Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1912 — PRESENTS VIEW ABOUT PENSION LEGISLATION. [ARTICLE]

PRESENTS VIEW ABOUT PENSION LEGISLATION.

White County Veteran Writes About Condition of Old Soldiers and Ably Presents Cause. The editor of The Republican has personal acquaintance with the authorof the following letter which was printed in the Monticello Herald of Jan. 18th, and knows him to be a man of ability, integrity, and industry. That the injury to which he refers has limited his earning capacity ever since he received it fighting “in his country’s cause” there is no doubt, and his able presentation of the case should .have influence with legislation. The United States has been fairly liberal with its soldiers, and now that they are in their decline, their needs should be met with increased liberality. That 95 per cent the “old soldiers” are not only deserving but anxious for the passage of the Sulloway bill or some measure that will insure them a pension of dollar a day is certain. That they, were led to ex-, pect it during the last campaign is also certain and that it would be unfair and dishonest not to pass this measure at this session of the national congress is likewise true. The matter of increased revenue to meet the demand of Increased pensions is the only one worthy of consideration adversely, and the nation should as cheerfully make the debt to pay its loyal sons as it contracted the debt that paid the expenses of the civil war. Hehe is the article published in the Herald: Editor Herald: The ever recurrent four years pension bill has come around again to enliven the campaign of 1912. An extract from the Indianapolis News says on the subject of pensions: “We have trained hundreds of thousands of our citizens to look to the government for support, among them many wholly able to support themselves, and as a result have lost sight of the fact that the Pension Roll should be a roll of honor.* I left thi county on Aug. 12, 1862, for the front with 100 of my comrades, all yount men. To-day, so far as I know, I am the youngest survivor, and I am in my 69th year. Had I looked to the governtaent for support I would have been left. After an immense amount of red tape the government contributes a pittance to the support of myself and family. I get sl4 per month for a severe gun shot wound. Should I go out and offer my services what rate of compensation would I command? Those with whom I have discussed the question and who are employers of help say 50 cents per day and board would be the limit, while they would give employment to active young men at $2 q. day and board, all due to inability of the old soldier to do a good day’s work. As to the ten Massachusetts soldiers who recently petitioned their U. S. Senator not to approve the Sulloway bill on the ground that they were getting all the pension they deserved, I have the highest regard for their patriotism, but the sentiment expressed is, that because they are getting all they want (and perhaps all they can get) they don’t want any of their comrades to get any more. Should the Sulloway bill become a law, the only course for such extremely patriotic old fellows to pursue is to refrain from making application for their part, as it is the policy of this government not to pay pensions unless applied for in proper form. In this township (Prairie) there is at the present time forty old soldiers whose combined, ages are 2,810 years, or an average of 70 years and. 3 months. Some people think we old fellows have a pretty good time on sl4 to $24 per month. Here is a comparison. Take a soldier who is 70 years old and who from inflrmaties and old age is incapacitated for manual labor. He gets sl4 a month in pension, his entire income making $l6B. If he pays the modest sura of SIOO a year rent he has S6B for the support of himself and family if he doesn’t pay any taxes. If the same man has $5,000 in the bank his total income would be S2OO interest and $l6B pension, making $368. We pay in taxes in Brookston $3.36 on the SIOO valuation; therefore the taxes on $5,000 would be sl68 — just the amount of his pension. If he owned his property the taxes would be S3O more, leaving his balance $l7O for his expenditures. If he rented property he would save the S3O taxes "but be out SIOO for rent, leaving him net SIOO. Statistics show that of the total enlistment of 2,278,588 men, 118,000 were over 21 years old, forming but a fractional part of the enormous total. A milliom of this total were between 18 and 21 years old, about 300,000 were 18, about 600,000 were 17, 100,000 were>l4 to 15, 300 were 13, 225 were 12y 38 were 11, and SJL itor* only 10 years of age at the time of enlistment The Surgeon General reported killedin battle 35,408, died of wounds 49,205, died of disease 187,216, making a total of 270,829. Thia does not Include those who died

la. cebel prisons and those otherwise unaccounted for, which no doubl would make the total fatalities largely in excess of 300,000, the appalling price palcT in human life for our boasted liberty. W. H. SLEETH, Late Co. D, 12th Ind. Brookston, Ind., Jan. 14th, 1912.