Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-12-02
Proposed Modification of the PEN
sion Law.

sion Law.
1t has been suggested through the press
and in other ways at various times that
our present pension laws need improve
ment, and it is now announced that Secre-
tary Schurz will bring the matter before |
Congress this winter in the shape of q |
strong appeal for radical modification
of the whole system now in use for the |
granting OF military pensions Secretary |
Schurz is strongly of the opinion that the
present method is failure, and in this |
opinion all who have given the subject
the least consideration will agree with
him. The system now in force for the
granting and regulation of pensions
neither protects the Government agains
fraud and waste, nor does it secure to the
deserving aud legitimate claimants their
rights under the law. 1t has long beef
well known that the mum ler of claimant
and cases coming before the bureau and
which is constantly increasing, is fsi
beyond the capacity of the bureau TO
meet and adjadicste, and the volume o.
undecided cases is now so large that
will take years to pass upon then If any
thing like careful examination is give
to them.
The plumber of names on the militar
pension rolls now is about two hundred
and fifty thousand, and the number VI
t,ha 60 T.
adjudicated is over three hundred thoa
sand. 1t is declared by the officers of til,
Pension bureau that tue new application
being constantly made are in the proper
ton of three to every single case decided,
80 that there is no possibility of thu
bureau ever being able to catch up with
its new business. About one-half of tn,
applicants, owing to the nature of their
cases, have to wait from four to eigh
years before they can get decision, ano
it very frequently happens that despite
inflicted upon some deserving claimant
while an impostor succeeds in having his
case pushed and pension granted with
out the remotest real right to it. Then
in addition to the business that comes
directly before the bureau, Congress is
continually piling up work for it, SO that
the prospect before it ia now hopeless
one.
All these considerations will form the
basis OF an appeal to Congress this winter
for complete modification of the whole
system, and it is believed that a majority
of the members of both houses are upon
this subject at least in favor of a radical
reform.
Aside from the reasons above given.
however, there are others which will
affect the consideration of the proposed
modification quite as much as anything
that can be urged in its favor upon the
score of injustice. 1t is claimed that the
net additions to the rolls under existing
legislation for the next ten years will bt
equal to 1000, 900 per annum. Now, as
many of these claims are believed to BIT
fraudulent, and large number of those
that are genuine are in the hands of spec
uiators, who have bought them up at
discount, it appears that our presen
cumbersome and expensive systen
is kept up largely for the beuef
of class OF nen who are without an,
claims upon the government legally Of
morally. OF course there are thousand
of deserving soldiers who are entitled t,
pensions, and who should be granted then
without more delay than is necessary t
establish their Legality. But the troubl
under the present system is 10 determu
between the claims of the honest aud til
dishonest applicants. The -hrew dness o
the latter makes this a fiji suit perform
ance, but it is believed that law could b
framed 20 as to make the work of distiu
gushing the genuine claims from tn
spurious a much more simple one than
now Is. Another thing which the pensio
officers claim is very much desired is a
easy and inexpensive method OF certify
ing old claims, and q clause for the pre-
posed new law to accomplish this end
understood TO have been already prepare
by Secretary Schurz. Its object is esp,
cially for the relief of those claimant
who cau prove their right, morally, to
pension, but who, under the present Law
cannot produce legal proof of the gent
ineness of their claims, for the reaso
that during the past fifteen years thl
have elapsed since the close of the war a
their witnesses have died. The new bl
proposes to remedy this by proyidiu
that where claimant Can clearly establi-
his moral right to pension the burden
legal proof shall lie, not upon the claimai
as at present, but upon the Government
that is, to SO extend the illegal proof"
applied to these cases, as to cover an
defect that may have been produced
them by death or accident; in 9th,
words, claimants own testimony to h
title to pension provided he can prove
good character.
Exactly how this proposed law is
work is not made plain but 1t appears
1851 AH7ht"h VI SAOeilk tAe uOOr
fraud it is opening it still wider. Ce
talnly If impostors can trump up ca
and prove it under the present system,
will not make it more difficult for them
do so by not requiring the legal pro,
of their claims that is now necessar
The present system may be aHd doubtle
IS, very unjust in its operation, but VII
is wanted is not simply modification
the law but an intelligent modi6catit
which will make the proof of the legal claiu
as easy and Inexpensive as is consstei
with proper precaution against traudulel
pensions. How this is to be done is anoth
matter and will furnish serious work f
those who are familiar with the pa
legislation upon the subject and unde
stand the necessities of the case, while
the same time they appreciate the drf
culties in the way of arriving at a real
just and equitable method of accomplls
ing the object sought. A law fran,
upon the outline above given would, :
think, be infinitely worse than the prese
one, for, as a contemporary observes,
would be equivalent to opening d
treasury to the hands of any one willing
q ..A l.