St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-03
ten THOUSAND A DAY.
That Is the Number of Letters
Received by the Pension
Office.
One Hundred Million Dollars
to Ee Paid to Veterans
This Year. I'll
A Look at the Biggest Build
ing Of Brick in the Wide
World.
Curiosities Of the Pension Of
fiee--HoW Raum Acts and
Talks.
ipecial Correspondence of the Globe.

Special Correspondence of the Globe.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2S.-A short,
road-shouldered man with a big. half
bald head and a long beard of black
mixed with gray stood inside of black
clothes and buttoned CATERS in the COM
mlssioner's room at the pension office
yesterday. Every surrounding Of the
man was that of business. A big desk
at his back was Uttered with papers. A
stenographer was rapidly tra1scribing
notes in one corner of the room. and in
another the click of the typewriter went
merrily on. About the room, seated on
the red cushions of chairs backed
against the wall were score OF noted
congressman from every part of
the Union and talking to the lit
tie stout man with the big bald head
was Senator John j. ingalls,, who, thin
aud tall. looked like great interroga-
ton point as he stood with his hand at
his side holding bundle of papers, and
enforced his argument with shake OF
the head. The stout. 0ad-shOuldered
man in CATERS listened patiently, and
his eyes of hazel blue smiled from under
his high forehead as he nodded assent
to the Kansas senator's proposition. A
moment later the senator was gone, and
Springer. of Illinois, had taken his
place. He was disposed Of in the
same easy manner, and I noted
that the refusals of the stout
man in CATERS were accepted quite
as pleasantly as his promises of help.
This stout, broad-shouldered, dark
whiskered, hazel-eyed man was Gen.
Green B. Raum. the new commissioner
of pensions. over whose signature dur
ing the next year will be-paid out nearly
800, 100000. The appropriations asked
of congress to pay the pensions of 1890
amount to S9S, 100000. Several senators
and half-a-dozen representatives have
bills proposing an increase of the pen
sion list, and the probability Is that
more than 500. 100000 will be given to
our old soldiers next year. 1t is an
immense amount, and the short, fat
fingers of Gen. Raum will hold the
pen that signs away every dollar of it.
| thought of this as grasped his hand.
What a mighty power to rest in one
thumb and two fingers-a power suffi-
cient, if he could WELD it for his own
benefit, to make him Vanderbilt or a
Gould-enough to give $3.50 to every
man, woman and child in the United
States, or $3.50 to every family. Before
leftI looked at the autograph which
would make this immense amount good.
1t is plain business signature, and
reads without title, GREEN b.
RAUM."
The signature is indicative Of the man.
Gen. Raum is business from the word
60. He was practical baby sixty years
ago. and he is to-day one of the common
sense business statesmen of Washing
ton city. He had big business interests
before he accepted this appointment,
and be brings the same practical buSi-
ness ways into the Office. 1t takes LOGO
men and women to form his clerical
force. and he keeps every one of these
up to the scratch. He works by exam
pie as we'll as by precept. Promptly at
O'Clock he is at the Office. From to 10
he dictates answers to his private CORE
spondence, averaging about seventy-fve
a minute. At 10 his doors are open and
the crowd is let in. He has about 300
callers day, and he makes it a point to
see every one. Many applicants have
to be refused, and there are now and
then stormy times. Gen. Raum makes
it principle not to lose his temper
about business matters. and he is as di-
pl0matic as possible. He promises what
he can and refuses what he must, and
he disposes of the crowd very rapidly.
His calls continue until Q o'clock. He
then takes lunch if he has not had it
before. This be has in his office. 1t
consists of piece of beefsteak
and a biscuit. with a glass OF
two of milk. He is very care
full of his health and watches his diet.
his department, considers knotty pen
sion cases and remains at work until
o'clock, when he drops his papers and
goes home. Gen. Raum lives here in
Washington on Rhode Island avenue.
near Iowa Circle. He has house
worth at least $4,000, and this is very
comfortably furnished. A part of the
furniture was bought recently, and his
sideboard. which came from Grand Rap
ids, Mich, took number Of prizes at
state fairs before he purchased it.
The business of the pension Office can
hardly be appreciated. The files of Its
cases would carpet state if the papers
WeT6 SpTtdu Uubs N6 OlU uOCuIllOuLS
among its records would make strip as
wide as wagon road and long enough
to reach around the whole world. 1t
has settled millions of claims. and there
are now more than 100000 cases in the
Office awaiting settlement. Gen. Raum
believes that the cases should be made
complete by the claimants, and that
such cases should be first passed upon
by him. He has given directions that all
claims in which the evidence is COM
plete shall be first acted upon, and
at the present rate of progress, if the
lawyers and claimants could have all
these 40U,000 cases ready for action TO-
day. he thinks that in seven or eight
months his bureau would stand even
with the world and everything would
be finished up to that date.
His mail is immense. The pension
commissioner gets fully 5000, 900 letters
a year, and 100000 of these require
prompt answers. Think of 100000 let
tiers. Each one will contain at least
paste the sheets together the mail
wear would make a ribbon six inches
wide longer than from New York to
Cleveland. Estimating each letter as
cost ne a two-cent stamp, it makes
$3.50, 600; and, when you figure up the
labor and brains, the worry and trouble,
you have embodied number of life
times in this one item. Ten thousand
letters day! Seventy thousand letters
a week More than 100000 letters a
yearl This is what the pension Office
mail amountS TO The most of the laf,