Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-12-23

Admit More - Nearly a Million
Pensioners and 100000 Applica-
tons Still Undecided - Special
Pension Acts and Congressional
Schemes for Further Robbery at
Every Session-Figures Showing
the Great Steal.
New York Sun.
Herewith are presented the facts
about the pension bssiness of the Uni
ted States. At time when the nations
finances are disturbed as they are dis
turbed now; when in spite OF tae TacL
that the total revenues reach almost
half a billion. Of dollars annually, Its
expenditure exceeds its recelpts by
many millions, it is well to look closely
at the records
A nation no more than an Individual
can conduct its business successfully
when the expenditures exceed The re-
ceipts, and in the case Of nation ho
less than in the case Of an individual
if that manner Of conducting business
is persisted in for a long enough time
the inevitable end is bankruptcy. Ii
the revenues are not increased, then
the expenditures must be cut down. Ii
there is extravaganza anywhere, then
it must be done away with. If there
is leak, it must be stopped.
The facts in relation t. the pension
business which the Sun presents to-day
~, -I,p n In c5r dioI
are in themselves startling. They
should be of particular interest at this
time to the men charged with the bus
mess of running the government, the
men whose duty it is to keep the gov
ernment's expenses within the govern
ment's income.
In general way every man and wo-
man and every child who can read
knows that Of all the natiors on earth
the most generous and the most CRATE
full is the United States. Every man,
woman and child knows in a general
way something of the enormous expen-
dituTes that this nation annually makes
to maintain in comparative comfort the
men Or the survivors of the men who,
when the nation was threatened with
disruption, marched to the front and
suffered the hardships and privations
Of Z bitter war. Grateful, sympathetic
and generous to a degree, the people
have approved these expenditures. In
general way they have known that
there were abuses IN the pension sys-
TEN, but of the extent OF these abuses.
OF the degree TO which their grateful
ness. their sympathy ard their ger7r-
Osity have been imposed upon, they
have known little.
The Sun proposes to present here q
plain, straightforward statement of
the facts concerning the pension bust
ness These facts have been gathered
painstakingly by the reporter. The
greatest care has been taken to the
end that nc injustice should come to
them and with the hope that some JUS
tica might come from their presenta-
ton. They are taken from the record
itself Here at the beginning Of this
erticle it may be stated that it is in no
wise a criticism of or an attack on the
soldiers who are drawing pensions
now, or upon the widows OF soldiers or
their children who may be helpless
and in need. Such soldiers. when they
were wounded and made helpless in
the line of their duty III the defence Of
their country, are to-day entitled to
their cOuntTy's gratitude and the ma
tons bounty. No less worthy are the
widows and children of the soldiers
who died in battle or OF injuries they
received in their ccuntry's cause. Such
have nothing to fear from a statement
OF fact. 1t is TO their interest rather
than to their injury that the truth
Should be known. Their bounty is i'm
perilled.
With pension roll aggregating the
enormous total Of 976,014, there are
still 578,099 clalnOring at the treasury
doors for pensions or increase in pen
siOns already being paid, and the
crowd was increasing at the rate of
5000 week at the time of the last re-
port OF the Commissioner of Pensions.
Last year, thirty-tw0 years after the
close of the war. 54,0T2 of these claim
ants gained admission. More are get
ing in every day. More viii get in
every day until a reform begins at the
very roots. 1t is in an altogether
friendly spirit 10 the worthy recipients
Of the nations bounty, and to those
who, though entitled to that bounty,
have never yet received it, that the
TRUTH is here set forth.
1 HE 1 E1NESiON fbOlSlSS 4O-3JA1.
Let Us consider the number of those
who are entitled 10 receive bounty and
the pension rolls as they exist to-day
For the purpose Of this article the pen
sioners considered viii be Gas those
who draw pensions by reason of their
service or their alleged service in the
war Of the rebellion. There are etill
on the pension rolls many persons
drawing pensions for service in the war
Of 1872, the war with Mexico in 1S47,
ard the various Indian wars. but when
compared with the whole list Of pen
sioners the number is so small as 70
be hardly worthy of consideration. 1t
is less by thousands than the number
Of persons now admitted annually to
the pension rolls for service or alleged
service in the war of the rebellion.
James G. Blaine estimated rhe num-
her of individuals who actually served