The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-12-17
/ MILLION PENSIONERS
.oeition to Publish Their
Names and Addresses.
,0,yp ARMY FAyoRs THE PLAN.

,,..suxeToN. Dec. l7.-lSpecial. l-"lt
,,,,rossiblo that Uncle Sam will soon
is nv o,,t the biggest book of the century,
tui, ~ official Of the pension Office
sa SAN, is n great demand for publication
liz names of all the persons now draw
u I'm from the government This
i ns comes very largely from the |
oen'" 'd ARMY of the Republic. So many |
ia,onts have been made TO the effect |
sa. nersons not fairly entitled TO pensions
'n"' dro,viny money from the government |
arc como quarters so much of a hue |
ia crv has been set up over the matter, |
anu any. no veterans feel the best way 70 pro
. Tho army OF pensioners from unjust
'o. .ors,ons Is 20 have all the facts made
i,Iic They think publication OF tho
p,,os and addresses of oil pensioners
could be the proper way to go at 1t. One
'"ogestion has been made that congress
INF n list of all the pensioners, with
iyhejr addresses, in 100 or 200 of the most
rrominent papers throughout the country,
20 thot every one may have chance to 60
over the names and pick out those when
no thinks are liable to criticism. lt Is not
iiI,ely the persons making this suggestion
have given any thought to the magnitude
If the task which they propose.
,onsioners on our books" continued the
paiciaI 1.-THE name and address of each
nensioner would take line in newspa-
nor as il is apparent the name would DO
IF no value unless tho address were given,
ss there are thousands upon thousands OF
dunlicate names. Now, an average news
raner column contains about 200 lines
md therefore IL we were to order all the
names of pensioners printed in newspa-
nor we should need 8, 900 columns, or more
than 700 pages of paper with seven col
umns to the page. At regular advertising
rates that would be q fine contract for the
naners. though even in this day OF big
things in tho newspaper line 1t would
nuzzle some of them to turn out an edition
If more than 700 pages. OF course 1t Is
idle TO talk about doing this in any one
issue A newspaper might take contract
IN publish the list In the course OF three or
four months, giving up a big supplement-
20 the purpose every day. But the cost
would make it impossible for the govern
mept to 90 into any such scheme.
Cost OF Newspaper Publication.
GLOW much do you suppose tho expense
would be of publishing the pension list in
one first class metropolitan newspaper!
Well, the lowest advertising rate In such a
paper is about 20 cents line-that Is,
$40 a column. For the 5000 columns nee
essary to take in the whole pension isl
the cost would bc $200,00 Admit that
there are plenty of papers willing to take
it for half or even quarter or this sum
still the cost would be so great as TO put Il
ont of the question, for it would never dt
to publish the list in one or two papers
IL would have to go in great many pa
A. ba An
hands.
''If tho government is going into tn
pension list publishing business, con
tinued the official, "there is in my opln
ion only one sensible way to do it. ina
is to select one paper in each state ana U
publish in it the list of pensioners for tina
state. The paper should be selected o.
competitive bids and the contract be give
to the paper which would do 1t tho chcal
est, circulation being taken into account
or perhaps it would he we'll to use two pa
pers in each state, one representing eac
political party, but both selected by con
petitiye bidding There Is no sense In ao
vertsing in an Iowa paper the names
pensioners in Maine, or vice versa Du
even if the scheme were arranged In th
way the cost to the government wouiu
enormous
"For instance, in the states OF ONO an
Pennsylvania there are about lOo,Ooo PEI
sioners to each state and in NUMBER =,
other states from 10000 to 0O,OVo'
print the Ohio list, for instance III y"
Ohio newspapers would take oVO coluiiiii
and the cost would be perhaps s2o'o y
the state. On this plan the cost OF pu
fishing the lists would range from szo'o'
per state down to few hundred or even
- N
ern states and the territories and the a
gregate would be something like s2oo'V
Under this plan the thing Is ieasloie' al
do not see that it is in any other way
Would Make Big Book
ut has been suggested that the cover
ment should get out book cohtaini'
the names of all the pensioners anu Va
this book should have very wide CRY
Iation But do not like the BOOK pro!e
In the first place. the cost would DC !.
mendous. To set up the names anu "
dresses of the pensioners alone wou'u g
about $50, 900 for typesetting anu pro-
reading The book containing the
would be a great, bulky affair whici u. w" %
weigh 10 or IL pounds and contain o.,
or 1000 pages. Every copy OF IL pr'',
would cost the government perhhps
To mail it or send IL out III sui,'0i'
numbers to reach the people wouiu .
another vast sum, and at best II wo '
never give the publicity which puoi,
ton in the newspapers woulu CIV "
publicity is the thing desired II inc ,
has any merit at all, it lies IN gNln
very great number of citizens an OPP
tunity to go over the lists In their hei
borhood and ascertain who Is a,a"
pensions The best way to reach tne y
Pile is through, the great newspaper pre-
Possibly some scheme oil county
congressional district subdivision o.
list could be prepared, SO that 10 os
neighborhood the names would DC ~. ~
public. In this way publication cou''
made In a large number OF papers,
home papers of the country, whicn. .
all. are the ones which the greap h''
read carefully.
But violate no confidence ~ soy
that pension officials do not pehe,o :,
Is any great need for such publications.
the number Of fraudulent pensions as, -