Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-05-23

In view of the ever present question of
pensions and the earnest efforts of many
influential people to have all surviving SOL
diers of the war at once placed on the
pension rolls, the magnitude Of these sur
NiivlnG numbers thlrty-two years after the
close OF the war Is startling. There is a
very general impression that the ex-sol-
diers of the war. by reason OF the exposure
and hardshipS they suffered. are more or
less broken in health, and are hence more
subject to the approach of disease and
death than the average man who was not Il
soldier. This view is encouraged and coun-
tcTanCed by the eX-soldiers themselves.
largely from vanity. TO eNaggerate the i'm
p]Ortance of their services to the govern
mcnt.
Colonel Ainsworth's Observations appear
TO explode this notion; he holds that the
veteran soldiers of the war will outlast or
binary citizens. basinE this Judgment on
the ground that the veterans may be con-
sidered a selected class, from among whom,
by the operation of the law of the survival
of the tittest. those of little endurance and
tenaCity of life have been eliminated. either
by the VicisSitudes OF the war or their
subsequent results. The lot of the average
veteran. toe, is very much better than that
of the non-Veteran, in that the former
enjoys the benefit Of liberal pension laws,
enjoys preferment in municipal. state and
federal employment. and Is cared for by
relief associations and in Soldiers homes
when he needs such care. These favorable
conditions combined induce in Colonel
Ainsworth the belief that the expectation
of life of veterans of the war. in later
years at least, Is greater than that Of nom
veterans OF the same ages.
Another curious fact disclosed by these
statistics Is that, because of the gred-er
rate of mortality among the survivors OF
the higher ages. and the consequent more
rapid decrease in their number. the aver
age age of all survivors was y years in
crease so rapidly as the age Of an indi-
vidual member of II. For instance, Colonel
AinSwOrth'S estimate shows hat the aver
age age OF all survivors was y years in
1865, whereas I'm 1898. thirty years later, it
was only 81 years. The number of survivors
on June 80: 1885, as obtained by separately
APPLYING the life table to each group of
survivors Of the same ~ differs by more
than 5000 from the number obtained by
using an average age In the calculation.
In making these estimat 5 Of survivors at
different future dates. Colonel AiuswOrth
had recourse 10 the experience of insur-
ance companies. as embodied in what is
known as the Thirty American Offices
Table Maleb." In speaking recently of the
foregoing estimate, which was originally
made IN l&p. he says, in the light Of six
years subsequent observation: There Is
no ground for the belief that a more ac-
cuTate estimate than that Of 1870 could
have been made then, or can be made
now"
On Juno 60, 1895. 7s5. S3s survivors OF the
war were borne on the pension rolls, 116.-
Ia other survivors had claims pending and
10000 original iEvalid' claims were on
the rejected CT abandoned files OF the bu-
reau. These numbers include those who
have been pensioned for service in the
regular army and navy since the war, those
who have died with rejected or abandoned
claims on file, and some Implications in that
tldSS VI fldlfiS. AldhilE certain uetQC-
tons 1t will thus appear that the pension
bureau itself could not account for g94, lS4
survivors on June -, 1888. At that date
Colonel AinsWOrth estimated them at / .l54.-
$40: Il difference Of 2l0.626. which, II We ac-
cept his estimates, represents the number
OF eN-soldiers who. up to June 30. 1885, have
never made application for n pension.
II IS the judgment OF this expert that the
lumber Of survivors of the war who have
never made such application is considerably
larger than Is supposed by those who have
not studied the subject. These veterans
include, first, and probably most largely,
those who are yet comparatively young
men, who are still vigorous and able-bodled, |
arrl are free from disabilities or ailments
that disqualify them for the performance |
OF manual labor. or the discharge OF their |
accustomed duties. IL must be taken into
consideration that the average age of all
survivors OF the war on June %. 1895, was
only 81 years. and consequently because of
the preponderance Of enlistments at the
lower ages) at least half of them. or more |
than half a million i'll all, must have been |
younger than that. and many of them
must have been considerably younger.
To them must he added those of all ages
who have never applied for pension be-