The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-02-13
ANNUAL PENSION BILL UP
HOUSE Of Representatives Passes the
Yearly Measure.
Pensionera of the spanish War NUM-
Der More Than the Maximum
Of Skaters Cuban Army.

Washington, D. C.-For three hours
the House talked about the size of the
annual bill for pensions, and then in
less than three minutes voted $780,
100000 to meet the pension bill for the
next fiscal year, and tackled on a clause
which will add more millions to the
next bill. Mr. Gardner, of Michigan,
Chairman of the subcommittee, opened
the debate with an analysis of the ex-
listing pension rolls and prophecy for
the future that contained some surpris-
ing figures
The pension rolls now include
names chargeable to every war in
which this country has ever engaged, &
he said. "We are 1913 years removed
from the last day of the War of the
Revolution, yet there are still on the
rolls six names chargeable to that war
We are eighty-one years removed from
the close of the second war with Great
Britain, yet there are now on the rolls
the names of 5000 widows of men who
fought in that war
Twenty years ago the prediction
was made that we had reached the
high tide of pension expenditure, and
that from that time forward the rolls
would rapidly grow shorter But now
forty years after the close of the Civil
War, we have the greatest number on
the rolls we have ever had, and we are
almost at the maximum of appropria-
ton.
The expense of carrying on the
Civil War. was in round numbers &c.
OO0,O00,O00. We have already expend-
ed for pensions growing out of that war
IS, 3OOO00,O00, and I venture the pre-
diction that before death has removed
the last survivor of that war from the
rolls that sum will be increased to an
amount equaling, if not exceeding, the
original cost of the war.
Twenty years from now there will
be round half million pensioners still
on our rolls, if we have no other war
in the meantime There are now on
the rolls 400 survivors OF the Mexican
War, and the widows Of 67O0 other
Mexican War soldiers. Yet that war
was closed ten years before our present
President was born.
If the army in the Spanish War fur
nishes the same proportion of pension
claimants that the Union Army in the
C1ftl war LAS luFulhuOu, twenty years
from now there will be 132,414 Spanish
War pensioners on the rolls.
THE Spanish-America War fur
nished total Of $4,000 enlistments.
To-day there are more pensioners on
the rolls from the Spanish War soldiers
than the maximum number of men in
Skaters army in Cuba. There were
killed a total of sos officers and en-
listed men. The entire number of
killed and wounded was 1857, and the
deaths fnm all causes were 661O, or a
small fraction over two per cent. OF
the aggregate enrolment. The deaths
and casualties Of every sort and kind,
of both officers and enlisted men, foot
up total Of 937S OF three per cent. OF
the enrolment From that army there
have already been fled with the bu-
reau 69,627 applications for pensions"
The clause which the bill adds to the
existing law making a statute of the
Presidents Special Order No. 49, pro-
vides that hereafter age shall be con-
sidered permaT ent specific disability
within the meaning Of the pension
laws.