The sun., 1892-02-09
Not Year for New Pension Legislation.

State troops.
Not Year for New Pension Legislation.
The results OF the extravaganza OF the
Billion Congress unhappily did not end
with its own existence. Commissioner
RAuM appears to have given Its successor
an estimate OF Sl46. .956. 900 as the sum which
will be required for pensions during the
twelve months that begin July1. This Is
an increase Of $lS. .7S2.9l5 over the current
years appropriation. and that had been an
increase OF more than Ss5. 900 over the
regular appropriation. exclusive OF def
cheney additions. OF the year preceding.
We accordingly find the present Con-
gress. which Is practically pledged to q ju-
dlcl0us use Of tho public funds. compelled
by its predecessors acts to make an outlay
prodiglous in amount and. indeed. wholly
unprecedented even In the lavish exploits OF
American pension legislation. II must pay
out nearly $50. 900 900 more than was voted.
under similar circumstances. ut the first
session of tho Billion Congress. and between
$S5. 900. 900 and $40 100000 more. We believe.
than properly belonged to that year with
various deficiencies added.
For it must be remembered that from the
annual pension estimate there is practi-
cally no escape. 1t Is simply a matter OF
arithmetical calculation OF the amounts
actually called for under existing statutes.
million or so might possibly be deducted
where exactness cannot be determined be-
forehand. but this might result in a def
cheney at the next session. as was the case
few years ago. The time for retrenchment
or frugality Is when new legislation Is pro-
posed. and not afterward. when the ac-
countants figure up the liabilities actually
incurred. 1t will probably be impracticab!e
to make more than a minute fraction OF
reduction from the current Bureau esti-
mates; certainly it is out of the question to
get back to the pension expenditures Of
only two years ago.
We must conclude. therefore. that the
Fifty-second Congress. thanks to the lavish
legislation Of its predecessor. Is saddled
with about 900 year In excess Of
what only two years ago was properly re-
garded as an enormous annual outlay for
pensions. and what it also would so regard
to-day were the case open for its decision.
This single item. in its two years. would
make $S0.OOO. 900. which it cannot possibly
avoid. It is likely also to be called upon to
pay between $l25.OOO.00O and 100000
more than the last Democratic House did
for this purpose. And that. too. is
on the supposition that it should ab-
solutely refrain. during its own two
years OF existence. from adding any
new names to tho rolls or making any
increases in the rates. The estimate now
handed in by Mr.. RAUM is. as usual. based
wholly on the legislation of past years. and.
in fact. nothing additional has yet
been attempted at the present session. It
is tolerably safe to say that no general
pension measure OF great cost will become
a law during the present Congress: but II
any members are contemplating legislation
OF that sort they may do we'll to look at the
figures just presented.
We have already seen that the present
House. however 1t may dislike the prospect.
must exceed by nearly s14. 900 900 at the pres
ent session the larger Of the two prodigious
annual pension appropriations made by its
predecessor OF the Billion Congress. Next
winter the case must be still worse. because
Mr.. RAUM is rushing new certificates
through at the rate Of 800 900 q year. and has
acknowledged that within period Of two
years the annual amount called for may
Tedcu 4lOU,UU,UUU.
These swelling figures. present and pros
pective. make it difficult to appreciate the
fact that twenty years ago. when there
were scores of thousands more war veter-
ans living than now. the annual expendi-
ture for pensions was only $50. 1859. 341: !: that
in 1875 the amount had fallen to $40. .6Ss.l16:
that In 1875 it had decreased to $2s.351 500:
that In 1878 it had further declined. under
the natural effect of deaths among the
beneficiaries. to $96.s44.415. Now. in four
teen years. simply as the effect OF extrava-
giant pension legislation. we see that sum.
considered liberal by our people at that
time. increased tivefold. till 1t reaches the
STAG. 5000 Of to-day.
The Fifty-second Congress. in its COM
mendable ambition to make q contrast in
its aggregate of expenditures with the
record OF its predecessor, must accordingly
begin with the tremendous handicap OF
perhaps $50.OO0.00O or more OF pension
disbursements above those OF It's prede-
cessor. This comes as legacy Of extra
liabilities from past legislation. This vast
sum will have to be Offset in some way by
other economies before the present Con-
gress can SO much as start on even terms
to improve upon the financial exhibit Of the
Fifty-first. Certainly 1t should at least take
care not to pile on more burdens by costly
pension legislation Of its own.
The San Francisco Miners Convention.
The miners and the farmers of California,
especially in the Sacramento Valley. have