The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-10-16

THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE PENSION BILL
Is" PRACTICABIEo

THE NATIONAL Tribune PENSION BILL
Is "PRACTICABLE."
EDTToR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: Al a meeting OF
our GAR Post tried TO get q resolution before
the boys in regard 20 THE NATIONAL TBIBuNE's
| Service Pension. It was opposed on the ground
that IL was thought TO he impraoticable.
Row. sir, can you give me anything to provo that
the Nation is able, in a financial sense 10 grant n
service pension TO all HONORABLE -discharged soldiers
and sailors and the dependents of those who have
| diedY
How IS the money 10 be raisedP The aristoeracy
aud nioneyed men OF any party viii oppose 10. Tho
| New York Tribune. believe. will oppose Il. find
here Republican leaders are not very favorable TO
! the old soldiers. The peoples independent move
men OF this State has declared in favor of service
| pension; however, there 800 soldiers In tho
| State Convention, and this may account for tho
! resolution.
Well, ! trust that you VIII either in your paper
or by letter, give me the necessary Information as
regards the prRcticability of raising the money TO
pay the service pension.-G. w. HAYWOOD, Peru
Neb
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE Per Diem Ser
vice Pension bill is entirely practicable"
II is the most practicable of all the service
pehSioH billS proposed.
1t is difficult at this time to say just how
much it will cost, for several reasons, The
first is that no one can tell just yet how
much the Disability Pension bill will cost
how many soldiers will take under it, and
how much their average allowance will be
Nor until the census report is made will it
be known how many veterans are alive, and
what their terms of service were We think
that the estimates of Commissioner Raum
and others are too high. when they place
the number of living soldiers at 1,250,000.
Here is the way we figure: The total
number of enlistments was 2, 859l32. But
in the great majority of instances men en-
listed at least twice. An immense number
enlisted three times. 1t was possible for
man TO have served out FIVE terms in the
army, and many did so. For example:
j. 1851 First three months service.
2 1862 Second
8. 1888 Six months service.
e. 1864 One hundred days service.
5. 1865, . One years service.
There were:
81 SIG 6rst three months men.
10 COO second Z"
20,4Ss six months men.
s5.5G one hundred days men.
$500 nine months men.
20t5 sixty days men.
sol, 752 one year men,
1890 two years men.
745.i5s total short term men.
A very large proportion of these were the
same men serving different enlistments
Another, but not SO large proportion,
were men who had enlisted for three years,
and had been discharged for wounds or
disability, but had recovered sufficiently
TO be able to go into the field again. Also
many thousands of those who appear in this
enumeration appear again in the three years
regiments in which they re-enlisted.
The War Department reduces all these
terms TO a three years basis, and makes the
figure 2,320,272, Again, this is enormously
in excess OF the actual number of individuals
who served in the army. We are confident
this ;siH fan short Of 100000
This view is confirmed by the official
statement of the strength of the army of
various periods, which is;
Juyl Iss.76I