The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-11
LIGHT ON PENSION AFFAIRS
THE ANNUAL REPORT OF CON-
 MISSIONER WARE.
Not Likely That the Roll Wili Again
 Cross the Million Ltne-HoVy the Pen.
 sioners Are Diatributed-Recomm dasions-cost of the system.

Washington, Sept. 10.-The annual re-5 port of Commissioner of Pensions Ware
 places the total number Of pensioners
 now on the rolls at ss6,545. of which
 729, 1856 are soldiers and 267. .1S9 are Wid-s
 ows and dependents. MT. Ware ar-5
 nounces that it is not probable that the
 pension roll will again cross the million line, the high water mark having been
 reached a year ago. Five of the pen
 sioners are on the roll on account os
 the War of the Revolution, 1.116 on ac-E
 count O. the war oe 1872, 4.7s4 on ac- l count os the Indian wars and 13.S74 on account of the Mexican war. The great l bulk of the roll is as follows:
 Civil WET. invalids, 703,456, widows, 248,390 Spanish war inyalids, 9,200,
 widows, S,662: and the regular estab- lishment, inylaids, 9,1S0; widows, 2,93S.
 The roll shows a net loss of 2,901 pen-
 sioners during the year. Out of a total of s04,s09 applications on hand during
 the year 130.l09 were admitted and 11S.- T94 rejected.
 The annual average value of each
 pension $ now $133. The annual value of the Spanish pension roll has reached S1. 765. .s1O. Z
 Commissioner. Ware makes the fol- lowing recommendation
 I Laws forfeiting pension or right to pension of any man convicted of an in lco,, flf pensions to those women who marry soldiers after the soldiers become old pensioners; and different method of examining applicants for pension, stamping the present system as uncer- tain expensive, unsatisfactory and gen. erative o. an enormous amount of po- litical friction Mir Ware suggests boards constituted O. experts under lcivil service rules which should go from lplace to place on fixed days, giving ex- laminations and receiving testimony re- garding the condition of applicants and
 making reports thereon. He also rec- ommends law providing for superarl- nuated clerks, vigorously urging some 1 law of retirement and provision. MT. l Ware says that the bureau has gained upon the current work 100, 900 cases dur ling the lask two years. On interesting
 historical analysis of pension figures shows that the actual total of disburse-
 ments in pensions on account of the ! Revolutionary war. war of 1912. Indian ! wars, Mexican war, civil war and the
 war with Spain, was sS,Oss, ,62s,5s tsss$ It is estimated that $I6.000.000 was l paid in pensions for disabilities and deaths due to military and naval ser
 vice in the wars of 1872 and with Mex leo during the time of peace to the war of the rebellion, making the payments
 of pensions to soldiers and sailors of 1 the war of the rebellion Of the regular military and naval establishment since 1.-the close of that war and their widows,
 and dependent relatives amount to $2,- 862, ,240, 400.
 ] The cost of the pension system per capita of population for 1903 is given as $1.T5. The system according to Conn l missioner Ware was the greatest burr
 den to the people of the United States
 iii 1893. since which time it has shrunk | from SPA to $1.32 per s1 900 of taxable I wealth and in ten years, he says, the ! burden will cease to be noticed. MT, I Ware estimates that the unpensioned ! survivors os the civil war. exclusive of
 deserters, is in round numbers 100000
 and says that this unknown army is
 meeting with disease and misfortune to
 such an extent that it is applying for
 pensions at the rate of over 14.000 per
 annum. In the years, MT. Ware pre- l diets, the unknown army will have 1 ceased to be factor. . $.55