The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1915-07-01
S. R. BLANTON WRITES
INTERESTING LETTER
Calls Attention to Pension Frauds.
Speaks Well Of Congressman
Crisp

Mr.. Editor:
For fact didn't think | would
write you any more, but an edl.
torial note in your paper, which
have clipped and enclose herewith
causes me to want to hit 'em just
one more parting lick before ]
leave. am due in st. Pet~e,
MINI, on Thursday, July LIST,
and may never get back. So give
me, pray thee, just one more
space" lest we forget.
You speak about the nations
pension bill Of $40, 100000. All
the world knows that millions Of
this is Graft pu re and simple, and
Congress is to blame for it. For
two weeks | have had desk room in
a lawyers office. This firm Of
lawyers have made hundreds Of
thousand Of dollars getting pen
sions for Union soldiers; the old
gentleman died some years back;
his son is now travelling in Europe,
and the office, which once employ
ed as many as fifty people-clerks,
stenographers, typtwriters, etc, is
now held down by just one attorney.
He is an awful nice fellow and OPP
ened his heart to me right away.
He tells me that it is practically inn
possible to get a pension bill
through the pension office route;
he says he has quit trying, except
for Spanish American war veterans.
He says the only way to get claims
through now is to have private"
bill put through by Congress; those
claims, he says are never investi
gated, and go through like creased
electricity. He tells me, also, that
the Union veterans are dying now
at the rate of 100 a day. And yet
the pension bill stands at the
$4,000, 900 mark. But let me
tell you Of another pension 5ill----
of a hundred million more which
is rapidly maturing.
All the Civil Service employees
and there are 10000 Of them work.
ing for the government-were re-
presented in national convention
held in this city few weeks ago.
They passed resolutions demanding
that the next session Of Congress
pass a law retiring them at a certain
age on a pension for life. And
they are going to get it too. They
are organized into an iron clad oath
bound political pact, and have
paid lobbyists at the Capitol every
day that Congress is in session, and
they let Senators and Representa-
tives know that unless they get what
they want, there will be some
thing doing" in their respective
districts and that the said Senator
or Representative may not come
back here to walk these marble
halls and to strut down Connect
icut avenue and circle around with
Washington's smart SET" And
they---the Senators and Represen-
tatives---had rather die and go to
hi than not to come back.
do not begrudge a pension to
an old soldier who actually faced
the bullets on the field of battle;
oh, no. He's welcome to every
cent he gets so far as I am con-
cerned. But when it comes to
pensioning agrafter---when it comes
to burdening the toilers now and
the toilers yet unborn---to pension
employees who are oyer-paid and
underworked---one third of whom
might be and should be removed
from payroll, seeing that they are
filling political iob-lot positions
created for political influences,
then my very soul rebels and |
want to put on war paint and go
on the war path.
One other note of warming and
| am done.
| mentioned the District Of Col
umbia graft in former letter.
Whom conOress rneefs in December