The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-03-01
fail To PASS
PENSION ACT
Senator Bradley Voted
Against Measure.
Will Not Please the Old Soldiers,
Who May Feel
Hurt.

Washington, d. c., Feb. 12.-The Sher-
wood Pension bill, which provides a
pension at the rate of one dollar a day
for every soldier of the Civil or Mexican
war who served one year or longer, with
proportionate increases for those who
served less than a year, met it's death
today In the Senate Committee on Pen
sions.
The bill passed the House on Decembe
IL, last and the committee on pensions
Of the Senate has been bombarded with
letters asking that it be reported favora-
bly, to the Senate.
BY vote of ten to four the senate CON
mittee killed the Sherwood bill.
BRADLEY AGAINST 1T.
The ten who voted against reporting 1t
were Senators McCumber. Of North Da-
kota; Burnham of New Hampshire
Smoot, of Utah; Dupont, of Delaware;
! Bradley, of Kentucky; Poindexter, of
Washington; Taylor, of Tennessee; Gore,
of Oklahoma; Bryan. of Florida. and
Pomerene, of Ohio. Voting for it were
Curtis and Brown, Republicans; Shivey
and johnson, Democrats.
The majority of the committee de-
cided to report favorably to the Senate
of Utah, which is not likely to be re-
ceived with any degree OF enthusiasm
by the old soldiers. Senator Bradley
was one of those who voted TO report
the Smoot substitute.
Some of Senator Dradley's friends are
inclined to fear that he made one of the
serious mistakes of his political career
when he voted to reject the dollar a day
bill. There have been signs of late that
the Kentucky Senator has not been
playing politics in his old time form
which caused him to be known years
ago as one of the most sagacious and
ablest politicians in the country.
Mistake No. 1 was chalked up against
him when he gave out last Saturday
through Democratic newspaper cham
nels. a list of chosen administration
leaders, in kentucky.
Naturally this publication is calcu-
very good Republicans in every congress
sional district who do not find their
names in the list Of chosen ones.
MISTAKE NUMBER TWO.
| Mistake Number Two, in the judgment
OF politicians at the capital, was the
vote today against the Sherwood Bill.
In the vote Senator Bradley. is credited
with acting in harmony with the wishes
Of President Taft.
There are many old soldiers in Ken
lucky who probably will not be disposed
to fall In line very rapidly under Sena-
tor Bradlcy's leadership for the selection
Of Taft delegates when they learn that
there is no longer any hope for dollar
a day pension.
The Sherwood bill. according to the
Pension Bureaus estimate, would have
increased the pensions of the old soldier
SIS 600 a year. The Smoot sub
stitute. adopted today. according to the
Bureaus estimate. would bring an
increase Of s24,ll2.57s a year.
WILL DIsAPPOINT SOLDIERS.
One of the features of the Smoot hill
that is likely to disappoint the old
soldiers Is that a veteran will not have
a chance to draw dollar a day pension
until he becomes seventyfive years old
and unless he served three years or over
In the war. According to the pension
bureau there are only 1898 of that
class in the entire country.
Democratic members Of Congress
from Kentucky and elsewhere are re-
joicing over the Senate Committees
action. as they say 1t will be grist to
their mill. They are disposed to believe
that the average veteran will not be a
bit joyful over the prospect that he has
to wait until he is seventy-five years old
before he can draw a pension Of a dollar
a day and that unless he served three
years he can never draw that amount.
The First BetraVal of the PeOule.