The National tribune., 1891-03-19
.~IEE PENsroN srErrvALs.n
The Detroit Ece Press says:


Those who dismiss the pension Legislation now
20 prolific with shrug, ~ being a matter Of only
to-day or Tomorrow, should study history, a.
written on The hooks % the Pension Bureau,
aud be wise. There were men, aud not few Of
them, ho len the service Of thc United States w
.,63 ai the age of Dc wears. aud who are entitled
10 pensions under existing laws. Under the same
laws thr widows of these men may draw money
from the Omitted States. Let 49, suppose that ihc
discharged soldier who I6 years of age iu 1863
lives until he b. 50 wears of agp That would carry
lim To 1914 and might find HIM hale and hearty
ihan Suppose he married, a. this age the daughter
al his huuseSccpor, nEed Is years. Old mon have
been known 10 do such things before this year Of
grace. Then suppose this woman lived to be 90
years old The Unitcd States would have n pen
-iuncr ot he civil in the year @0l6 This is OF
course extreme casc, but it Is far from being an
inposs .bi" uIc.
The war az 1872 ended e years ago, yet the Cow
eminent asst year paid Go widows of veterans who
served u hEt war the sum of 81 go3 239, against
bu. 3d., So paid 20 made survivors.
su more surprising j. The list Of women who
are paid pensions az widows Of Revolutionary vet
Grams. Not one soldier in thnt war, which ended
nonrly 10 years ago has been alive for genera
ton, but Use girls who married the veterans are
sill with us
We only wish that the Free Prcss's asser-
lions were only approximately true, and
that there was more hope Than there can be
that great number of the veterans Of the
rebellion shall live many years yet TO enjoy
their pensions and behold the rich fruits Of
their yalor and sacrifices.
Unfortunately there is as little truth in
the E5cs Pyss's statements as there usually
is in unti-pension Trades
In the first place, there are and there can
be but very few men now living who were
discharged from the service Of the United
States in 1865 at the age Of 1G" The num-
Der Of these who will be living in 1874
hale and hearty" viii be 50 small that
their pensions can be paid by the tax on
some little oleomargaFine factory.
The next dining is that, differing from the
pens on laws Of the wars Of the Revolution
and 1912, the Disability Bill expressly pro-
yidss that no widow shall receive pension
unless she be married to the soldier prior to
the passage Of the bill This takes the
whole ground from under the Free PrcsSs
elaborate calculations and predictions.
There is no excuse for its not knowing
this, for that feature Of The bin was elabo-
rately discussed when il was on its passage,
and the most wac made Of the fact that very
many young girls married pensioners Of the
Revolution and the war Of 1912, when the
latter were very old men, in order TO get
pensions. II was said during the debates
that these women earned their pensions by
nursing the veterans during the last years
of their lives, but Congress decided to put a
stop TO that sort Of thing by the provision
that no pension was to be allowed any
woman unless she was married 10 the pen
sioncr prior to June ~, 1890.
Let us present 10 the Free Press a few
other facts for consideration:
Last year Death cleared Tire pension roll
Of 10 0s5 veterans Of the rebellion ard 1902
widows Of the same, or 1851 in all. Tais
enormous mortality must rapidly incca-e
from the very nature Of thngs I'll 1---
Commissioner Of Pens ons John c. BIacl,
reported that the average death age o. iu-
valid pensioners was Sc years, and Of theiI
widows 81 years. The average age Of pen
sioners then-three years ago-was 30 years
20 that the average pcnEi0ner has but three
years longer IN which to draw his pension.
Last year Commissioner Green B. Raum
reported that his investigation satisfied him
that Of the whole body Of living soldiers be
found the immense number OF $50 600 Whose
lives had been shortened fully Il years from
causes incident to their service. He fornd
that there were lB8 600 veterans who wor,
O. yeaH Of age and upward.
These figures indicate with what monrnfu
rapidly the pension roll will shrink IN Ia,
next few wears.