The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-25
More Pension Figures.

sents in the Washington Post some fig
ures in rebuttal of the charges made
recently in the New York Sun and
noticed in these columns. Having
stated briefly the Suns side Of the con-
troversy we now cheerfully give room
to the other side. The sole purpose of
discussion should be to arrive at the
truth.
The sun writer, it will he recalled.
made the point that there are now c.
4Oj more persons drawing pensions as
Union soldiers of the war Of the re-
helltOn than there are survivors of that
war. There are, he states. pending
about 10000 claims of said survivors.
who are now not on the roll. If all,
and more than all of the surviving
veterans are now on the rolls. it fol-
lows that the above 9O,OOO are frauds.
and also that, in several hundred thou
sands cases, the bureau has been
| EaErantly Swindled. According to the
| writer in the Post, Mr.. II. r. Johns.
! the sun man erred in relying upon the
enumeration of the survivors Of the
y,
which approximately showed that there
w"r" living in that year 1,O3l.O73 sur
| TNing soldiers and 1857 widows.
| Says Mr.. johns:
| Superintendent Wright. who completed
| That census, rcpartcd the above tgurey to
| congress. adding that the report was n-
| complete and the reforc. unreliable: that
| congress having failed to appropriate the
| necessary funds. the tubulation was never
| finished Il very large number of survivors
| not hcing reported in such labulatiln
| I he uhlrEt of uctUarios and stdtisticians
| commanding all the data ia the ward de-
| partmont tx the number Of survivors
| June 20, 1890. at l35i,Iil And that Is
| c1NllV AN under estimate for II assumes
| an exceptionally larc rate Of Vet, ran NOR
! tality. which was It fact duimg the first
! fifteen years following the close Of the
! war. but which since then has ceased TO
! be- fact Here. then, is variance be-
tween the census figures lnd the Sub
| stHntial accuracy of later calculations of
! ;@LG6>. The same writer has been miSled
| into "NaGg"ratng the number of deaths
! by taking the sUm total of the number Of
pensioners annually dropped by death
! from the rolls. as reported in the annual
| reports of the commissioner of pensions,
| and charging them al to the mortality
| Of the survivors OF the civil war That
| sum total includes deaths of all classes
Of pensioners widows, minors. dependent
parents. soldiers and widows of ISL M"N-
iCan and ancient Indian wars, footing up
| for the last fiscal year 3l,95O, Of which
| Cnly ~ 4Gl We're rebellion survivors, From
, 1890 to lS97, this would represent about
| - 0O0 other deaths than OF the veterans
of the civil war. Ills un.ntentional errors
apparently prove that there are fully 30
900 fewer survivors than there really are.
This explanation, if true. clears up a
part of the mystery. Mr.. Johns prom
ises at later time to supply the pub
lie with a more elaborate article, "giv,
ing with something of fullness the eX'
act facts and figures bearing upon the
now burning pension question Sucl
an article would be most welcome. II
the meantime, our esteemed contem
porary. the Syracuse Post. bounds th'
prohem on all sides when it says: "Th,
worthy penSioner need have no feaI
of public criticism. This country is bis
enough ana rich enough to pay all tn,
pensions that are deserved, and it ap
preciatcs too highly the services of III,
Union soldier to feel that it can eve
| ItHutl lllul dHs du'Nlud'' 'N''''' ''
the sacrifices he has made. The pen
sion which IL pays is not as reward
but only as a trifiing recognition o
the debt which il can never hone t
wipe olt. No one would pretend tina
the most liberal pension is adequate
compensation for a soldiers services
Ii is simply a little help to credito
of the nation in his time of need. Th,
American people will cheerfully pa!
every such pension deserved, and a
the same time reserve the right t
ciiticise those who unworthily ask 70
the soldiers badge of honor"