The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1857-01-17
Now, ask the Secretary to read the letter.
The Secretary read IL "A follows:


the the report OF my predecessor Of
December 1885, respecting the amount Of money necessary
the tabular statement printed By order Of the Senate with
said report have the honor 10 inform you that the comma
simply mistake. The statement among many
Of the unofficial suggestions made to the department upon
endorsed but inadvertently copied with the off,
ca report of the Commissioner and communicated to the
the public printer had printed the endorsement referred
to- this explanation would have been unnecessary As it u.s.
must very clear that the has no
whatever with the report it different data, and
presents entirely different result
servant, GEORGE q. WHITING,
Commissioner.
| Hon. G. O. CLAY, Jr., United States Senate.
Mr. CLAY Now, recur to the really authentic inor-
nation which have from the department. in order TO
ascertain the that viii probably be disbursed I'M
der this bill recur TO the report OF the Commissioner
of Pensions But permit me to that there is such
striking coincidence ia the calculations of this spurious
table which has been osted us and the calculations OF
committee of the Senate and of the House. that can
but fancy discover the voice of Jacob and the hand OF
| Esaup in both OF them.
The Commissioner of Pensions takes up the estimate OF
these committees and shows that their bases are
wrong and that their conclusions wrong He proves
my mind most concusvely and beyond doubt that the
amount requisite to pay only two classes OF pensioners
under this bill will exceed by double the amount estimated
by the committee. In the first place he shows that the
committee fault in estimating the number who will
probably enjoy this bounty. The COMMITTEES exclude one
half of all the revolutionary soldiers for these reasons
/ They say:
can allowance of onebaf is made for the officers who
died within the ten years covered by the Communication al
ready received and for those who died without issue or
without any in the degrees mentioned and also for
claims which otter accounts may not be presented or
properly established"
i The Commissioner says this allowance is entirely
ctura but the average age of the officers at the close OF
the war about thirty years, This comparatively
short age he says renders more probable their own sur
worship beyond the ten years covered by the oommuta
ton received under the resolution OF March, l7s3 He
says that according to the estimates in bills OF mortality
adopted by life insurance companies the average expect
ancy of life that period would be twentyeight years
He then shows by practical illustration, that that estimate
is not far from wrong because he takes single State IN
which there hundred and three revolutionary ON
GERS, of which he says;
m have been furnished with minutes from very reliable
source showing the times Of death OF officers Of
the State on account of whose services claims w De
made under this BILL If it becomes law They constitute
nearly onehaf of all the officers of that State who re-
ceived communication under the original resolutions cal
culaon from those minutes makes average life, after the
time their hafpay commenced OF very near twenty hve
years"
Hence while the committee take as their basis of calcu-
aton average period of years. the Commissioner OF
Pensions fortified by the authority of the feinsurance Of
fees and their bills OF mortality aud by actual iusa-
ton in the lives of the officers of the revolution takes m
teen years average period making difference, OF
course at once of fifty per cent in the calculation.
Let go further The mmissioner calls attention
to the remarkable fact illustrative of the exceeding ongev
ity of the revolutionary days. that, late
the 18th OF May 1929 orve years after the close OF the
revolutionary war there four hundred officers who
1925 about oneh of the entire number who took the
commptaon The Commissioner says four hundred, but
on inspecting the rolls of the office find that the real
number four hundred and thirteen To show as
think beyond doubt the OF the eomniss he makes
neutrality-suspicious. the probability that each OF
these officers lin consequence of his extreme longevity and
his close approximation to this day. left widow de-
scendantof the entire amount requisite TO that class
alone who derived full pay under the act of May To- 1928
shows that to discharge The claims OF four hundred OF
them will require the sum of S5425 200 Suppose only
twohirds apply through their ayes then will
take S36l60oo lquidat the claims of two-thrds Of
only oue-6th OF the officers who took the computation
But only onehalf of them should have descendants
Representatives within the degrees specified within the bill
claim this bounty, they win get So 7l26lO-more than
is estimated by the Committee Revolutionary Claims
in the House of Representatives requisite TO pay all
classes, and quite much is estimated by my honor
able friend from South Carolina as requisite to pay all
T classes.
might advert to other points in this report corrobo-
rating and fortying the position VIII c assume that the
committee Mt least hundred per cent below the
real amount which will be required TO discharge these
claims; put will not elaborate. | will call attention,
however TO one fact that IN all these calculations of the
committee they only embrace single cIessthose who
will claim the bountes of the government under the fTst
second and third sections of the bill They omit any es
nate for those who may under the fourth section,
beHg toe widows and children of officers whether in the
continental line or IN the volunteers who died in the
vice and make no estimate OF that preemnslIy nerito-
rous class of surgeons mates and their descendants The
Commissioner of Pensions makes estimate for the de-
scendan of those who fell 10 the battles of the revolution
but ns eae for the other classes shows an amount OF
Mr. President let me ask Of seusrs recur to that in
stance the history of the estimates of any department OF
this government based hypothesis where the
Inmates have not fallen short of the actually demanded
When we pHssng at every session. deficiency bills TO
supply demands exceeding the estimates of the departments
and when assured by former Commissioners OF Pen
sions that frauds to large amount existthat perhaps
onesxh Of all the pensions which have been granted
were fraudnently obtaned--how rest with any
surance upon the estimate of the Comns9ioner him
self How rely with confidence bis SUPERSTITION
that it will not require exceeding S530000O2 Sir If this
bill pass would hazard whatever repu alton may aspire
20 as political prophet that it will require fifty per cent
more tnan % estimated by the Commissioner. beev
we may safely say il E take 81 500 600 order to qu
date the claims which will be proGereJ for should
remember that will require very little proof In order
the commutaton the rolls of the Treasury Depart
men There Is difficulty in ascertaning who they
were. Then, again. there large number who have
enjoyed pensions under special acts under the act Of
1875 the set of 1928 which embraced those who had
served throughout the war Hence there will be diff
Guilty in identifying the officer All the proof requisite will
be his DEATH and the relationship of the claimant
Il And Mr. President to whom these be paid
Not the officers believe there is solitary surv-
among them earth They have all descended to
their graves These real objects of nations gratitude and
nations bounty beyond the reach of pecuniary
ward We can only honor their memories To whom
these testimonials of honor and Of gratitude go2 To
those who have rendered any service who have in
Cured peril who have endured suffering pgiyar
tions, but who treated substituted succedaneous
benefcaries of bounty designed for their ancestors
These, not for their nobe deeds and daring hgh"-not
for any pre-eminen perinot for their exalted virtue
but for the accident of BIRTH are to be created eee
mosynary families by inheritance These perhaps UNI
worthy descendants of worthy sires dhonorng their an