The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-24
Nh. WARES FIGURES.
Additional Facts Cleaned from
His Report.

The annual report of the pension bu-
reau recently made by E. F. Ware. COM
missioner of pensions. is given credit for
being one of the most original and COM
prehenSive documents of the kind ever
issued. This may be a surprise to
Washington people, but they ought to
have known what to expect from KAN
sas man.
The report, which is for the fiscal
year ending June 80. 1903 makes Inter
esting reading not only for those OF the
survivors of the old guard still remain
ing, but for the average citizen who 1s
interested in knowing something or this
department of the public service.
Among the recommendations made by
Commissioner Ware the chief are: The
forfeiture of his pension by every PEN
sioner convicted in court of an infamous
crime; prohibition of the granting OF
pensions to those women who marry SOL
diers after they have become pensioners,
and the creation of a civil list whereby
superannuated clerks of the pension de-
partment may be provided for. the re-
port calls attention to the fact that OF
liza clerks employed 500 are go years
of age or over.
There are a good many interesting
facts in the report. For instance, there
are five pensioners of the Revolution on
| the pension rolls, two widows and three
daughters of those who fought against
George III for American liberty. There
is single survivor of the War of
1872, but there are /, 115 widows of sur
vivors of this war drawing pensions.
Other pensioners of later wars are as
follows:
Indian wars - Survivors, 1865;
widows, 3.169. Mexican war-Survivors,
1854: widows. 1910. Service after
March 4. 1861: General laws-Army in
ValidS, 264, 139; army widows, S6,866;
navy widows. 2.221; army nurses 624.
Act June %. 1S90--Army invalids. 427,-
I'll; army widows, 1856, 249; navy in
valids, 1000; navy widows, 6.992. War
with Spain: General laws-Army in
valids 8,79S: armv@widows, BASS; navy
invalids. 402; navy widows, ia. Total,
996. 545.
There has been a gain during the
fiscal year ended June go 1908, of the
| Gain by act of the bureau, 44,256: gain
by special act of congress, 231. Total,
HAST
There has been lost from the rolls the
following number of pensioners during
the same time for causes as follows:
BY death. 40.907: by remarriage, LISP;
by legal limitation (minors), 1892: by
failure to claim, 2s791; for other causes,
| 1,146. Total, Al 1888.
| The number of deaths among the SOL
Among these, 27,S42 of the deaths were
volunteers of the civil war.
| The death rate among the pensioners
for the coming year is estimated to be
about $4,000 and the losses to the roll
! from other causes will be about 5000.
The report states that the government
has paid in pensions on account of wars
| in which the United States has been en-
gagged a grand total of $3,03S, 623. $50 16.
This sum is divided among the different
wars as follows:
Revolutionary war (estimated). $780,,
600. 600; war of 1912 Con account of SER
vice without regard to, disability, $45,-
1856, 1922; Indian wars Service pen
sions) sc. 234 41455: war with Mexico
| (service pensions). S33, ass. 309. 81: war of
the rebellion, s.. SIS, 240, 400.17; war with
Spain, $5.479. 268.31.
The cost of the pension system to the
aggregate wealth of the country for the
period from 1890 to 1908, inclusive, is
shown by the following table: