Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-03-30
Secy. Hitchcock Sends il to Senate
In Response to the 0verman
Resolution.
IS A RULE OF PRESUMPTION.
II Does Not Enlarge but Simply Con.
stfues the Law Of June 81, and
Its Amendments.

Washington, March 9a--The Sec
rotary of the interior today sent to the
senate n communication in response
to Senator Oyermans resolution direct
ing the secretary TO furnish to the SEN
ate copy Of the order issued by the
department, charging the pension act
Of June q, 1890 and amendments as
to the disabilities OF applicants for
pensions. and to report by what
amount the order will Increase pensions
annually.
In the course Of his communication
he says:
Disability, partial or complete, to
perform manual labor. Is the sole
measure of the right to a pension I'M
der this act OF June q, 1890. The
element of manual labor is fundamen.
tai IT, in adjudication Of pension
claim, 1t shall be determined that the
applicants pensionable disabilities rem.
der him wholly incapacitated for man.
ual labor, his pension rating will be
raised accordingly even though the APP
plicant may be then occupied with dis
tingulshed usefulness In some field Of
intellectual endeayor
mot only does the act itself provide
that each and every innrmity shall be
duly considered, but the decisions UNI
der 1t uniformly recognize the prn-
ciple that liabilities due to senilIty
alone are pensionable.
ITO this fact, together with the
growing importance of age conditions.
is due In considerable measure the me-
cessity for action on the line OF this
order, specifically defining, as far as
practicable. ratingss from the best OBJ
tainabe data for inflrmitles due To
senility.
"The order in question merely LAYS
down, AS a convenient rule OF deCls-
ion, and unrebuttable presumption Of
fact that one who Is otherwise entitled
and is 62 years OF age is partially dis
abled from earning livelihood by his
hands; that one who Is So Is more
diabled for manual work; that one
who Is IS Is In a still greater degree
Incapable Of earning a support by man
ual labor, and that one Of 90 is COM
pletey disabled I'm this regard. Ger
talnly such Il presumption is justified
by general experience in actual life,
When 1t Is understood that i'm the
adjudicatlons under this act age has
always been considered factor with
other disabilities; and when IL IL fur
Their considered that for more than 10
years there has been an established
rating, the maximum allowed by law
based solely on the age of O. years,
II viii be apparent how largely prob,
lematical must be any estimate of in.
crease Of expenditures under the order
Of March Is, 1904
THE acting commissioner Of pen
sions estimates that the order OF March
10, 1904, VIII result in an increased eX-
penditure Of s5,iOGOOO."
Secy. Hltchcock's letter is accom-,
panied by letter from Acting Com,
missioner OF Pensions Davenport. who
says Commissioner Wares order does
not enlarge, but simply construes the
pension act of June q, 1890, and It's
amendments
Mr. Davenport says; 1.-THE amount
the order Will Increase pensions an
nually, and particularly when the
same shall become fully operative, can
be only roughly estimated. There are
supposed TO be living today about S75,-
900 eX-Cnion soldiers Of the civll war.
OF these there are pensloned under the
act of July II. 1862, known as the gem
eral law, about 265,0OO, and under the
act OF June q, 1850, about 42S,OOO, ag-
gregatlng $4,000. which, deducted from
the whole number OF survivors, leaves
$4,000 who have not applied for PEN
slons. To state definitely how many OF
this number failed to serve the re-
Quired 30 days and receive final hon
orable discharge would be impossible.
One-fonrth seems a fair estimate, and
reduces the number to l3G,500. To sa,
that 10000 Of these have reached The
age of 90 and will apply, seems rea-
sonable estimate. II these $4,000 are
placed on the rolls at S6 month, or
s12 n year, the output for pensions viii
be increased S5,400.00O annually.
THE pension roll is diminishing rap
idly owing to deaths OF benehcIares,
and in all probability this decrease will
Offset any gains caused by claims OF
soldiers who have reached the age
OF IS and upwards"