St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1916-03-25
THE ST. TAMMANY FARMER. MARCH. Is 1919

AMMANY FARMER.
requiring sths widow to show he
husband 3 death TO be the result O
his Army or Navy service.
You unpardonably presume upo1
your authority when you undertake
to pension widows who have not
the slightest semblance OF q righ
ito such gratuities. To pension wild
lows whose husbands, II living. coult
mot legitimately secure q bounty /:
mot only untenable but. moreover
|repugnant to my sense Of justice.
Under this act a widow withou
means OF support other than her owr
daily labor and an actual net in
come OF $3.50 q year 10 entitled to !:
pension. She may possess in hel
own rights property worth thousand:
OF dollars, yet under this act she
would be pensionable unless her ne1
income was over and above $3.50, ex
elusive Of her own earnings. This Il
Ia travesty on justice.
Think of the thousands of down
trodden and t0iling widows through
out this broad land upon whose frai
and weary shoulders In part falls
the burden of carrying our favorite
benefciaries and political underlings
No pulse OF pity beats in your bosom
for these widows. OF course. they
do not know that this great system
makes 1t infinitely more arduous fol
them to keep the wolf from thei.
novels. But the fathers, brothers
uncles, and other male relatives o.
the pensionable class of widows
know how assiduously we labor te
liberalize this system. and here lies
the mischief.
1t is inconceiveable to me haw we
can return to our respective districts
and look our constituents In the face
without the flush of shame coursing
to our hypocriticar prysiognomies
We are deliberately trifiing with the
rights Of the American people. We
preach economy; We excoriate ex-
travagance; We denounce pork bar
rels: We protest against this expend-
iture and that expenditure; but these
oubursts Of oratory are simply for
the DEDICATION Of the boys back
home. While we are espousing eco
nomy We are devising schemes to
unbolt the doors of the Treasury In
order that it may be more accessible
to those who have designs thereon
These innumerable acts passed this
session alone shall add thousands OF
dollars to our annual pay roll, and
In all human likelihood long after We
return to our respective districts
there to permanently remain, our
constituents will be called upon to
meet these charges that we here SO
complacently create.
Now, again, few days ago We
passed an act whereby we propose to
pension all persons who fought
against Indian depredations, or,
rather, those who can show by oral
evidence that they were on the war
oath with the Indians for at least
three months or during the life of
any given campaign.
II such an act as this does not
stimulate fraud, fraud Ia q myth.
Everey human being who ever gazed
upon or encountered a redskin OF
the warpath In those days will ex.
periencs little difficulty in showing
a service OF three months, and
thereby establish q pensionable
status.
Under the provisions of this act
we stipulate to grant pensions to the
surviving officers and enlisted men
and their widows of the Texas volun-
teer swho served 80 days in the de-
tense of the frontier OF that State
against Indian depredations and t.
the surviving officers and enlisted
men. including the militia and vol
unteers of the military service OF. the
United States who have reached the
age of 81 years and who have served
for 30 days in the campaign in south
ern Oregon and Idaho and In the
northern parts OF California and Ne
yada; the campaign against SiOug
in Minnesota and the Dafotas; the
against the Sioux In
Wyoming; the campaign against the
Araphoes. Kiowas, and
in Kansas, Colorado, and
Indian Territory; the Modoc War
the campaign against the Apaches in
Arizona; the campaign against the
Commences, and Cheyennes
in Kansas. Colorado. Texas, Indian
Territory, and New Mexico; the cam
paigu against the Northern Cheyen- :,
mes and the Sioux In 1851; the
Neg Perez War: the Bannock War;
the campaign against the Northern
in 1878-79; the Black
Hawk War in Utah: the campaign
against the Ute Indians In Colorado
and Utah: the campaign against the
Apache Indians in Arizona; the cam
3aign against the Northern Cheyen-
south Dakota.
We have pensioned every person
who has been In anywise suspected
II having the slightest connection
With any Of the wars in which this |
participated. Now, It
. our determination to pension all |
hose who can show by oral evidence |
hat they participated in any OF the |
against the Indians.
OF course the life Of some of these
han a modern prize fight, SO we very
ldroitly overcome this obstacle by
not those alone who serv-
ID 80 days but those also who served
Turing the entire period of any orr
ampaign. Irrespective Of its dura-
ion. There can be no doubt but
What the devil knew not what he die
then he made man polite.