The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-24
Than There Are Actual SurVi :
vOrs of the War.
GIVES THE FIGURES
Only 727,I22 Survivors With
Us Today
Yet 947,542 Persons Are
Drawing Pensions.

New York sun, vigorously denouncing
the pension system. Under it the Sun
says:
The pension rolls are padded almost
beyond belief. The country's bounty
is abused. There are more survivors
drawing pensions than there are sur
vivors. Bounty jumpers and deserters,
fake widows and orphans and cheats
and sWindlerS of all classes swell the
debt to Uncle Sans defenders. They
draw millions d year and the gates are
opened wider annually to admit more.
There are nearly a million pensioners
and 100000 applications are still unde-
Clue0, and special pension acts ana con-
EressiOnaI schemes for further robbery
are put through at every session.
At time when the nations finances
are disturbed as they are disturbed
now; when in spite of the fact that the
total revenues reach almost half a bill
lion OF dollars annually, its eXpendi-
ture exceeds its receipts by many mill
lions, 1t is well to look closely at the
records.
The facts in relation to the pension
business are facts that should be stud
led They are IN themselves startling.
They should be of particular interest at
this time to the men charged with the
business of running the government,
the men whose duty it is to keep the
government 5 expenses within the gov
ernmeut'S income.
In a general way every man and wo-
man and every child who can read
knows something of the enormous ex-
pendiJures that this nation annually
makes to maintain in comparative
comfort the men or the survivors of
the men who suffered the hardships
and the priVatiOnS of a bitter war. In
Il general way they have known that
there We're abuses in the pension sys-
TEN, but of the extent of these abuses
they have known little.
James G. Blaine estimated the num-
Der of individuals who actually served
during the war to be 2,O63, ,391. OF these
304360 We're killed in battle or died of
diseases or OF unknown causes, leaving
a total of I159.O31 survivors, Robert
p Porter, the commissioner of census
In 1880, directed an enumeration of the
survivors of the war and of the sur
Vtving widows. The enumeration show
ed that there We're approximately 1
Oa4.Ot3 soldiers surviving and 1865
widows. Gen. James b Fry, the pro-
Vost marshal, in his final report put
the actual number of desertiOns during
the war at 20l.3S The number of men
who served less than 80 days, according
q 600.
Now take the survivors alone. In
1890 there were 1, ,034, ,073. Deduct 1S5. .341
who have died, which includes an esti-
mate for six months Of the present
year, and 12l.bO6 deserterS and emer-
gency men 1t will be seen that there
are actual survivors today 727,122
who might be entitled to a pension.
The total of pensioners on account of
the war of the rebellion is, according
TO the report Of the pension commits
Sloner, 941,542 Of which 81, ,S69 are chill
dren and 2l,559 are dependent fathers
mothers, sisters or brothers. Deduct
9ng these from the total there remain
S54,114 survivors and widows drawing
pensions. or 1915 more survivors"
widows than there are actual surviv-
Drs and widows VINO under any circum-
stances could legally draw pensions
The pension rolls show that 733. .527
persons are drawing pensions from the
government as survivors of the war of
me rebellion That is, 6,405 more sur
NlVors are drawing pensions than
there are actual survivors; a fraud on
its face.
But this is not all. Besides the 64O5
more survivors" drawing pensions
than there are actual survivors, 187.5OO
more survivors are clamOring at the
doors of the treasury for their share Of
the plunder. buIldOzing congressman
DuIidozlng senators, bulldozing the
pension commissioner, bulldOZing the
administration Regardless of the fin
anclal difficulties of the treasury re-
gardleSS of everything save their own
greed TINS army stands clamOring and
demanding the nations bounty: 1873 9O5
more survivors drawing or demand
ing pensions than there are actually
Here is a little table complied from
the pension rolls that may be studied
Actual survivors of the war;, .727 122
survivors drawing pensions. 793. .527
survivors demanding pensions. 1S7.5OO
w ldoWs drawing pensions. ....... 213.352
WIDOWS demanding pensions. ... 1O4. .Q3S
PENSIONERS demanding increase 255. .S49
IotaI rebellion pensioners on
rollS - o. =oc
1otaI survivors or widows get
ting or demanding pensions 139. .317
IN thels table the line Pensioners de-
mandlng increase" viii be noted. There
are z55,S49 pensioners drawing millions
upon millions q year from the govern
ment. who do not think that thev are
getting enough and who demand more
IN the pension business the cry is al
MORE more mOre-' The rec
ord of the pension bureau is a record
OF constantly Increasing expenditures
and constantly increasing rolls. Look
At these figures since 1888:
lumber OF pensioners:
1Ss'.-------- ------.- ..---......... 303 65S
11so5----------- .--.-.----. ...-.... so. .756
80 80 1900 ...-..--.-. ......-...... 345 125
19so---.---- .-----.-..-..---. 49,. S65. 1888
4oet 4OG OO-