The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-07
PENSION BUREAU WORK.
COMMISSIONERS RAUM MAKES HIS
ANNUAL REPORT.

Number of Pensioners on the Roll at
the End of the Fiscal Year 537,o44-
exclamation OF the Completed Files
svstem - Enormous Number. OF
Claims Pending.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6.-The annual report
of Cen Raum, commissioner Of pensions,
shows that at the end of the fiscal year
537 9l4 pensioners were borne on the rolls.
of whom sol ,999 are credited to the civil
war. %. .922 to the Mexican war; Alb to
survivors Of the war of 1912, and 500 to
,eidows of soldiers of the war of 1912. The
original claims allowed during the year
amounted TO &C, 6,637, an increase of 14,716
over the previous year and 6,3S5 over 1888.
The amount of first payments in these cases
was $S2, 1854. The average annual value
of each pension at the close Of the fiscal
year was S134.
THE COMPLETED FILES SYSTEM.
OF tue completed files system the COM
missioner says in his report:
The completed ies' docket regard as Of
great importa ce in securing prompt adjudica-
lion of completed cases on motion Of the claim
ant or his attorney. Prior to the establishmel ut
of this system complaints was almost universal
mat thousands of claims were pending
in the Office, consideration of which
has been neglected for years, and that
tbe claimants were powerless to secure their
consideration The soldier had a right to file
an application for pension and to present all
tue evidence necessary to prove his claim. but
he had no power to bring that claim before the
sdjudcatiDg division by any act on his part
the drawing of his claim from the files
for that purpose being in the
discretion of the file clerk, Under
the completed files system the pensioners
or their attorneys can, upon proper certihcation
that their claims are complete, have them i'm
mediately placed upon the completed files,
where they are taken up for adjudication within
week. II the case then be found incomplete,
q call is Immediately made for the necessary
additional evidence, and the case is disposed of
as soon as this is received.
The system is an orderly method of proceed
ure. Up to June 80, 99,761 claims were placed
upon these files The system has had the effect
Of enabling many thousand claimants, whose
claims have been pending from five to twenty
years, to bring their claims to the attention of
the bureau for adjudication and allowance, aud
the complaint of delay has been reduced to a
mninum As result of these changes IN
business methods more work has been accom-
plished than ever before.
The commissioner recommends au in
crease of pensions for disability that pre-
vents the performance of any manual labor
from $50 to $50 per month.
ENORMOUS NUMBER OF CLAIMS.
Under the dependent and disability act Of
this congress 4S0,2S2 claims had been
received up to Sept. 30. This
enormous number of claims has taxed
the office resources to the fullest extent.
Congress has authorized 43S additional
employees on account of these claims, and
the commissioner has assigned 175 of the
present employees to these cases. He has SO
arranged the work of the office, he says, as
to permit claims under the old laws to be
rapidly adjudicated without interfering
with claims under the new laws If neces-
Sary, he intends to ask for more clerks in
Dacennhar