The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1902-08-01
WASHINGTON LETTER.


From our regular correspondent.
WASHINGTON, July 80, 1902.
Some surprising figures are obtainable
at the office of Pension Commissioner
Ware these days. Those which are most
surprising relate chiefly to the applica-
tions for pensions which have been filed,
based on injuries received during the
Spanish war. The peculiar feature of the
situation is that the men who did most of
the fighting are not the ones who find
themselves most in need of pensions.
Taking the figures of the men who ac-
tually participated in the battle of SAN
tiago, it is shown that of FIVE regiments
of volunteers, three were killed and thir-
teen were wounded. but according to
applications for pensions 2,So1 were in
valided. On the other hand of five reg
iments of regular troops engaged in the
same battle, SIS were killed and 3eo
wounded, and claims for pensions filed
show but SIS to have been invalided. One
company whose captain was pension
attorney has a record of filing pension
claims for almost every man in the COM
pany. 1t is also noticeable that even
among the volunteer companies the num-
Der of claims filed by those recruited in
northern states far exceeds those filed by
companies recruited in southern states.
*x*
Secretary Moody has completed the
system whereby he expects to arrive at
the exact cost of the Connecticut, which
is to be built in the New York navy yard.
Not only is the pay of the officers who
supervise or direct the construction of the
vessel to be taken into account, but the
cost of their education as we'll, so that no
penny which might be properly charged
to the cost of construction will be over
looked. Mr.. Moody figures that aside
from the pay of an officer during his
active service, he costs the government
ST 900 per year, which sum is arrived at
by adding the cost of his education to the
average amount of pay of a retired officer
and dividing the total by 40, which is
taken as the average length of active
service. Therefore, if an officer spent
three years supervising the construction
of the Connecticut and during that time
received as pay IS, 500 per year, his ser
vices would be figured as costing the
government $I3, 500.
~
;o :.,ka {o1r -,
case in the Department of the Interior
this summer of which only the merest
details have reached the newspaper men.
1t seems that number of large companies
have been organized for the purpose of
exploiting the oil lands of Wyoming.
Many of these lands are the property of
the Union Pacific Railroad but under the
provisions of the land grant made to this
company the land would revert to the
government in the event that mineral
wealth was found on them. The COM
panies referred to have undertaken to
secure title under the mining law and the
railroad company, seeing great possibl-
tiles for cheap fuel, has undertaken to
retain possession of the land. That is
the story so far as it is obtainable al
though it is possible that there may be
other developments which will be reveal
ed later on.
x**
Considerable surprise has been occa-
stoned by the showing of the Census
Bureau in regard to the property owned
by the farmers of the country. Accord
ing to these figures, the farmers own but
20 per cent of the wealth of the country,
Notwithstanding the fact that they con-
stitute approximately one half the
population.