The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-12-26
THE PEOPLE and THE PENSIONS.
How Increases In the Rates Paid Anect the |
Pension siyrtcm.


Pension Systcm.
WASHINGTON. Dec 25-lt Is a suggestive fact
that. after all the recent protests against the
exhaustion OF a recently Overlooking Treasury
through lavish pension legislation one of the
principal laws put upon the statute book thus
far In the present session is the new Mexican
pension bill.
That there was plausible reason for this
legislation Is shown by the fact that 1t SO.
cured In tho House 172 yeas against & nays;
yet the very explanation OF this unanmity in
concurrlnG with the measure as passed by the
Senate Chords n striking comment on this
class Of law making.
When the sweeping bill for tho relict OF
veterans OF tho Mexican war passed during
MIR. Cleveland's Administration. 1t was ar.
guei In the debate that 1t would not be very
expensive. since tho ordinary rate OF pension
was liked by 1t ut So a month The measure
was opposed as not being limited to relief for
disabilities acquired in the service but was
extended to disability that might have dated
thirty or forty years later The bill however.
was passed and approved. and then the pre-.
dicted results followed.
The first OF those was tho epnctment NJ ,ho
Dependent Pension bill for Veterans OF the
civil war. which resembled on it's own scno
one 81 the provisions OF the Mexican bin. 1t
was urged with no little forco that tho
Union veterans had quito as much claim upon
the Government as tho Mexican veterans.
But tho Dependent tension bill as passed
went little further than tho Mexicnn. II
made the maximum pension puyabIe for In
ability to earn support $12 per month instead
OF - Accordingly. when this bill had become
a law. IL was the turn OF tho Mexican veterans
~ ureo that. since their war began fifteen
,e"ts peiore the civil war and ended severn
tCOn hefora In ln,A
on an average lar moro advanced in age, and
presumably much needier This logic proy,d
satisfactory. and now We have the increase
provided for by the law JUS. enacted.
according to statistics submitted by Com
missioner hauin. there were recently found on
the pension rolls 1898 survivors OF the NTex
"ah war ana T.2S8 widows OF soldiers OF that
war. The total is 22.GS4. An increase of non.
sions such as Is provided for In the new law
would give S4S n year more to those who are
no" receiving S06 n year. Chairman Wilson
mas Estimated that about a million dollars
extra Is added to the already enormous non
sioh ouucet by an act which seems to have
oeen very generally accepted in Congress as
almost i'm perative upon that body in order not
70 make an unjust discrim nation,
mus ono lesson OF tho whole affair is TINT
'he practice OF raising rates OF pensions for no
particular reason except that OF generosity
WIN money belonging to the whole people
Will always involve Congress in prodigious
outiays. even with no other new sources Of
pension extravaganza. Next to creating now
classea Of pensioners. as under tho Donendcnt
OIL. @tu to the wide-reaching results OF tho
Arrears bill passed under Hayes's Administra-
uoh- PROBABLY no single source OF the growth
Oh pension burdens has been so marked as
TITS one of advancing the rates to whole classes
Mr. is Iari oil III,
ening for tho future. since, however the mum.
beers on the rolls might be decreased vet II
those who remain are to receive constant in.
creases upon the sums originally M yable to
them. the material diminuton OF the pension
burden can only be looked for at a period
still far distant.
The origin Of this prevalent custom O, in
creasing tho values OF pen sions as now prac
tised by each successive Congress is apporent.
A pension being gratuity. its amount is nat
urally not regulated BY any absolute standard.
Long ago however there came to be n poncral
understanding OF what would be n reasonable
and liberal amount for injuries received in the
military service Of the country. After the civil
war various circumstances called for revised
classiflcatons. Everybody must admit that
some OF the more terrible injuries. like the loss
OF both eyes, deserve far more OF the national
bounty than trivial wounds that arc no real
detriment to the Individual evon though tech-
nically within the ruies allowing q pension.
Thus with the greatest propriety some Of tho
severer injuries have had their rates greatly
increased: and doubtless not ono dollar too
much Is PAID on them to-day. But this COM
mendable practice has caused its extension to
classes OF pensions of Il totally ditrersn. char
cter nm id OF on ormouslv rroatar runhors-+,
pensions not riven for vounds NJ ,II nor or,r
70 euob die, h;,i,;oe =. ,,o,n 49,. - -, 49,
nv, ~ " o. | w. VI '.'o var
"' s"hseiuehoe 10 'hnl to-dhy the original
eSe'em oI tensions mas Deeh almost revolu-
tlonlzeh. Ihere Is nothing stable in the rates.
since any session may raise former standard
OF value, though It is quite certain flint on
M cIass IL tbo rato avar ,o,yarod II .h;
constant rais;no ~ rot.e +ha+ ,,,oI.o, .L
<,,.,-. -. .h..,..., a, ~ VIZ
-. r' '''rosei-
- 1890 " ''''' '"'' 'eeh Buell. II WAS
.his feature III the system thaL caused very
large annual sum 10 be added tho other day to
the pension expenditures; and the process Of
equalizing upward has been going on for a
lop, t;,,o