The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-15
NO DECREASE IN PENSIONS
ON III CONTRARY, THET HAVE o
REACHED THE HIGHEST POINT.
Con'tnissioncr II. Clay Rvana's Forthcoming
Report Will show That Last Year the Meme
Der OF Pensioners Increased $4,000 ana
the Expenditures Increased S8, OOo.O o

Commissioned II. Clay Rvanars Forthcoming
Report Will Show That Last Year the Nuua-
Der or Pensioners Increased ls. ana
the Expenditures Increased SB, 900, 900.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1A,-Commissioncr OF
Pensions III. Clay Evans has completed the re-
port OF tho dolngs Of his bureau for the past
hscal year. and tho results, which will be
made public In full in n few days, will prove
to DO anything but gratifying to tho taxpayers.
VINO have been vainly hoping for years thai
tho great burden Of pension payments had
reached its highest point and would soon be-
gin to decrease rapidly.
Mr.. Evans finds that this is not so. al
though he holds out tho hope that the burden
will begin to grow smaller within n year or
two, but even this, 1t appears, may not be true
unless there Is some legislation provided to
Keep from swelling the pension lists with long.
lived young widows as fast as tho old soldiers
drop Off.
Il am going to try to get Congress to put a
stop to the present opportunities which tho
law offers TO women to secure pensions for life
from the United States by marrying an old sol
der said Commissioner Evans to-day, by
recommending some important pension legis.
lation. The practice by women of securing
pensions in this manner Is VIGOROUSLY com.
mon. At the soldiers homes young women
wiz eiuI UP lHt CIliIlCe ~ marry utCTCplb oIu
men, evidently hoping that they will soon die
and leave the pension. aud in many of these
cases tho women do not even 1.-Two with the
men they marry.
II hope TO recommend to Congress that q
law be passed providing that women marry
ing soldiers hereafter shall not DO entitled to
any pension upon the death of their hus.
bands. The law Of 1890 makes this stipu-
lation regarding the pensions which are pay
able under that act, but the great majority of
the pensioners now on the rolls draw their
money by virtue OF previous acts
MIR. Evans said that he expected tho pro-
posed law would meet with much opposition
from the Grand Army men, but 1t was u neces.
sity, in the interest OF justice.
Mr. ENane'S report viii show that there are
nov. on the pension list. aS the result of the late
civil war, which ended in ls6o. the names of
0s3.62S pensioners. The year before there
this additional $4,000 names, Mr.. Evans ex.
plains, is due TO his having taken up and dis.
posed OF a large number of old claims for ar
rchrs of pensions, which lie found on file when
he took chnrge OF the office n year ngo. There
are n great number OF these, and they have been
accuInuiating in the Office for years. Nearly
the whole $4,000 increase comes from, such OF
these old claims as have been allowed. and there
are still large numbers OF the ancient claims
winch are yet to be disposed Of, The number
of these which are likely to be allowed, he init.
by. death for the next year.
i predict, however" he says, that, after the
| year lSSN inc nuulOtr Will Utkln 10 drop, anu
after it once begins to go down it will decline
very rapidly. The soldiers of the late war arc
getting old very fast and many OF them passed
away during the last year
The expenditures during the year just ended
were also greater than those of the year before
by n little more. than 50, % 900. They
amounted to Sll2,I77, s4l.s0. Mr.. Evans says
that only about 81 600. 900 of this is properly
an increase in the disbursements for the year,
because another million should have been added
to the disbursements of tho year before and
subtracted from his list.
sNlh;In Tho ,.,,nr, - Ton,,o;,;,no 7 o.h.on ,,
says Mr.. Evans, shows that but Sl39. 100000
was spent on account OF pensions during 1906,
this does not include the entire amount OF
money which should have been paid out under
my predecessor. Just before the fiscal year
ending, June 30. 1896, closed, Mr.. Lochren
twenty days in the month of June. These dis
burseinents were not made until July, or in the
next fiscal year. My administration had 10 as
sumo the payment OF these claims. although
they matured during the term of Mr.. Lochren
They amounted 10 about 81. 900 600"