The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-05-08
The Soldiers Fair of 1866,
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES.

Ihe trustees WIN Ille uuJy OF dis.
bursting the funds realized from the Fail
held in this city in April, 1866, respectfully
submit the following report.
The duty imposed ON them, though in SOM
respects grateful, was one of considerable
delicacy and of larger responsibility. Ii
| taking upon themselves the trust, they wert
| fully aware that errors of Judgment were Ii
| able to occur, and that whatever mode of dis
tribution should be adopted, their acts would
| be questioned by some, and possibly blamed
by others. The trustees therefore had a
| double motive for giving to the subject care
| full attention and deliberation.
In the outset there was some diversity o
opinion, as well there might be, as to what
course or system of distribution should be
adopted. At first it seemed best to appoint
some suitable person to take special charge
of the matter, and to make him an agent
to supply the beneficaries from time to time
with articles of common necessity instead OF
paying them their installments in money.
But this plan involved personal canvass of the
city, a prying into the family affairs Of all
those who were entitled to the benefit of the
fund which in many cases would be odous,
and also compensation to such agent for his
services. There was no special haste demand
ed in determining the plan of operations for
the reason that nearly all the benefciaries had
lately received their March installments of
pensions by means of which their Immediate
wants were supplied.
But in July, when the terrible fire of the 4th
rendered homeless many of those entitled to
share the fund.- the trustees were compelled
to act in some way, or prove recreant to their
trust and turn deaf ear to the claims of hu-
manity. In this crisis, for the purposes of i'm
mediate relief, one of the trustees was author
lied by his colleagues to disburse a moderate
portion of the fund, not exceeding thirty dol
lars to the head of each family entitled there
to, and hve thousand dollars was turned over
to him for that purpose, leaving the general
plan OF distribution to be yet determined
upon.
This condition of things, however, rendered
it necessary to decide what classes of persons
were entitled to share in the distribution. The
solution of this question depended, of course,
upon the prior one, what persons were con-
templated by the friends of the Fair, who so
liberally contributed to its success. The pri-
mary object of the enterprise, it will be re-
membered, was to aid widows and orphans,
then resident in this city, whose husbands or
fathers had lost their lives in the service.
While there were, and still are, cases of dis
charged soldiers, or of widows and orphans of
such, who are worthy objects of charity, the
trustees felt compelled to confine their bene-
factions to the specific cases contemplated by
the friends of the Fair, adding thereto those
widowed mothers whose sons, upon whom they
were dependent, lost their lives in the service
A list of such was therefore obtained as per-
feet as was practicable, and, as soon after the
fire as was convenient, the sum of thirty dol
lars was paid out to widows and guardians OF
orphans embraced in the foregoing category.
The relief thus afforded, as already intimated,
was furnished in midsummer. Little more
was done i'll the way of distribution until
about Christmas, and for the reason that on
the 4th of September another installment of
pension was payable, and it was deemed for
the interest of those concerned to discrimin-
ate as to time so as to make the Fair fund OF
still greater value to them when in many cases
they had nothing else to rely on.
In December it was found that the wants of
those entitled to the benefits of our trust were
more pressing than they had been, and as the
resources of individual charity upon which
large drafts had been made in consequence Of
the fire began to dry up, it was thought that a
liberal allowance ought to be made to enable
| the benefciaries to provide for the unusual ex-
| igencies of the winter. Then came the ques-
ton as to the proper basis of eqlalizing the
charity among those entitled to share it, The
problem was delicate one from the fact, that
if the sums distributed were to be measured by
the poverty of the recipients, injustice would
be done in those cases where a commendable
Sense of delicacy forebore to reveal it to the
trustees, and difficult one of execution if at
tempted to be exercised at their discretion. II
seemed therefore desirable to fix upon some
general rule or principle, and thereby do jus.
tice to all, and at the same time exonerate the
trustees from even a suspicion of favoritism
Fortunately for all concerned Congress had
| in our pension system, ado+tcd a theory o
distribution of the pension fund, which wa;
believed to be as Just and equal any that
could be devised, and that, with slight devia.
tion the trustees adopted.
In order that the noble women of Portland
whose hearts and hands were so prominent in
raising this fund, may better understand the
basis of distribution thus suggested by nation
al legislation, the trustees now proceed to
state more in detail the rule or principle upon
which their benefactions have been dispensed
The classes of persons entitled as beneficial
ries were, as already stated, confined with few
| exceptions to widows, orphan children unde
sixteen years of age, and dependent mother
| of soldiers or seamen who lost their lives il
| the service Congress has provided that
widow whose husband died in the servic,
| from cause originating while in line of duty
shall receive pension of eight dollars pc
month during her continued widOwhood, will
two dollars per month additional for eacf
child until arriving at the age of sixteen
| where the soldier lett no widow, but children
under sixteen, or in case of her remarriage
they are entitled to the same (exeepting where
| there is but one child) that their moth
er would have received if living or had sht
| continued unmarried. In case the soldier lef
no widow or child dependent mother is mex
| in order of succession, and is allowed a pen
| sion of eight dollars per month. Thes'
amounts are paid in two installments, in cas-,
of soldiers, widows on March 4th and Sept. 4th
and in case of seamen's widows January anC
| July 1st of each year.
In carrying out this basis of distribution, il
became necessary, when the second install
ment was paid, to equalize, by reconsiderine
| the thirty dollar payment already spoken of
| In order to do this, when the second dividend
was prepared a calculation was made with ref
| erence to the first payment on basis of on'
| half the pension rate, and the surplus or defic
| it, as the case was, carried into the statement
| of the second installment. To make it per
| fectly plain, the calculation was as follows
| Upon the principles above stated widow, ol
| dependent mother, was entitled on the frs
| installment to twenty four dollars, widow
| with one child to thirty dollars, with twI
| children to thirty-six dollars, with three
children to forty two dollars, with four chill
dren to forty eight dollars, with five children
| to fifty-four dollars, and with six children tC
| sixty dollars. On the second installment
doubling the amount but observing the ratio
| and connecting with it the equalization of tn,
| first, the table would be thus; starting will
the case of widow or dependent mother
| who receives forty eight dollars, less six dol
| lars overpaid on first installment-forty TIVE
| dollars.