The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-12-11
OUR DISABLED HEROES.

The Report of the Commissioner OF Pen
sions.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.-The Commissioner
OF Pensions in his annual report makes several
Important recommendations. The report says:
"The time has come in my opinion when Com
gress should give thoughtful consideration to
the entire regarding of pensions, making disa-
bil1ty rather than rank the measure of the pen
son then can exist no good re ason in pension
ing the volunteer force, when fe~ disability
Lieutenant Colonel shall receive $50 per month
and private soldier but eight, both having
been drawn from land returned to the same
walks of civil life." Commissioner Dudley then
calls attention to the fact that there are now
III different grades of pensions and says this
state OF affairs would be remedied by the
amendment above suggested. He also propos-
es another amendment, to give an officer the
benefit of his actual rank Notwithstanding the
TACT that there was no technical vacancy at
the time. This amendment he thinks is de-
manded by simple justice. He also recon-
mends that the section relating to widows and
minors pensions be amended SO to entitle the
minor children to pensions from the date of
the soldiers death, when the widow has re-
NAMED prior to July J., 1880, without having
received any pension on account of such sol-
dlers DEATH great injustice he says has
been done worthy class of pensioners by mar
row construction necessarily placed upon the
statute governing sue of pensions to depen6ou
relatives, and there is necessity for an ameud-
ment OF the section. Widows and invalid
soldiers OF the regular army and navy, whose
rights have accrued since June 80, 1880, should
be allowed reasonable time, say two to five
years. In which to file applications. The
commencement of the accruing of the right
instead of as now from the date of filing the
application. Commissioner Dudley recon-
me"ds that pension agents be furnished sta
tioDery and office furniture and be paid a
yearly salary of $1,000. The reports continues:
The question of a deserter in connection with
that OF title to pension" should be definite
~ settled by law. A pension is in no sense a
reward for faithful and meritorious service,
but payment for the loss of physical ability
to earn livelihood; therefore, desertion SUBJ
Sequent TO the lncurreDc0 of the disability and
refusal OF the War Department to change the
record. should not carry with it forfeiture of
the right to pension.
The law should provide that the pensions in
any case in which the charge of desertion
stands unremoved, shall commence on the date
from which the contract for service in which
the disabled legally terminated, to be ascer-
tanned from the date to which last paid for SER
vice; provided, however, the date of discharge
from subsequent service that was entered
into before the legal formation of the service
in which disabled, shall be the date from. which
to commence the pension. Speaking of the
pension population, the commissioner express
eS the regret that no provision was made in the
tenth census of its enumeration. After con-
Tossing bis inability to procure accur to data on
the subject, he says the best approximation
that cantbe made shows that of 2,063,391 SOL
diers who Genlisted during the war, pensions
have been applied for by or on account of only
70 per cent. The report concludes with the
statement that from the best available infor-
nation it appears there is surviving soldier
population or little over I,eOU,0O0, out of
which claims for pensions in the future may be
made by those who incurred pensionable disa-
bii,ties.