of place to refer TO the present eX
pensive system OF paying quarterly pom
SiopS. not only rNOcNSigc to the govern
ment. but to the pepSioncr as we'll. In
almost all of the rural districts 1T actually
Of his quarterly pension to secure it from
the Pension Agent. In sparscly settled
districts where the pensiouer has to de-
pend upon Fourth Class Postmastcrs TO
verify his voucher much as two, four
snd six days time il required 10 visit the
postmaster for the sole purpose Of being
personally present 10 sign his name 10 his
boucher. and then " the least discrepancy
bccurs the voucher is returned for cor
cctlon. A case Of this character occurred
,st month which Is here described as
cling ono Of hundreds o, Of similar Sriey;
he year: The soldier resides fifteen miles
fom Currie. Nevada, making the journey
trtv miles. going and coming. At the
od journey over the high mountain range
ws made, only TO find his voucher re-
tuned for the reason that the post
MISTER used an indehble pencil in filling
TN blanks instead Of ink. A second time
tn voucher was sent to the San Fran
cIso Pension Agent. In last evenings
NAL the voucher came back second
TIM for the very nimsy reason that the
postmaster failed 10 add the words
Earth Glass" 10 the word "postmastc
Fo, the third time this old soldiers
vonhcr goes back to the San Francisco
aselt. Thus this old soldier, over 10
yeas OF age. has been forced TO travel
over the high mountain range six times.
In ridwnter. through snow storms and
Loo 1,,,, -;,r- tote 5tcfo r,f mill
for he sole purpose OF receiving a pen
sion draft OF $50. He has expended sl2
for meals, six DAYS time; has been de-
prive of using his money for holiday
purposes. as he desired TO do, and yet
has 10 assurance that his voucher will
| he accepted when ii reaches San Fran
to pa transportation expenses the fun
amount or his draft would have boon cX
pepde, by this time with an cntailinent
Of deb when the fourth journey has been
made.
| Your correspondent knows this state
mcnt he correct The soldier in ques
ton Whose name can he Eiven) has been
receiving his pension from the Curric
postoffi,c for wears. and the fact of its
| being fourth class postofice Is well
| known tho San Francisco agent The
bin before Congress to abolish this system
| OF cNpeise should become law al once
and unDuhtedly would II our members
Of Cougess were properly advised upon
the subject
There has been a good deal Of pres
sure for some years to abolish all of
the penson agencies and pay the pen
sioners direct from Washington. IF such
change would bring relief from diff
culties of the sort enumerated by our
correspondent as above, eliminating
technIcalihes and paving attention only
to the main point that the pcnSloncr IS
entitled to his money without undue
particularly about the dottiug Of the
CPS and the crossing Of the st
it would be good thing all around,
| We know Of case In line with the
| above recital where a peusioner had
his quarterly application returned to
/ bin because notary public who took
the peusioner 8 jurat placed bis seal
/ few liucs below the particular place
| designated in the blank for that seal
! to appear. This was held 10 be fatal
error, and the pensioper had to wait
until new papers could be executed and
sent forward to the pension ageut be-
fore he could get his money, Things
OF that kind exasporste the pensioners
aud are just subjects of actual COM
| plant.
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