Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-22
DRAIN OF PENSIONS
On the Treasury Is What Causes the
Apparent Deficit There.
GRAVE ABUSES OF THE BUSINESS.
lnfuence and Tall Swearing Are the Most
Potent Factors
IN SECURING ONE-HALF THE PENSIONS
tFRoM A STAFF CORRESPONDENT.


WASHINGTON, June 2L-The "opposi
,tion" are making lot of capital out of tn,
statement this week of the Treasurer of the
United States, which on the face of it show!
about as narrow an escape from bankruptcy
as has been experienced by the country fol
long time-a sort of passing bankruptcy,
however, it would be in its worst phase, fol
the money comes SO fast from the rich indi-
vidual and cooperative Golfers of the nation
that a deficit could hardly exist for more
than day, even if the miscalculation OF
financial resources in making appropriations
should create one.
But this shortage of funds in sight, almost
10 the point of an apparent deficit, is quite
deceptive. The report of the Treasurer is
always from "a to 4S hours behind the re-
ceipts of the Government, and while he is
making his statement and sending it to the
country the money is pouring into the
Treasury all the time, and it is richer by
millions than appears by the statement of
the Treasurer. AT the very time the report
of the Treasurer was sent cut with the
alarming statement that the available sur
plus was only a little over million dollars,
the books of the Secretary showed that the
available balance in the Treasury was very
close to S1,0O0,000, exclusive of the de-
posts in banks of S2S 900, 900 or more, which
is within reach Just as easily as though it
were in the vaults of the Treasury.
Tremendous Drain of Pensions.
While there is no danger of bankruptcy,
il NAV as well be understood that it is the
tremendous drain imposed by pensions that
every month for some time to come will re-
duce the Government to the verge of q
Treasury deficit. Since the LIST of June,
nearly S1S,000,00 have been paid out in
pensions, and the amount necessary is grow
ing all the time Had the receipts from
import duties fallen of, as was predicted by
the opponents of the Mckinley bill, the
vacuum in the Treasury would have been so
large as to excite alarm, and a new Govern
ment loan would have been one of the prob
abilities. The millions Topped off by the
abolition of the duties on sugar and tax on
tobaccos, and the refund of millions to to-
bacco dealers for stock imported or pur-
chased previous TO the operation of the new
law, help materially towards the deficit
which may come before Congress meets
again.
Pensions, however, furnish the gravest
contend, and where they are going to stop
is one of the things no fellow can find out.
But the most startling feature of the whole
business is that possibly halfof the pensions
paid are TO persons who, under a strict con-
strnction of the law, are not entitled to a
pension at all l have talked much of late
on this subject with pension claim agents
and pension examiners, and am assured
that large proportion of the cases passed
rest on a tiimsy foundation.
How Claims Are Pushed Through.
A little stiff swearing on the part of the
applicant and an affidavit or two from asso-
ciates in the army, are all that is necessary,
and If the case, no matter how doubtful
be in the hands of a favored claims attorney
or is pushed bv an influential member of
Congress, it can be advanced" and the
pensiOner can get his money in surprisingly
short time. A service pension bill would
be a good thing from moral point of view,
if not from financial one, as it would rem
der unnecessary vast deal of hard swear
ing.
Upon bet, recently, an old soldier, one
Of the most robust men one would see in a
summers day, wrote to his captain and one
or two other members of his company, stat
ing that he was an applicant for a pension
On account of a chronic disease contracted
during service, and asking his old comrades
to make the proper afiidavits The testi-
mony came, and that of the strongest kind. |
the captain swearing that of his personal |
knowledge the veteran had contracted his |
inOurable disease in the service l know
personally of man who never saw a day of |
service in the field, and who has been ali his |
life able for arduous toll, man who is now |
wealthy, who has been drawing pension |
ever since the passage of the first pension |
law, and has regularly had the amount in
creased, until he is drawing pension for |
almost complete disability. These are in |
stances of thousands of cases.
The Most GIaring Abuse
Of course, with such as these, the Pension |
Office cannot go back of the returns. but
within that office there is an abuse worse |
than any of those which have been for a |
time making scandal after scandal of a petty |
nature, and that is political influence that |
secures pensions upon insufficient or man
uiactured evidence Members of Congress |
are actually blackmailed into pushing such |
claims either by the attorney who has them |
in charge or by the applicants, or by a COM
blnation OF applicants. Country at
toneys make claim agents of the
Members Of Congress from their
districts, and almost threaten them at
times with the strength of their opposition |
II they do not push pension cases which the |
attorneys themselves are paid for prosecut-
ing. Goaded on the one hand bv the fear
of losing vote of their own party, and on |
the other by the hope of securing a vote
from a member of the other party. thev |
push all cases that come to them with all |
their might, swearing at the same time
against the fate that puts them at the
mercy OF men who ask everything, while |
deserving no more than others of their con-
stituents, who ask nothing at all
/ happen to know also of a somewhat ex-
traordinary case which has been disposed |
Of within the last three years, in which
political influence came near preventing a
soldiers widow, who is nearly 80 years old,
from getting pension. Forty wears ago |
the husband of this widow ran away with
another woman and lived with the latter
ever after as his wife. Children were born
to them, who grew up and became prosper
ous and influential
Fight Against the Widow,
The legal widow came to be aged and poor
and applied for pension. The case was
fought by the SONS of the second woman,
who would have been published as illegiti-
mate by recognition of the former one as
the legal wife of the runaway husband, her
proceedings for divorce having never been
The pension was refused, at the
solicitation of the influential sons, who
brought Representatives and Senators to
plead in their behalf, but on the other hand,
the bureau was threatened with an exposure
Of the proceeding; the case was reconsid-
cred, and the pension allowed
1t is no Slur upon those deserving of
pension to present these well proved asser-
tious in regard to fraudulent pensioners.
But it is possible that the deserving ones
have henn too Indifferent tnnnhinrr frnnd,,