The evening times., 1898-11-17

WORK OF THE RECORD
AND PENSION OFFICE
INCREASE DURING LAST YER
Annual Report of Colonel AinsSvcrth
Submitted to the Secretary
of War.

During the fiscal year ended June 80,
disposed of is as follows: From the Pen
sion Office, PILOT; from the auditor for
the war Department 2S,l02; remuster
cases, $780, desertion cases, 503S; all 9TH
er cases. miscellaneous. 81 l59; total l93.-
29S; on hand June 30. 1888. none.
This shows a net increase OF d iS9,
more than % per cent. in the number of
cases received and disposed Of
E There was a large increase during the
last fiscal year in the number Of remuster
cases received.
The 5,03S deserton cases mentioned in
the statistical table include only those
briefed and recorded as applications for
removal of the charge of desertion. They
do not include the cases IN which the
charge of desertion was incidentally en-
countered and considered under the law
without a formal application therefor.
During the last fiscal year. the latter
class of cases numbered 1897, making
total of 2.935 cases.
The work of reproducing the individu-
al military and medical records OF the
officers and enlisted men of the volun-
teer forces by the indeX-record card sys-
TEN has been minutely described. The
great mass of the volunteer records of all
wars in which the country has been en-
gagged Except those of the recent war
with Spain, which have not yet been FL
ed in this of1ice), have been carded, The
records, however are of great impor-
tance. and il is essential that those con-
tanning evidence Of personal military
| service shall be included in the general
system of indeX-record cards. This is eS-
Decally the case with regard to service
! in the Revolutionary War, the only evil
! dence of service in that war being, in
many instances. the personal mention
! found in the miscellaneous and fragmen-
tary records now in process of examina-
ton and reproduction.
The iu9eX-rec rd card work for the fisci al
! year included the preparation of 63l, SO;
! military cards (iI9. .Sl1 of this number were
| a constellation of 2,SsS. 7Sl cards made fl or
! monthly returnS) and 9G67 medical cards
making. with the number prepared in pri-
! or years a total of 4g,2l5,Sl4 Of the for
| mer and 66S of the latter class, aggre-
! eating f1.1S6571 indeX-record cards prepar-
1 ed up to and including June 30. 1888
! One object of the transfer of the records
/ of the Revolutionary War and the war o.
/ 1872 TO the War Department was that they
should be prepared for publication
, Congress will doubtless make the neces'
sary appropriation for the publication oi
( these records at the proper time, but II
/ is clearly not advisable to undertake
! the publication of any portion of them
/ especially of those relating to the individ
/ ual histories of officers and enlisted men
until the compilation shall have been com
/ pleted and every available source of in
I formation shall have been exhausted.
Ii is due To the employees of the offict
/ to state that the prompt and satisfactory
/ dispatch of the business of the office il
the natural result of the commendabl'
/ industry, faithfulness and zeal which the.
display in the performance OF their re
1 spective duties