Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-03-06

general pension committee Of the house
has been deluged with bills for its con-
sideration, aud enough petitions have
been referred to the committee to girdle
the globe. Hearings are being given
almost daily TO delegations champion
ing the cause of the various measures.
ferred to the committee said Repre-
sentative Morrell of Kansas, chairman
of the committee, exclusive of 2048
special bills, the general bills embrac-
ing every conceivable form of pension
legislation. The most important gen.
eral bill, by that mean the one reach
ing the largest number of soldiers and
entailing the greatest expenditure Of
money, Is the service pension bill.
There are a multitude of bills having
this general end in view, the most lih-
eral of which proposes to place on the
pension rolls all old soldiers at the min
imum rate Of So per month, with the ad-
dition of cent per month for each day
exceeding 800 days service. This PEN
sion is to be paid to all old soldiers.
without regard to whether they are now
on the rolls or not. The friends of this
measure estimate the expenditure in
volved at $l40,000,0O0 per annum.
to place only those soldiers on the rolls
who are receiving $8 per month. The
most moderate Of these bills would In
volve between $50. .000, 600 and 800, ,0O0,-
600 per annum.
''Another very important measure
purposes to pension all disabled soldiers
who are not now drawing pensions,
without regard to whether the dIsabil-
ity was incurred In service or not and
without regard to the pecuniary condi-
ton of the soldier. There can be no
definite estimate of the expense involv-
ed in this bill. It would be simply
guesswork as there are no data from
which to calculate the number of ben
eficiaries under this scheme. The next
bill in importance Is what is known as
the dependent pension bill, which PEN
sions every soldier unable to perform
manual labor and dependent upon his
labor for support. This bill also places
the widows of deceased soldiers on the
pension roll, increases the amounts
granted to minor children from $2 to $4
per month and continues the pensions
to those minors over 16 who are help
less. II also pensions all dependent
fathers and mothers without regard to
the time or cause of the sons death.
The expense entailed by the passage of
this act is estimated at about $35, ,000,- :
600. This estimate, however, is neces-
sarily unreliable because of the absence
of accurate data.
"Another bill of greatimportance and
one, too, that is being vigorously pressed
before the committee provides for i'm
creasing the pensions of those who have
lost an arm or leg to $50 per month, with
arrears from the close of the war. AS
the number of these claimants is def
nitely established il is known that the
amount required to carry out the pro-
visions of this act would be very close
to $25, ,500, 600.
"The bill involving the largest expen-
diture of money Immediately on its
passage is the one for the repeal Of the
limitation to the arrears act. Under
the act of March, 1879, arrears were paid
from the date of discharge In all cases
when applications were filed prior to
June 80, 1880. In round numbers 310,-
600 applications have been filed since
that date and about 10000 of these
have been allowed. In these 10000
cases, if the limitation should be re-
pealed, the arrears would Immediately
become due. There are pending In ad-
dition 200, 600 cases filed since June 80,
1880, of which it Is safe to say go per
cent. will be granted In the near future.
The commissioner ofpensions estimates
that If this bill should pass the enor-
nous sum $75,000,000 would be
required to liquidate the obligations.
OF course this does not include any esti-
mate of arrears in cases hereafter to be
filed. The fact that the pension would
commence with the date of discharge
would naturally be q strong induce
ment to many who have not heretofore
filed applications to do so.
sBills are also pending before the
committee to increase the pension of
those totally deaf from $50 to $50; of
those totally blind from $72 to 500.
The passage Of either would involve an
annual expenditure of about 81 900, 900.
s'It is also proposed to increase pen
sion for inability to perform manual la
Dor from $50 to $45 per month.
"The ex-prisoners of war also have
bill before the committee to pension all
who are now disabled and are not on
the pension rolls who can reasonably be
presumed to have incurred their disa.
bilities in southern prisons. There is
another bill to pay them So per day for
every day of their confinement. There
is another bill before the committee to
pension army nurses at the rate of $25
per month. This would involve an an
nual outlay of $4 100000.
"Much of the time of the committee
has been consumed in hearings given to
the friends of these various measures.
The service pension hearings have oc-
cupied the time of six meetings to the
total exclusion of all other business.
The MANNED aud disabled soldiers, the
deaf and other classes have also been
accorded hearings. The committee has
been unremitting In their endeavors to
obtain statistics relative to the lumber
of living soldiers and the death rate
since the war. To their great surprise
they find the death rate is much small
er than isgenerally supposed. AS soon
as the tables can be completed they will
be given to the public in order that all
may be able to understand the magni-
tude of the question Of future pension
legislation. The sentimentin the COM
mittee is generally favorable to liberal
pension for the soldiers, but all are
agreed to that it will be simply impos-
s;hlo m x,aec all ~ INV larOn nropnrfiou