The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-30
COST OFNEW PENSION RULE
The Department Estimates 1t at
S5.4OO,OOO a Year.

washington. March 3o-The secretary
of the interior has sent to the senate
a communication in response to Sen
ator Overmans resolution directing the
secretary TO furnish to the senate
copy of the order issued by the de-
partment charging the pension act OF
June 81. 1890. and amendments as to
the disability of applicants for pen
sions, and to report by what amount
the order will increase pensions an
nually. In the course of his communl-
cation he says
Disability, partial or complete, to
perform manual labor is the sole meas
ure Of the right to a pension under the
act of June 81, 1890. The element OF
manual labor is fundamental. H. IN
the adjudication of a pension claim, it
shall be determined that the applicants
pensionable disability renders him
wholly incapacitated for manual labor,
his pension rating will be raised &C
cordingly, even though the applicant
may be then occupied with distin-
guished usefulness in some field of in
tellectual labor.
mot only does the act itself provide
that each and every inf1rmity SHAH De
duly considered but the decision under
it uniformly recognize the principle that
I liabilities due to senility alone are pen
sionable. -
no this fact, together with the grow
| ing importance Of age condition. is due
! in considerable measure the necessity
/ for acC1On on the HIt0 lA3lS OidCAs
specifically defining, as far as practica-
\ BILE ratings from the best obtainable
data for infirnities due to senility
This order in question merely lays
down. as a convenient rule of decision
and unrebuttable presumption of fact,
| that one who is otherwise entitled and
is 81 years of age is partially disabled
/ from earning a livelihood by his hands;
| that one who is So is more disabled Tor
manual work; that one who is 6S is in
a still greater degree incapable OF earn
| ing a support by manual labor, and that
one of 20 is completely disabled in this
regard.
tilted by general experience in actual
life.
when it is understood in the adiu-
/ dication under this act age has always
/ been considered a factor with other
sidered that for more than ten years
there has been an established rating
Ghe maximum allowed by law) based
solely on the age of So years, it will be
apparent how largely problematica
must be any estimate of increase of ex-
penditure under the order of March
Is, 1904. The acting commissioner OF
pensions estimates that the order OF
March 10, 1904 will result in an in
creased expenditure annually of So,
Secretary Hitchcock's letter is ac
companied by a letter from Acting
/ commissioner OF PENSIONS Davenport
who says Commissioner Wares orde
does not enlarge but simply construe
the pension act of June n, 1890, and it
amendments. Mr.. Davenport says:
THE amount the order will increas
pensions annually and particular.
when the same shall become fully op
erative, can be only roughly estimated
, There are supposed to be living toda,
, about $4,000 ex-union soldiers of IN
; civil war. OF these are pensioned un
, der the act of July Il, 1852, known 6
, the general law about 265,000, and IN
| der the act of June 27, 1890, about i2S,
900: aggregating 500, 900 which deduct
, ed from the whole number of survivor
leaves $4,000 who have not applied TO
l pensions To state definitely ho'
: many of this number failed to serv
, the required 80 days and receive fins
, honorable discharges would be I'm
) possible One-fourth seems a fair 6
: innate, and reduces the number I
l13e. 500. To say that $4,000 of thes
have reached the age of 81 and WI
amply. seems a reasonable estimate.
these rs 600 are placed on rolls at 50 {
= S72 a year the output for pensions WI
y be Increased s5.400,000 annually
1.-The pension roll is diminishing raT
o idly. owing to deaths of benenciarle
$ and in all probability this decreas
# will Offset any gains caused by claim
n of soldiers to have reached the age
: 65 and upwards