The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-23

d Diplomacy Cafe)-'Oping you'll
rider, sir. I took the liberty of cut
er that's just gone hout.
after year without a pension, when
m ost of their associates have one, they
would form a creditable showing. AL
most any man of 60 years has some
inf1rmity fairly assignable to military
service, and so can get a pension, and
yet nearly 100000 SUCH men have not
received any. such aid. All honor, to
sion act would do many of them, too
conscientious to accept a pension I'M
der present conditions, tardy Justice.
The Million Mark.
It is interesting to note for how long
a time the pension roll has fingered
around the million mark. Eleven years
ago Commissioner Raum suggested, in
his annual report, that the number of
pensioners would ultimately reach one
million. It has never done so on the
30th day of June Of any year, when
the tabulation for the official records
is made, and probably never, will, and
Of last year it exceeded that figure
number IF ,oersionars stooa oon
446. In a month: it had crossed the
million line, reaching 1,O01,494. This
seems likely to remain the high-water
mark, at least until service pension
act is passed, and unless that be done
in a few years. Since july. 1902. the
number has been steadily falling. until
by July, 1903, it numbered but 996.-
545. 1t has been in the 99O's since
1897. =.
The snarieb Wars 49,
The cost tn the government por
nensions On account 7of 10 Snanish
and GPhilinnine wars has So far heen
On, ali slteht1v noore4tha * noo oon
How much II will raache affords mo.
feria1 FOR Interesting coniectnre The
number of soldiers and sailors nartici-
.natina in thes snanishT war was a19-
.11f,. and in@the Philinnfne and China
camnaigns 146 900 making q. total Of
inst a ho11t one-fifth. Of the number
narticipatins in the civil war. On ac-
count ~ Z that strugela nensions
. 1no1,ntino r. 50 sOo 000 Oon have OIL
readv bee, na;d 0naI6f+h ~ w.
wo,1id be s70o onn non hut = ,is ~
reasonah1e +o s,1nnose that no sr,a11-
or war will anoppnt to as mich &c
.one.fiftb So nota HE ara TIA cootr. &c
between the two vars. The averare
nj nd 1or nd nf ut,
fehtinp admits ONO comnarisoI
Moreover. the en1istments to The LATER
wars have been subiected to careful
medical examination SO that nresuma-
h1v few narticinants went into The
service with organic diseases mon
which nans;on cIain, co1,1d 70
ward he unwittinplv hased Tho sov-
ernment cou1d not he 81 'na rtic,,lar y,
1863. :, :
On Rat;raman+ Dow III. ~
49, t'' -
Inc regular estaDnshment' Whlch
seems oestlneu 10 ngnt our Iuture pat-
lies III our .roplcai carnpalsns' VIII
no. clalla MUCH III pensions. 1hey
prefer retlre1nent pay, ana one man
cannot uraw poCh. II IS compare
LIVELY easy Aoi d regular army soldler
70 make the thlrty years necessary Tor
retiIeHleht now, SINCE service IN the
fnlnpplnes counts oouple toward that
goal anu many young men Will hence
Iorth ,! De eoing out OF the army into
C =, ne Win l1ils .tnree-1ourths OF
the1f pay at retlrement as a neat lit
ne lLcoine' VII ne U'her prlrlieges
Ives Thesa charees sre hor,e ~ ~, 49, ~
war department and do not figure in
the pension roll.
The cost of maintaining the nension
bureau is now about 50 900 600 q
year, or: three per cent of it's disb1rse-
ments. This includes the salaries ot
1,714 employees amounting to s2.157.-
210. Commissioner Ware significant
~ submits a chapter on their ages in
which he shows that ten Of his clerks
have passed 80 years, twenty more
have passed rs, and sixty-seven more
have passed 70. One-third of the EN-.
ployes of the bureau are above 60
while the average age Of the entire
force of the bureau is SO years. This
illustrates one Of the tendencies of the
civil service system for which as vet
no adequate provision has been made
Nearly every administration officer
will bear testimony to the fact that
there should be service pension sys-
tenn for superannuated government
employees, or else the roll will have
to be steadily made larger to supply
fresh material. Commissioner Ware
recommends the passage Of such q
law, saying that some system of re.
tirement must be devised, as the pres.
ent lack Of anything of the sort is
The Private pens;o, crof+
c:I- -