, 1875-10-26
THE pEEs10NA WE PAY,

lHH AHll!lllLh!UncE u l EuhiVASt AAA' AA'
". ArE,SsoS, has submitted his report for
tho yenr ending June 80, 1871. TnE TE1p-
uSE has already published an abstract of 1t.
We group its salient points here.
Tho number Of invalid soldiers in receipt
of pensions Is 105.47s Tho nsBrcga!e su,st
paid them is about sl1,ooo, ,00o,-~an iucleasc
Of nearly 4 million dollars since Inst year.
The widows, minor children, and dependent
relatives Of dcad soldiers, muster lOi, S37
strong, und ase paid 5!9,oM,u ,uop e year.
This Is q decrease Of $30OHo0 within the
twelvenonth On June 10, 1874. there wcrc
l1,G2V survivors Of tho War Of 1912. More
tlnn 1 per cent Of them died during the year.
TLtro aro still 15,S77', who get between them
s1,5nO, 200. Tho widows OF soldiers in this
war ngGrcgnte E, ,1Ga, md l,avc an income of
4roo,D,o from "Eratefnl country" Tho
pensioll-rolls Of tho navy arc comparatively
small. There are 1,Ga; navy iuvalitls" nnd
l,7s4 "navy willows" The Arst get a1B3,-
O00 and the second $290,O00. The Inst
soldier Of tie Revolution has died. At least,
no survivor Of the armies, which made tho
United States possible is boruo on tho
pension-ro!ls Of tile Republic. There arc
Thirteen Of these widows wero married before
1900 the other :'t;G were wooel and won moro
recently. Tho lenson.roll contains, in all,
23l ,82i names, n decrease Of l, 10 within the
yonr. Recent legislation has steadily in-
| crenssd tho nycrago pension. The army in
valid got. in 1871. $50; in 1870, Sl1; in 1873,
:HG; in 1874, :s:Is; mud in 1876, $10t. The
appropriations for the ycar covered by this re-
port were :::23- 6'n, ,0oU for army pensions mt.
a555, 900 for nnyy Neither Of these amounts
was fully expended. Tho combined balanco
nearly :5375, 5,0OO-hns Jeen turned into tho
Treasury. An ENORMOUS. Number Of claims
are now pending before tho Commissioner,
They nro reckoned by the Thousand, and now
ones como ir faster than tho o]d can bp
passed upon. It IL curious fact
that tho United Stntcs il practically pay
ing large number Of women for Leading
immoral liyos. Widows forfeit their pcn-
sions by romarriago, Tho result is that many
of them aro living iu concubinago. for the
nako Of retainiug their annual stipond'.
Commissioner ATKEsox recommends TINT
pensions to widows Bhnll cease on proof Of
their practical remarsiasc. THO other rec
| concentrations all tend one way, aud TINT m
! expensive way. Alr. ATKINSON wnnts sixty
salaried surgeons, though lse thinks he cnu
| Rase moro than enough to pny them hy
Diminishing most of tho 2io doctors who now
examine applicants and receive tho legnl fees
therefor. He also wants thirty special
agents. These favored cons OF fortune are
to receive MI annual salary and a daily
allowance and travelling expenses. BY
some strange omission, the necessity Of
voting them m additional allowance
for cigars and drinks md daily
paper il not urged. Thon be wishes twenty
now clerks, four new watclnneu, aud four
now "assistant messengers" 1t must be
hard work to ussist n messenger. Aud le
wnnts to raise tho salaries of somo of
his CLERKS. Tie oxpodiency. Of all these
things is doubtful, though they may 10 neces-
sary. The Commissioner il quite in tho
right, however, when he urges Congress to
provide firo-proof building for the rccorda
Of the Pension Bureau, and to authorizes hin,
to post printed lists Of pensioners in each
country town, in order TINT persons who are
allamlning sickness or otherwise imposing
upon tho Bureau may be tetectcd