The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-05-22

sioners in Maine, Vermont and New
Hampshire were paid by him till Jan
uary, 1882, when one of the south
eastern agencies was abolished and a
new one established at Augusta, Maine,
to which the Maine pensioners were
transferred. The highest number of
pensioners ever on the rolls of the
Concord agency was $4,000, in 1881,
transferred to Augusta. Upon the con-
solidation of the seven agencies al
ready mentioned all the records, papers,
roll-books, receipts, correspondence,
etc., which had been accommodating for
years, came to Concord, and that be-
longing to Maine was returned to Au-
gusta in 1882. That pertaining to Yer
mont and New Hampshire, with the SUBJ
sequent accumulations, has, upon NOV
ing to the government building, been
carefully rearranged, relied, indexed,
packed and deposited in convenient
manner for reference by Pension Agent
Cochrane. The old roll-books, bearing
the historic names of many of New
Hampshire's and Vermont's distin-
guished families, present some very in
teresting statistics. OF the pensioners
of the revolutionary war but three re-
main-widows, whose husbands served
in that war. And it is singular CO.
incidence that they all reside in the
same county in Vermont, in adjoining
towns, on the eastern slope of the
Green Mountains. They are Esther A.
Damon of Plymouth, Lucy Morse
of Barnard and Patty Richardson of
| Bethel.
The survivors of the war of 1912 are
diminishing rapidly. There are now but
nineteen on the Concord roll, of whom
the following are from Vermont: John
w. Peavy, Chelsea; Amos Clark, St.
Adams; Jacob Huntley, Pleasant Val
ley; John b. Hollenbeck, Burlington ;
John Nash, Shelburne; Hiram Smith,
Bakersfield; Robert Sargent, STAFFORD
Reuben r. Thrall, Rutland; Peter
Woodman, Iyndeboro. There are
about $50 widows of soldiers of the
war of 1912 on the Concord roll. All
navy pensioners for New England are
paid at Boston.
A Boston Herald correspondent asked
Colonel Cochrane, the other day, if the
present system of paying pensions could
be improved. 1.-The system,n said he,
sis all right, but it could be improved
in some of the details. For instance, a
more simple voucher could be used,
and it should be made the duty of every
postmaster to execute pensioner's
voucher free of charge, thereby saving
the pensioner the fee that is now paid,
which, although the charge is twenty
five cents, is often made fifty cents or
Of 10
bursting agents might be taken out of
politics, and officers of the regular
army detailed as disbursing officers
Why!" said the colonel, "there are
thirty-fve paymasters in the United
States army at the present time to pay
25 900 men, and but eighteen pension
agents to pay 100000 pensioners
care the number of pensioners in
creasing?" " Yes, and diminishing
There are changes every day. The
months in which payments are made
frequently show loss, as we then learn
of deaths not before reported; but or
the whole the roll is increasing" "DC
you have many complaints of checks
being lost in the mails?" every few
do not think of but three cases in the
past year" "When does your com
mission expire?" February 3, 1891
" How long do you expect to hold you
position?" Until relieved"
The article in the WATCHMAN on pen
sion agencies, week or two since
created feeling here that the Vernon
candidates for the office of pension
agent-Colonel John w. Stearns ant
Ex-Governor Pingree-had withdraw
from the race. Xxx.