Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1884-12-05
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular corre,pondent.l

WAsHINeToN, u. e., Dec. lst, 1884.
Political economists have gone into the
mathematics Of the Pension Office and ind
that we shall be paying pensions with
good deal Of slacirty seventy years hence.
The war has been over for twenty yenrs,
but the retrogression Of the pension roll
has been anything but in keeping with
the natural decrense:of that large class OF
our population. IN fact few die, and none
allow themselves 10 miss the quarterly
pay day. Since 1861, little more than a
million claims have been fled with the
Pension Office, Of which just about one
half have already been allowed, and last
year we went into an outlay of ffty-sevsn
millions Of dellars to meet the pension de-
mand, though ii should be said that thir-
ty.thousand of these last years pensioners
were back! pay claimants under the arrears
act, The actual increase OF the pension
roll was nineteen thousand and seventy
eight;Sand the regular steady augmentation
is and has been about one thousand i've
hundred new claimants per month. The
whole number oil pensioners who are actu.
ally in receipt Of pensions 10 not 80 large
as has often been stated, the aggregate be-
ing 322, ,756, which includes the widowa,
children, relatives, navy invalids. &C., to
say nothing of the survivors Of the old
wars and their widows.
o,,t .lr,ost .ava, hn,Jrad
millions of dollars for pensions since 1861
sum that makes the Corgressmen who
had hand in passing the frat pension act
stand aghast. At the time OF the passage
of that act no one dreamed that million
of men would be called 10 arms within the
next year, or within the next ten years,
and The highest estimate then given for
pension claims that the Government would
be called upon TO meet in the future was
ten million dollars per annun. Yet We
have In one year paid hundred million
dollars and do not seem 10 have felt the
effects of it then or since. Our surplus
revenue Is enormous, and We are paying
of the national debt more rapidly, econon,-
ISIS say, THAI we ought to, and we seem
| to be willing TO stand II, for neither OF the
great political parties have ventured to
commit themselves W any utot1toAuSo vi
the pension laws.
The female population Of the Capital iS
in state of effervescence over the queslion
Of President Clevelard'r selection of the
| White House mistress. Yet hardly I'M.
agine that the present members OF the
social class at Washington have any busi-
ness 10 concern themselves about an in
coming administration toward which few
of them have any affection. This socia
business IN Washington, like that in other
large cities. runs in rut, and every at
tempt to get out Of it, results in cap'isinl
the vehicle. Mr.. Cleveland has a married
sister at Cleveland, Mrs. Bacon. another
married sister new living at the Governors
residence at Albany, Mrs. Hoyt, and u
maiden sister, Elisabeth ,ievelsnd, who IL
said To be not only thoroughly accom-
plisl,ed, but is an earnest instructress il
the accomplishments SO that there may
be no unnecessary alarm lest the White
House may not I've furnished with it's pro
per mistress. DON PEDRO.