Show I f PENSIONS AND THE NEW ADMINISTRATION AD-MINISTRATION The President has recommended as Commissioner of Pensions Mr John C Black of Illinois While Mr Black may not be prominent in public affairs he cannot fail to be an improvement upon the outgoing commissioner k When Mr Garfield entered upon his duties as Chief Magistrate the Pension Bureau was under the management of Mr Bently That he was a competent officer and had brought order out of chaos was admitted by all But fitness and fidelity availed him not Though never idle and always attending to his business ho was not a worker Ins Colonel Dudley was found a worker and his party was the party whose interest was one with the workingman working-man He did not disappoint his superiors and he almost magnified his position In proof of this he found his bureau run hung on the stingy sum of five hundred thousand dollars a year and before he resigned its control he had made its expenses ex-penses respectable by raising them to near three millions But he was more magnanimous yet In September 1884 he resigned his office the resignation to take effect November 10th and unsel iishly worked his country for his coun trys good But it was loves labor lost During the campaign of last year the soldier vote was relied upon to card all before it and its enthusiasm was to drown the cries for reform economy in public affairs and the interest of the general welfare before party welfare The reliance for the end relied upon was disappointing It was said that the Northern soldier who had fought for and saved his country was on the contingency contin-gency of the Democrats coming into power tobo put aside and in his place would be put the Southern brigadier Mr Laniar had always been tons to-ns this aP foal brigadier and upon tlie is ues of the war was declared to be unreconstructed unrecon-structed Was he to be one of those to be given office 5 What was his position Upon his return to Congress he delivered an eulogy upon Chafles Sumner but then recently deceased in the House of Rep fu rcsentives March 14th ° 1874 ° The following extract from that speech shows what were his sentiments and his appreciation ap-preciation of the result of the war U Let us hope that future generations when theyremember deedspf beroism and do r tide t done on both sidesJ3rilLspeak not of Northern prowess or Southern courage but of the heroism fortitude and courage of Americans in a war ofjudeas a war in which each section sec-tion signalized its consecration to the principles as each understood them of American liberty of the constitution received re-ceived from their fathers Has this sentiment been losfsiglit of since the day it was delivered A Washington Wash-ington special to the New York Post says tuat Secretary Lamar bas from the first insisted in-sisted upon having a Union soldier placed n charge of the Pension Bureau He sOC I s-OC TN I rli 1 A3 r H V l O r < f L 1 as veil aFj general Logan tlldt Upon the pension list there are noted but Union names and he has no desire to add to i tdt those who were with Kim His insists jxnce upon insist-s the posion < being r filJ dot bjj sucli W man evinces a just and ° delicate appreciation of i the whole situation and his own prominence Nor have we any fear that he will pander 1 to the demagogic cry for more The J pension list is already swelled to a size 1 flint if it continue to swell will rival and exceed the national debt Those desiring 4 I to be placed upon itjiKM Marc as much without a cause as the invalid lady who enquired of her physician hat were thee the-e complaints for a seanoyage t Iv and residence abroad To the soldier who was maimed to the widow who lost her support to the aged parents who gave their sons for their countrys weal a pension competent and always but to those who are idle and wanting from their idleness and incompetence incompe-tence t to the Thenardiers who profited so well by the war and who never tire of boasting their worth and prowess nothing We cannot expect even a Democratic administration to do all things perfectly but we shall see it doing its best in all things and ever striving to do better |