The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-09-19
RUNS PENSION BUREAU
-%-
Commissioner Henry Clay Evans In
the City.
A DECREASE IN PENSIONS
REPORTS A FALLING OFF IN EX-
PENDITURES.
Eighteen Thousand Applications
From Veterans of Spanish War
Ohio Draws More Pensions Than
Any Other State-Why He Was
Criticised By G. A. r. Veterans.

Henry Clay Evans, commissioner of
pensions, arrived in town yesterday af-
ternoon and registered at the Knuts-
ford. Mr.. Evans is on his annual va
cation tour, and has brought all his
geniality and southern hospitality with
him. He has the reputation of being
the most polished and cordial official
in Washington, as well as the heartiest
handshaker. Mr. Evans brought all of
the above virtues into play yesterday
afternoon when he met his old con-
gressional chum, Senator Frank j. Can
non, on Main street.
Speaking about pensions, Mr.. Evans
said: Il notice that all commercial and
financial enterprises are in remark
ably prosperous condition. The pen
sion business set the pace for every
thing in the race up to the end of the
present fiscal year, June 30. The sta
tistics at that time showed a decrease
of 2195 pensions, so you see my bust
ness is the only one that isn't going to
pay dividends at the end of the cur
rent year. 1t isn't so prosperous as 1t
used to be- and a merry smile stole
over Mr.. Evans features. Last year
the pension appropriations amounted to
$140 000, 600, and of that amount we dis
bursed $13S, 1855, 900. The expenditures for
the previous fiscal year, ending June
80, 1898, were S144 651, 900, showing a saw
ing between June 80, 1888, and June 30,
1899, of s6,S00,000.
Ohio Leads the List.
"Ohio has the largest number of pen-
siolers of any state in the Union, hav-
ing $50 more than Pennsylvania. Kan
sas' pension list rivals her muchtalked
men drawing stipends for service in
the Mexican and civil wars as she had
soldiers in both of them, but, of course,
that is due to soldiers moving west to
settle.
THE number of soldiers who have
filed claims against the government
since the Spanish-American war is
about $4,000. Most OF them have not
been acted upon; the only ones that
have been adjudicated have been the
claims arising from soldiers debilitated
by wounds, and in some instances the
widows of men killed in action. The
majority of the claims filed state ma
larial and typhoid fevers as the cause.
No doubt most of the $4,000 are from
soldiers who did not get out of the
country, as the proportion of men who
enlisted to men that saw actual service
was about 10 to L.
Mr.. Evans Career.
Mr.. Evans was born at Westchester,
Juniata county, Pennsylvania, in 1S47.
His parents moved to Wisconsin and he
spent his youth in the Badger state. He
enlisted in the Forty-first Wisconsin
infantry in 1864 as q private, and saw
service in Tennessee under General C.
c. Washburn until the close of the war;
After muster-out he went to Chatta-
y -
of chattanooga, and in 1888 he was
elected on the Republican ticket to the
Fifty-f1rst congress. The district which
elected him was Immediately gerryman-
dered by the Democrats, making re-
election hopeless. In 1893 he was ap-
pointed first assistant postmaster gen.
eral by President Harrison to succeed
General Wheaton. In 1894 he ran for
governor of Tennessee. but was defeat
ed by Turney, the Democratic candi-
date.
In April, 1897. Mr. Evans was appoint
ed commissioner of pensions by Presi-
dent Mckinley. Some years ago Mr.
Evans was introduced to General Sher-
man as plain mister. The general re-
marked as he shook hands: Permit
me to congratulate you on being a pri-
vate, sir. but you must feel terribly
lonely. You're the only man below the
IdnA Oh captain lndl L We met IN len
nessee.''
Criticised By Veterans.
At the last reunion of the Grand
Army of the Republic at Philadelphia
there was considerable adverse criti-
cism directed against Commissioner
Evans on the supposition, ne says, that
he was inimical to the new measure
relating to the limit of the income of
widows and the amount of pension they
were entitled to, about to be intro
duced into congress. Under the law of
1890 the widow of a soldier who had
died of wounds or disability incurred
in line of duty was entitled to pen
sion of So a month, provided her in
come, outside of her earnings, did not
exceed 500 a year. The measure about
to be introduced provides that the same
rule holds good, with the extension of
the prohibitory limit from $50 to $3.50 a
year. The veterans took exception to
Commissioner Evans remarks that he
intended to enforce the old rule until
the new enc became a law. In other
words, he was criticised because he
would not discount the new measure.
The matter was adjusted before the
convention adjourned.
Mr.. Evans is on his way to join his
wife and daughter, who are now visit
ing his son, Henry Clay Evans, jr.,
second lieutenant in the Third United
States artillery, stationed at the Pre-