The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-04-03
AMEND THE PENSION LAW.

n a4t
man. like good Legislature, is L
amend acts passed by itself or IT
predecessors, when it is discovered
thai a law is not dealing alike fairl.
with All citizens of the State. Such
!. condition OF unfair dealing is mani
festly true O. part Of the law EN-
braced in chapter 5.sSa, page - OF
the acts of 1909, known as the last
pension act. The writer is sorry to
have to speak of defect or an UNI
fairness in any of Floridas pension
laws. They were all intended to be
Just and generous toward all pension
appli,ants and even TO assist them In
all reasonable ways to fill the blanks
necessary in the case. Still, the time
limitation of that act must be amend
ed, if our State is to continue in the
mont rank among other States as a
pension provided for old, infirm,
faithful and loyal Confederate SOL
dies and their equally faithful AMI
loyal surviving widows.
AS the law now stands no soldier
or his widlw who immigrated into
The State ST: g 1895 can ever obtain
Il pension.
The 1907 act. chapter $500, page
-, was more generous than this. The
time limit in that act was residence
in the state of ten years prior to the
filing of an application. OF course.
these time limits do not affect native
born citizens, or early immigrants.
They are. however. absolute bars To
all who immigrated in the the State
since 1895. And yet no State has been
and still is opening wider or more
doors to the immigrant
than Florida. AS long as the act OF
1907 was operative. long as was the
time limit. there was hope to the eli
gible that, if life should be prolonged
ten years, a pension might be gotten
TO buy food and clothing for the few
remaining years. The act
Of 1909 cut this hope entirely off,
and casts "A shadow of despair in
front of every tOttering step.
For what State did these soldiers
fight and suffer in the ranks of the
several Confederate armies, and their
home? For every State alike within
the borders of the C0nfederacy. Tn"
writer knows that the time limitation
Of residence. namely. since 1895, did
not get into the act of 1909, by mar
rOwness of views, as the question In
the last sentence would suggest.
There must have been some error or
oversight in the writing or printing
II the bill
The days of voluntary immigration
Of the old people are past. They
now 60 only where they are taken by
those upon whom they are dependent.
The number excluded from the gen.
erous benefaction of the State, name.
", residents since 1895, is now small,
but still there are few most worthy
widows yet left For these few noble
examples of Confederate wOmanhood,
he writer pleads.
Is 1t necessary that the length of
'esidence be as great as ten years as
n the act of 1907? Would not fiv,
ears be long enough Or, still bet
er, three years? There is at least
me State whose time limit has never
'cen more than three years. There
nay be Others. A suspicion that the
INIT was too short has never beer
's,ild'tu Ill tndl STATE.
The true and loyal service TO the
'onfederacy by the soldier is the core
# the question. The service that
made him eligible during his lifc
makes his widow eligible on his
lcath.
The act cannot be amended now
Until the spring of 1913. Let the
mendment be the first act passed by
he next Legislature. approved and
published throughout the
state. 1t will be too late for some.
nut. nevertheless. a still smaller few
u these rapidly vanishing widows
will die happier to know that they /,
we're remembered by the Legislature.
The Confederate soldiers of the |
'tate will be enabled to vote more |
ntelligently at the approaching pri-
nary. If they can hear from legisla-
I've candidates before that day. This
question is too serious to be neg
ected. VA uOOD
Barlow. Fla.