The National tribune., 1908-10-08
work OF THE PENSION BUREAU.

We give much space this week to ex-
| tracts from the annual report of the
Commissioner of Pensions, Col. Vespa-
sian Warner, upon the work of the
Pension Bureau for the year ended
June 80, 1908. The report is well worth
the space given it, for document full
| er of interesting material has scarcely
ever been presented to the public. 1t is
well worth reading. every word and fig
ure in it. Well as Col Warner has done
in the previous years of his adninistra-
ton of his great office, he has far ex-
ceeded this in the year which has just
closed.
| In every way the report is an admir-
able exhibition of good work well done.
with fairness and justice to the yeter-
ans and their widows, with kindness
and consideration for the employees of
| the Bureau, and with exemplary fidelity
| to the Government, in efficiency of ad-
ministration, in careful conservatism of
the money intrusted to him for dis
bursement and quite remarkable results
in the amount of work accomplished by
the office force.
For the first time since the war the
business of the Office has been brought
UP to date, with but 123,4S3 claims
pending. as against 356,1S1 pending in
the beginning of the year. In these
pending claims must be included many
thousands which will never be adjudi-
Gated, owing to their having been aban-
doned by the claimants, the inability to
furnish evidence and other causes. This
leaves but a comparatively small num-
Der of pending claims, which are only
sufficient to keep the Office force well
employed, and the number will be
greatly reduced during the coming year,
while the new applications will be dis
posed of within a short time after their
reception.
The increase in the number of certif-
Gates issued is also most remarkable.
1t exceeds by far the record of any
previous year, even with the much larg-
er force of previous years, and is 33
per cent greater even than last year,
when 236,516 certificates were issued,
as against 32s,676 this year. All this
has been accomplished without unduly
driving the decreasing Office force. In
fact, there is none of the complaint of
overwork in the Pension Bureau that
we hear from other great Bureaus in
the city. Nor do we hear such COM
nj ;rf nf Io ~ nd
their widows and their replacement by
young men such as come from other
Bureaus. Col. Warner has pursued the
just and considerate policy of allowing
death and other causes to make such
reductions in his force as were neces-
sary, retaining his old employees and
promoting them as reward for eff
cient work. This is policy that The
National Tribune cannot too highly
commend.
While doing all this, the Commits
sioner is able to report some very un-
usual savings in the expenses of rum
ming his Bureau by the adoption of the
most advanced business methods Wher-
ever there has been an opportunity to
curtail expenses it has been fully i'm
proved, and the Commissioner IL able
to make the very gratifying report of
having saved to the Government the
quite handsome sum of s557,532.10
while doing an amount of work unpre-
cedented in former years. None of this
saving has, however, been at the ex-
pense of deserving pensioners, and still
more gratifying than this economy is
the fact that the annual value of each
pension has been raised from S134.84
in 1904 to s167.59 in 1908. This is al
most equal to an advance of So month
on each pension. Under the act of June
27, 1890, the advance in average values
has been from s110 in 1904 to s13O.T5
in 1908, or an average advance of more
than $40 on each pension.
The dry figures in the report are d
splendid testimonial to the efficiency,
integrity and broad humanity of Col
Warmers administration of the Pension
Bureau.
Col. Warner has a military record |
second to that of no man. Enlisting in
June, 1851, as a boy of 10 in the Goth
ILL.,, he came out in 1866 as Captain
and brevet Major, winning every step
by gallantry and good service. He was
repeatedly wounded, and in every battle |
was commended for courage and SOL
diership. Naturally, he has the warm
est feeling for his comrades and their
dependent ones. and has made this |
strikingly evident in his administration
of the Pension Bureau.