St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-03-29

mlttee is all that or more tnau VIII NC
paid them under present manage
ment.
Remember l am standing by the
bill as reported by the committee,
so far as the amount appropriated
for the payment of pensions, and L
present the following facts and hg-
ures simply for the purpose OF show
ing how completely the present adj
ministration has reversed the liberal
pension policy Of the last, and If pos
sible to bring its friends to reallz-
ing sense of the great injustice done
the men who preserved the union of
the states, and made possible the
greatness of this rich and prosperous
American people. [Applause on the
republican side.
| UNSETTLED CLAIMS.
In the first place, want you to
fix in mind that on December 81,
1898, there were 81, 572 unsettled
claim spending in the pension bureau,
| pa, FOG of which have been examin
ed and rejected, but are always open
to further considera ton on addi-
tional evidence This leaves SIT, $3.50
claims that have never yet been
taken out of the pigeon-hole for ex-
animation.
Now, please fix another fact in
mind, viz, that for the first fiscal
year ending June 80, 1892, Commis-
sioner Raum issued 81, $50 certifi-
Gates. How many certificates do
you suppose Commissioner Lochren
issued in the first six months of the
present fiscal year? Only 5000.
This shows that Raum admitted
claims or, in other words, granted
pensions, more than four times as
fast as Lochren is doing.
REFLECTIONS.
But there is another side of this
work in which Judge Lochren far
exceeds Gen Raum. 1t is in rejec-
tons. For six months, viz, from
June to November, inclusive, in
| 1892, Commissioner Raum rejected
4S, 1913 claims ard allowed 11O,26
Commissioner Lochren for the same
months in 1893 allowed 35,755,
but rejected 67,393.
In other words, Raum admitted
four cases just about as often as he
rejected one. But under the present
dministra ton the order is entirely
reversed, and under LOchren two
ca ses are rejected almost as often as
one is admitted. And during the
sultry month of August last the
proportion was very much larger,
only 5173 cases being admitted and
1868 rejected-a case rejected
little more than four and one-half
+ ! 81 tod
FIRST PAYMENTS.
For the first six months of the
fiscal year 1898, Gen. Raum issued
40, 4S3 certihca ties, on which the
first payments were $195, O79, 3OS.-
S3. For the first six months OF the
present fiscal year Judge Lochren
issued 49, 99 certificates on which
the first payments were but 81, 769,-
31O.43.
Here is, as you see, $15,OOO,OOO
more in round numbers passed out
In six months to the benehciaries of
our pension laws by Gen. Raum
than in the same time by Judge
Lochren. In fact, the total expendi-
ture for the first six months of the
present fiscal year was only $685.
14S, 996 81, and if this rate contin-
ues throughout the year there will
be left over $26,OOO,OOO out of the
appropriation for the present year,
remember, to turn back into the
treasury.
During the fiscal year 1892 the
net increase of the pension roll under
Gen. Raum was the enormous
number of 2O0,OO9 names. Now,
how much do you suppose the net
increase was for the first six months
of the fiscal year 1898. under Judge
Lochren? Can you make yourself
believe that it was only 100? Think
oft! The sickiy but economic num-
Der of 100; at the same rate for the
whole year 26O names. And do not
forget that in the files of the pension
bureau are more than half million
claims that have never yet been
taken down for examina ton, and
upon which the dust of years is still
accumula ting, while in the mean
time thousands of the waiting,
weary applicants have themselves
gone back to dust; for statistics
show that about thirty-fve out of
every thousand on the pension roll
die every year.
THE ROLL LOVER THERE"
At the same rate 1880 of this
half million unconsidered claims are
being settled annually by the death of
that number Of claimants; to which,
if you add the number of deaths an
nually from among those now on
the roll, at least 800 more, you
| i Il
names as a net yearly increase to
| the roll lover there"
BETTER THOUGHTS.