The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-10-07
THE PENSION LIST.
More Than $50, 600, 900 Psid Out
During the. Year.
slxTY-slx THOUSAND CLAIMS.
systen Of Conpisssd FILES Greatly In-
creases List Of Psnsiensrs = Ths
once Taxed 70 Fullest Extsnt.
slxTY-slx THOUSAND CLAIMS:

creases List Of Pensioners = The
once 1axsd 70 Fullest Kxtsnt.
WASHINGTON CRY, Oct 6--Tho annual
report Of Pension Commissioners Raum
shows that there were at the end Of the
lat fiscal year ST., 944 pensioners upon the
rolls. classified as follows: Army Of in
valid pensioners, 392. 500: army widows,
minor children and dependent relatives,
104, 456; navy invalid pensioners, IA; navy
widows, minor children and dependent
relatives. IA; survivors Of the war Of 1872,
Alb; widows of soldiers Of the war OF 1912,
8,610; survivors of the Mexican war, Il, l58:
widows of soldiers Of the Mexican war,
6,764.
There were &c. 637 original claims allowed
during the year. being IA, ZIG more original
claims than allowed during the fiscal year
OF 1889, and 1885 more than allowed during
the fiscal year OF 1883. The amount of the
first payment in these sc. 6S7 original cases
amounted to $32.476.O4l, being $1l .0S6, l9a
more than the first payments In the orig
inal claims allowed during the fiscal year
Of 1889, and SO l79. Us more than 1883
OF the system of completed files" or
genised BY him. the commissioner says in
part:
Under the system Of completed files the claim.
ant has right, upon proper certinCaeion that
his clam ID complete, to have il Immediately
placed upon the completed files. and taken up
In order for adjudication- Claims placed upon
The completed files ere taken up within . week
for action, and. II foand complete, are imme-
diately allowed. II proofs ere lacking. call 10
Immediately made upon the claimant 70 supply
"a AnA md ><~S ~
the required evidence the claim il again
taken up for consideration. Up to the
last of june 1882 76l claims were placed upon
the completed files upon requests made In be-
hall OF claimants This System hes had the I'll.
feet Of enabling many thousand claimants
whose claims have been pending from i've to
twenty years. to bring their claims to the atten.
ton Of the bureau for adjudication and allow.
ance, and the complaint Of delay has bean no
duced to minimum. This system throws the
responsibility upon the claimant and his attors
ney OF having the claim adjudicated, and has
proved more satisfactory than the old system OF
leaving the selection Of claims for adjudication
to the discretton Of clerks AZ result Of these
changes In the business methods of the once
more vsrk was accomplished in Z given time
than was ever performed before.
On October 81. 1889. when took charge Of the
once the work Of adjudicatine the claims and
issuing the certificates had during the period
from July !, 1889. fallen far behind the same
period for the previous fiscal year, while from
October 20, lS6o. to june 50, 1850. there was an
tncrease IN the adjudication Of claims and the
issuing Of certificates greatly in sxc.ss Of the
same period of the preceding fiscal year.
This II shown BY the following statement OF
the work done; Total number Of certificates II.
sued during the year ended June 50, 1890 ISL.
666; total number Of certificates issued during
the year ended June %, 1850. l1b 2s2 IN increase
{v~1 ~ z a -
certificates Issued during the year ended June
80 1889, was 666s7 and the total original certin-
Gates issued during the year ended June 50,
1889, was s., 8o6, an increase of ll.74l.
This great amount Of work was accomplished
by the distributing clerks. who composed the
board Of review, amongst the other division,
and calling for special examiners from the
fields, thus adding eighty persons to the force
engaged in adjudicating claims, and particular
" by concentrating the work of the of.
fee for Ave days in the week upon the adjudi-
eating Of claims Al provided for in order No 1Sl,
creating . system of completed fles, in June
last detailed 116 persons as an additional force
for special examination. making in all 8S3 on
duty in the field. A the result of these efforts,
the number OF cases now in the hands Of the
special examination division has been reduced
from u,425 to 1924 OF those. only about 5000
are In the hands of the special examiners, the
Others being in transit to and from the once.
The commissioner invited attention to
the difference in amount between the rate
of s. per month granted by the oct of
March 8. 1903, to pensioners so disabled as
to be incapacitated for work, and to PEN
sioners who require the regular aid and At
tendance of another person. There are
many claimants entirely incapacitated for
manual labor. and who personally require
the aid and attendance of other persons,
but VINO are unable to establish the fact of
the requirement of constant aid and at
tendance. The commissioner recommends
that rate of $50 per month be created for
them.
There had been received 46O, 2s2 claims
to September 80 under the disability PEN
sion act of June n. The care such an
enormous number of claims received in SO
short q time, of necessity taxed the re-
sources of the Office to the full extent. The
work of the mail division ran up to more
than $1,000 pieces of mail per day to be
opened, classified and properly disposed of.
At this writing the division is handling
1000 claims day. 1t is believed there are
probably 100000 claims in the office which
can be properly allowed under the provis-
ions of the regulations approved September
16, 1890.
In conclusion. the commissioner says:
The act of June q, 1890, is the first disability
pension law in the history OF the world which
granted to soldiers and sailors pensions for
disabilities not proved to have been incurred in
the service and line of duty. This law recog-
nizes higher obligation OF the PEG pie to their
disabled veterans than ever before formulated
in law. Nothing shall be left undone by this
bureau to give effect to this latest expression of
the gratitude of the American people TO the sol.
d;era who saved the Republic