The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1891-09-19
PILING Up THE PENSIONS
Thi~ty Thossaad . Month the Rate At
which Names are Added.

which Names are Added.
wAsHrSGroS. Sent ia letter written By
Commissioner Raum to an Ohio Congressman
forsshadovs some OF the facts and figures with
which his next annual report will deal. He
says that he has act his subordinates at
work on tho task OF issuing $4,000 GER
tifcates during the present fiscal yea-.
The certificates thus spoken OF are the
Official documents placing pensioners on
the roll. He al.o points out that last
year he work cd his onice up to about 100000
certificates, but he will not be satisfied with
out gaining another 1901 900 during the current
twclvem onth over the highest previous record.
which Is his own.
The lrst point that presents itself is that
running the PENSION machinery at top speed Is
rather m expensive sort OF ambition for the
Commissioner TO indulge in. Had the task set
to his subordinates been that OF disposing OF
$4,000 pending cases. this itself would have
suggested hurryinz ut break neck speed. But
since tho rejected cases do not count toward
the work exacted. tho impulse TO grant everY-
thing that It would not be outrageous to al.
NIT must, under such stimulus from the
head OF the shor. be very strong.
II Is true that the Pens'o Bureau has Le.
come a prodi2ious institution. Commis.ioncr
Eaum SAYS 1t Is the largest executive bureau
In the world. It has no Office force alone more
than 1000 strong, and the examining surgeons
throughout the country. 3.I9j In number. to-
gsthsr with the local pension agents and their
employees. swell the total force 20 GAL per-
sons. The clerks actually engaged IA ad!udi-
eating claims at Washington number
1891. and above them Is Board OF Review.
which - l6i strong But oven with
this enormous machinery $4,000 certih-
Gates = year seems an Incredible product
ira at Il
i'm piles about LOO certificates n day during
the working days OF each week. for the year
around. Still, In a Communication published
a short time before the present one. Comms.
sioner Raun declared that at this time there
are 10000 cases per month allowed" SO that It
really appears that there is not a grotesIus
mistake In figures. and that this Ia the actual
rate at which the pension engine Is running
under lis forced DRAFT.
What will Do the result Com lssloner
Baum says that on July i there were before
the bureau 523.737 claims OF pstsons who ha
never been penstoned, and 395.6s9 claims for
increase or duplicate elaine under different
laws. making a grand total Of 81 9.426. Taking
the moro than 6Oo.Oo0 names now presumably
on the rolls. and the great diminution in tie
number OF living war veterans after the lapse
OF Il quarter OF a century. II ia extraordinary
to Ind moro than half u million new appli-
cants. But IL Is worth while to note that Com.
missioner Raum had previously given the
number OF original claimants for pensions on
June IS as 5075l6, so that there seems to have
been 40 actual net increase OF this sort OF
claims between that time aud July !. unless
there is some discrepancy in the figures. in
spite OF the number OF certificates granted in
the interim.
Commissioner Raum says that while both
the increase and the orig nal claims are re-
csivinR attention. the larger proportion OF
the official force is upon original work." With
the m ost m oderate calculations It seems fair
to expect that at the close OF the present year.
or the 30th Of June next. there will be upon
the rolls no fewer than between 100000 and
100000 pensioners This. too. Is upon tho as
sumption that no additional general pension
laws should meanwhile be enacted.
Twenty years ago. in the year 1871. the
number OF pensioners was 207495. 1t had
steadily but slowly Increased from the year
following tho close Of the war when the num-
Der had been 12G772. Slight Increases also
continued to be made until 1873, when what
appeared As that time to be the climax was
reached in a pension roll Of 23s,t1l persona
1t was thought that a. eight years had elapsed
since the close OF the war. and the pension
agents had been industriously at work. the
Rt08t UalOTlly OF mo Ctd!WS uRu Deeu H6u.
and succeeding additions to the roll would not
Offset natural decreases By deaths. Tho ac-
curscy OF this calculation was confirmed when.
during the year 1874. the number OF pension
ers dropped to 23G.2i1 In 1878. to 234s21: in
1876. to 232.l37: In 1871 to 2s2.l0i: In 1873. to
22393a
No one eau study this steady decrease with
out seeing that 1t was the normal result OF
pension system which at that time was con-
sidered to be the mos. liberal In the world. In
1873. thirteen years after the close OF the war.
the number OF pensioners had come down to
22399s. and the disbursements for that year
down to s26,s44.4l5. But what docs the lapss
OF another thirteen years show The pension
roll in 1891 has increased to upward OF G00.GOD
and the expenditures to more than SIG .0C0 900.
There Is probability that the roll will soon ex-
coed 100000, and that the annual appropra-
tons at their maximum will greatly exceed
$50, 100000. Indeed. the current appro priation
is sl33.l73.0sl This is the resnls Of new lees Ia
ton since 1873. begun under Hayes. continued
under Cleveland. and eliminating under Har-
rison. It has comprised arrears OF pen
sion acts. enormous increases in the for
mer rates OF pensions. and tho Disability bill.
The fruits are seen in the prodigions figures
which Commissioner Ram, handles In treat.
ing OF the exploits Of bis bureau.