The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1904-03-17
$4,95,65S.GO
5,568.O
14,402,S20.OO
7,552,04O.00
14,4Oo,0oo.0o
$41,308. O86.60

Total ..................$ 41 800 OS6.6O
| This is the absolute limit, the very
maximum, the highest possible.
The indeterminate figure Is as to the
number Of widows Of men who
had served 90 days or more
and who were married to their hus-
bands prior to the passage Of the Act Of
June q, 1890. No possible calculation
can make the cost Of these exceed $1,000
600 more-say, $43, 100000 for the gross
aggregate. From this grand total must
begin at once some very remarkable redue-
tons. In the first place, there must be
hundreds Of thousands Of veterans alive
| who are yet some years below 62.
The greatest strength the army reached
during the war was May 1. 1865. when its
| grand total was 1,O00516 men.
To attain these enormous proper
lions the country had been gone
| over very thoroughly. Hundreds Of
| thousands Of boys who had grown up
since the beginning Of the struggle, but
were too young to be accepted under the
earlier calls, were now taken. Under the
call Of July 18, 1854, 100000 men were re-
quired, and the States furnished 1856, 461
| and under the call of Dec. 10, 1864, for
30O, coo men, 212, PIP more were furnished,
| making a total of 59S,673 in the last six
months Of the war. A very large proper
ton of these were the boys Of Is and up
ward above alluded to, and their survivors
must consequently now be from 81 years
| upward. Very many Of them probably will
have to wait eight years before they will
be eligible under the 62-years' clause.
OF the non-pensioned veterans tens OF
| thousands will never apply for pension,
| or have some bar in their way if they do.
or the widows tens Of thousands have
been married since the passage of the Act
of June q, 1890, and are therefore de-
| barred under that Act.
Giving all these considerations a fair
| value, it does not seem possible that the
tstal cost of the passage Of the G. A. X.
Service Pension Bill can cause an increase
ID the annual expenditures for the FIRST
year Of more than half the above gross
total: that is, it is highly improbable that
it can cost more than $23,O00,O00 or $24,-
OOO, 900 the first year.
Then comes the next consideration. All
the evidence goes to show that the yeter-
ans are dying off at the rate OF $4,000 a
year, and their widows. certainly those
who were married to them prior to June
u, 1890, are now old women and dying
| of with equal rapidity. A death rate of
$1,000 and more year would therefore
make reduction of at least $1,000 times
$144 year, or 100000.
II the bill were passed tomorrow there
would be at least 25,000 deaths before II
could be put into operation. and $3,600,O 00
must be at once deducted for this.
| As all material from which pensioners
can be drawn would then be upon the
roll, this reduction OF at least 1900, OO0
each year would show up astonishingiy In
the diminution Of the pension expendi.
4 lures. It would be more than this because
the pensioners who are on the rolls al
rates exceeding $12 per month. are In bad
physical condition and must die of more
rapidly than those rated lower, and conse
| quently the decrease in the expenditure
would be even much greater.
These are figures known to everybody
who cares to know anything about pen
sions, accessible to every one who cares
to study the pension question, and are in
I disputabie, so that there is no excuse what
ever for the exaggeratiens which have
been made as to the probable cost Of the
G. A. r. Service Pension Bill.