Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1897-02-12
EXPENSE is CUT DOWN
NUMBER OF PENSION AGENCIES
CUT IN HALF.
Annual Saving of Over 100000 I'm
One Department., With No De-
crease in Service.

Washington, Feb. 1.-THE president has
signed, upon the recommendation of Sec
rotary of the Interior Francis, an i'm
portant order, reducing the number of
pension agencies in the United States
from IS to nine. The object of the order
is to effect large saving to the govern
ment without mountaineering the pen
sioners. The secretary demonstrates that
by this reduction of the pension agencies
the cost of disbursement of pensions can
be reduced by at least s15O,O0O per an
mum. The change was made possible by
an amendment to the law governing the
disbursing of PENSIONS which amend
ment was approved March %, 1896. 1t re-
quired that all pensioners should after
that date be paid by checks remitted by
mail.
Reports from the pension agencies in
reply to inquiries as to the operation of
the new law were to the effect that I'M
der it the pensioners are paid much more
promptly, that the possibility of error is
minimized and that upon the whole 1t
is much more satisfactory to the pension
ers than the former law. The agents also
advise that the pensioners receive their
pensions when remitted by the mail at
their homes, where, being surrounded by
family influences, the pensioner is much
more Ake1y to make a judicious DISPOSE
ton of his pension money. Under the
previous law many pensioners collected
their quarterly payments in person and,
under the influence Of bad associations,
were often induced to apply those pay
ments unwisely and deprive their families
of the benefits thereof.
In Eject September L.
This executive order will go into effect
September l next, its execution having
been postponed until that date in order
that no pensioner should suffer incon-
venience in consequence Of delay in re-
ceiving his pension, and to give ample
time for the removal of the rolls and rec.
ords from the agencies discontinued. The
consolidation was made by uniting exist
Ing agencies and the entire Jurisdiction
thereof, in order that no expense should
be incurred by the making of new rolls.
The agencies at Concord, N. H., and Au-
gusta, Maine, are discontinued, and pay
ments hitherto made there are ordered
made from the agency at Boston, Mass;
the pensioners heretofore paid at Buffalo,
N. Y, are to be paid from the New York
city agency; those at Pittsburg, from the
Philadelphia agency; those at Louisville
and Knoxville. from Washington; those
at Detroit, from Indianapolis; those at
Milwaukee, from Chicago; those at Des
Moines and Topeka, from ST. Louis where
a new agency is established.
A new agency is established at st. Louis
because of the better mail facilities there
than at Des Moines or Topeka. and for
the further reason that there Is a gov
eminent building at st. Louis which can
be occupied without cost to the govern
ment, and there Is also a sub-treasury
there.
A pension agency was removed from
st. Louis to Topeka in 1882. There are
more pensioners now in Missouri than in
Kansas or in any state formerly paid by
the Topeka or the Des Moines agency.
There are In Missouri 5S,812 pensioners,
in Kansas 42,4S2, in Iowa 37.79S.
Agencies and Pensioners.
TIE following are the nine agencies and
the number of pensioners paid thereat
under the new order:
Boston, 94,457; New York, $685. Phila-
delphia, 106735; Washington, 14O, 265; CO.
lumbus, 1O4,492; Indianapolis, 1906; Chi
cago, 125, 233; St. Louis ISL, 700; San Fran
cisco, 23,09S; total, 97O,673.
The estimated saving to the govern
ment is as follows; Clerk hire, s1O5, SIS;
mum, $50. 900; contingent expenses of agen-
cies discontinued, $1O1S2.
Under the new law the agents report
that about twice as many pensioners are
paid during the first two days of each
quarterly payment as under the old law.
This saving can be effected without any
inconvenience to the pensioners, and will
reduce the annual expenses of the gov
eminent to just that extent, and may
tend to allay to some degree the opposi-
ton that has been manifested hitherto
to the great pension disbursements of the
government.
The total cost for pensions and the dis
bursements thereof for the fiscal year
ended June 80, 1896, was $142, 2O6 sos, made
up as follows: Payments to pensioners,
3S,2l5176; fees to examining surgeons
81, 1853 100; maintaining pension bureaus at
Washington. 81, 1858, 100; cost of maintaining
pension agencies, $685., O27.
1t is on this last item the new order
is intended to save between $3.50, 900 and
$160,0O0 per annum.