Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-11
COL. AlNSWORTH'S REPORT
The Method of Discharges in His Office Elk
planned.
FOrds Building i'm Use Once More
old Soldiers in the Bureau
Those Discharged.

Col. F. C. Ainsworth, chief of the record
and pension office, has made report to the
Secretary of War of the operations of that
Office during the past fiscal year, showing
that the current work has been kept up to
date, ami that the clerical force not re-
quired for that purpose has been constant
Iy employed upon the work of reproducing,
by the index-record card system, the mill
tary records relating to the personnel of the
volunteer armies. The current work in
creased considerably during the past year,
especially in the number of pension cases
received and disposed of, the number being
80, 600 in excess of those of the same class
received during the previous year. Col.
Ainsworth says that it is evident from this
years operations that the volume of work
connected with the service of the volunteer
forces is not likely to be diminished Tor
some years to come, especially wheh IL Is
b considered that appreciate part OF the
current business relates to service rendered
during the various Indian and other wars
preceding the of the rebellion. The
labor Of the office has been considerably
augmented by the act of July %, 1892, Civ
ing a pensionable status to the SURVIVORS
of the Indian wars and their dependents,
and has been still further increased by the
recent transfer to it from other bureaus
of the department of the confederate ar
chiveS, the general returns OF the army,
relating wholly or in part TO the volunteer
forces, the records relating TO the appoint
ment, commission and personnel of the gen.
eral and staff officers of the volunteer
forces, and of all the records and CORES
pondence relating to the volunteer forces
of any war. Col. Ainsworth says that these
records have been placed on file, and have
been put in the best possible order for easy
and ready reference, with a view to en-
bracing in the general index-record card
system.
During the fiscal year 6,024, 667 military
arI- md norfic nd
to the former total of cards made and
filed, increasing the aggregate 70 4l,l21,1D
cards now on file and available in the cur
rent work of the Office. The transfer of
of 1872 from the Treasury and Interior De-
partments is now in progress, and 1t is eX-
pected that there will be no further delay
in that matter. In regard to the index
record card system, Col Ainsworth SAYS
that five years of experience with it in his
Office where it was devised and first put
into active operation, has demonstrated
that for the purposes of a record of cur
rent correspondence the card system is
superior in every respect to the old system
of book records, being much more economi
cal of time and labor in the preparation of
the record and the record being very much
mere easy of access and reference for the
practical purposes for which record is re-
Quired
In a chapter in regard to the reorganZa-
ton OF the clerical force, by the Secretary
of War, in accordance with the reduced
appropriations, Col. Ainsworth says that
1t was matter of regret that, owing TO a
continuation OF the old appropriation into
the new year. and the somewhat prolonged
uncertainty as to the date on which the
regular appropriation for the new year
would take effect, the surplus force was
dropped from the rolls, without the usual
leave of absence with pay, but 1t was
thought humane to keep the clerks as long
as there was legal authority for their pay
ment, and Congress has now rcmedied any
a Z ma ranf dc hv ~, fhair
pensation payment of their salaries for the
number of days of leave of absence not
used by them up to the date of their dis
charge. He says that the selections for
discharge were based strictly upon the
efficiency records of the clerks a liberal
allowance being made in the ratings on
account of honorable military or naval
service or long and faithful service in the
department. The duty of making seiec-
tons for discharge was confided to the
efficiency board, composed of eight of the
principal clerks of the office, a majority of
whom are themselves old soldiers, and,
Col. AinSworth says, may fairly be pre-
sumed to be in sympathy with their fellow
clerks and comrades. In making up its
discharge list the board added five points
to the final efficiency figure Of every clerk
with a record of honorable military serv-
ice, thus giving clerks of that class a very
great advantage in rating over other CLERKS
having the same actual record of efficiency,
but not having a record of service in the
army or navy. According to Col. Aims
worth, the result of this liberal allowance
in their favor was to save from discharge
many old soldiers who would otherwise
have fallen below the line to which dis
charges had to be carried. There is prob
ably no bureau of this government in
which a greater proportionate number of
ex-soldiers is employed than in this" says
Col. Ainsworth, but result of the
method of selection adopted, only thirty
three of the 14O clerks discharged in order
to reduce the clerical force to the limit
allowed by law were of this class"
Col. Ainsworth concludes his report as
follows:
THE building on 10th street known as
the tord's Theater building, which was
wrecked in June, 1888. with such dis
astrous results to some of the clerks en-
ployed therein, has been fully restored,
under the authority of Congress, in accord
ance with plan recommended by a board
of engineer officers, for the purpose of
making the building entirely safe and put
ting ii in good sanitary condition. With its
improved lighting apparatus 1t Is we'll
adopted to clerical purposes. 1t was turned
over to this office in the latter part of
July last by the engineer officer under
whose direction the repairs were made
and was reoccupied on the 2Sth of that
month.
with the exception OF relieving the in
jured from the operations of the law re-
stricting the amount of sick leave that
may be granted with pay, no provision has
yet been made by Congress for the suffer-
ers by the disaster of last year. but the
question of compensation is now in the
hands of joint commission of the two
houses, and is hoped that as a result of
their deliberations full justice will be done
these deserving people,