The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-23
our PENSION BILL |
Interesting Facts and Figures About
What It Costs Uncle Sam
for Pensions.
The Unknown Army Which
Steadily Declines to Come in
49,. on the Roll.

From The Journal Bureau, Room 46, Post Build
Ing Washington.
Washington, Oct. ga cubic foot of
coinage gold is worth s2s0,977.92.
Pension Commissioner Ware has COM
puted that the outlay for pensions
since the foundation Of the govern
1nent, if met in gold, would make an
obelisk 10 feet square and LOG feet
high. This illustration, perhaps,
gives an idea of what 3,000,000,000
means; a billion ordinarily expresses
something of which the human mind
has little comprehension.
It is an extraordinary fact that the
total cost of the pension system from
the foundation of the government to
June 80, 1865, or until the civil war
was over, a period of three-quarters of
a century, amountd to but $4,000, 900,
or the present disbursement for eight
months and nine days. This is an ex-
ample of the magnitude of#modern
operations. Pensions for the Revo-
lutionary war have cost up to date but
$7O,000,O00, and as there are but five
olutionary pensioners now on the
roll, the chapter. is nearly closed. This
revolutt onaryTto tai re presentssa about six
months expenditure toT days The war
of 1sl2,swhich hasseqntinued as an
active charge. until, the present day,
has cost but $45, 100000. ~ <
Its pensioners include one partici-
pant and Lis widows. Were the
1872 pensioners to have a reunion,
poor Hiram Cronk of Oneida county,
New York, would be rather lonesome
among so many women. He is now
the revolution died in 1869, at the age
of 100. It may be regarded as a gen.
eral truth in pension records that the
widows last thirty years longer than
the participants of any war. About
thirty years from how the last of the
1872 widows will be dropping from the
list, just as the last participant is now
nearing the end. By widow is I'M
derstood in pension nomenclature all
dependents-everybody. except actual
participants. For the war of 1912,
however, practically all the depend
ents carried on the rolls are actually
widows. .y 49, *., :. ~
During the last year the number of
civil war participants on our rolls fell
off nearly 10000, while the number of
civil war widows increased by 24,581.
This shows that wives are younger
than their husbands more often than
older, and also that our pension laws
operate to put something of a premium
upon the young woman's marrying the
old soldier, many years her senior.
Commissioner Ware recommends in
his predecessors, that a law be
passed to prevent granting hereafter a
pension to the woman who marries a
soldier after he has become a pension
er. This would permit the veteran
who draws no pension to marry, and
on dying subsequently to leave his
widow eligible to a pension, but it
would cut off the inducement to
marry old soldiers near the end OF
their lives for the sake of their pen
slons. This recommendation ought to
be adopted by congress, in the interest
Of fair play and public morals, but
there is little likelihood that it will be-
No representative enjoys identifying
himself with any measure or any ef-
forts tending to curtail the pension
roll or to lessen those eligible to a
place on 1T. It is much easier to get
the laws liberalized than to make any
change In the other direction.
Survivors of the Civil War.
The average age Of participants OF
the war for the union is now So years
The question is constantly asked: How
many survivors of the civil war re-
main unpensioned, exclusive of desert
ers This subject has been CAREFUL,
investigated by Thomas D. Yeager
Commissioner Wares private secre
tary, with results which will occasion
some surprise. He believes that tn,
number of survivors of the rebellion
on June 80, 1903, was 894,585, or ii
round numbers, about 100000. TIL,
number of these who are drawing pen
sions is .703,456, leaving about 200, OO(
from whom future additions to tn,
rolls may be drawn. Special test
have been made Of the ratio of pen
sioners to survivors on a small scale
with about these results. Of the 500
soldiers employed in the pension bu
reau, 401 are pensioners. It has beer
computed that Is per cent Of the mum
Der now on the roll would be added
by service pension act, exclusive, o.
course, Of the few persons who would
refuse to accept it. From this con
tingent which has not yet asked fol
pension under the liberal laws al
ready existing, $4,000 a year are nov
coming in.
The Unknown Army"
Those who served in the civil wal
but are not on the pension roll have
been described by COMMISSIONS Ware
as the unknown army" He estimate.
that it will lose per cent by death
the coming year. If to this be added
the Id 600 who enter the "knowr
army by getting on the pension roll
it's membership will be reduced BY
$4,000. Hence, if the pension laws
remain unchanged, this unknown
army" will be reduced to 10000 by
1908, and in ten years will cease te
be a factor altogether. Doubtless, ii
/ l. S.5 IL -. III -.