The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1880-06-10
Pension Claims and Awards.

Pension Claims and Awards.
TWKRE is 4 bill before the House o
Representative which ought pcrhap
20 be disposed Of by congress at III
present session. /, IS a bill to organize
a court Of pensions, and was introduc
cd by a member from Ohio. In 4 speed
which Mr.. Warner, of that State, made
a few days ago, with the view to cal.
attention to the Importance Of the sub.
ieet and Of dealing with ii ut once, he
presented some facts showing the start,
ling growth of our pension rolls. On
the JOth of April last there were on
rolls 2lG,OO0 pensioners, involving an
annual payment of $3S, 900, 900, beside.
some SOB, 500, 600 already paid as arrears
We have appropriated for the next ifs,
cll year the sum of $32, 400, 900 for pen
sious, and there will he adefcit for that
year, by Mr.. Warmers ciphering, OF
from 5000, 900 to $40, 900, 900. There
are Dis, 900 unsettled claims on file In
The pension bureau, involving, if al
lowed as they stand, a first payment Of
arrears of about $2l2, OO0, 900, and an
addition Of S3S, 900, 900 to the annual
payments. This will bring The total
annual payments up to $75, 900, 900,
which capitalized ut ! per cent, is
equivalent to a debt of 81 900, 0O0, 600, Il
sum larger than the present amount of
oar interest bearing national debt.
New claims are coming in at the rate
of from 5000 TO 10000 per month, and
there is no certlin or practical limit
which can be set to the number of these
since there are 400, 600 names on the
army rolls. The present force Of the
bcrcau is only able TO settle about 3d.
600 cases q year, which is less than a
third. rs fast as they come in, and the
machinery Of the bureau is so small and
inadequate, and the immense sums dis
posed of, that it is impossible to see
how great frauds eau be avoided. The
staff ofthe bureau consists of one com
missioner and 800 or GOO clerks, and, as
Mr.. Warner says, "~Imagine u court
with $50 claims before it, and with but
one Judge and all that number of
clcrks.-What sort O%fmachinery would
that be for rightly determining and adj
just claims involving the immediate
payment Of f209, O00, 600, and the subse-
puent payment of hundreds of millions
more, and involving the rights Of SO
many thousands of claimants to pen
sion dues - 1t is Mr.. Warmers view
that Il court is alone competent to de-
eide on the equity Of many claims for
pensions. \ pension, in his view, is
not a gratuity nor Il bounty. 'lt is a
pay, aud nothing else" 1t is pay for
loss, for damage, for disability, and
where there is no loss by disability
there is 40 pension due. Mr.. Warner
thinks that the arrears act has put
strong temptation before many persons,
and especially claim agents but still il
is the most sacred Of the obligations of
the country to bear the burden of PEN
SiUns for actual disability. 1t must not
be forgotten, however, that this bur-
den has been made to rest for morehcav-
lily uponour country than upon any 9th
er. In the late civil war, in a total
United States armed force of 2,765,-
G9l, the number killed in action was
n, 23S, and the number who died from
wounds was 3 1893. In the Franco
Prussian wal $500, 900 were engaged
for about a year, the French losing 30
600 killed, &c, 1000 totally disabled, more
or less disabled sc, 900, or l5O,0O0in all
while the total loss Of the German is
given at 100, 900. Yet the French pay
mcnts for pensions are only about ST.
600, 600 a year, or equal to a capitaliza-
ton of $50, eco 600, less than one years
payment by the United States. Ger
many set apart $50, 900 900 of the
French indemnity fund, and pays the
interest Of this sum every year to the
discharge Of all pensions to soldiers.
The difference between these payments
and our town is too startling to escape
attracting attention. There is no com
fort in these figures, however: We have
made war such Il costly business that
we cannot afford to have much of it.