The National tribune., 1908-07-30
PENSION POINTERS.
Inquiries Answered and Suggestions
Made.

Subscriber, Lancaster, Pa.-Sinc
your service was less than two yeaI
before you We're discharged to acceI
promotion as Second Lieutenant yo
would have no title to bounty unde
the act of July %, 1861.
]. J. c., va-Your service being i
r the Regular Army your wife woul
r not have title to pension unless you
p death should be the result of a dis
= ability incurred in service and line @
= duty. Twelve dollars per month !
the rate for the widow of an enliste
; man.
; Subscriber, Laurens, N. Y.-No ne,
, law was passed during the Goth Con
gress affecting the rates for deafness
The bill to which you refer, we believe
is still in the hands of the committee
/, Subscriber, w. va-To secure pen
}, sion under the act of April 10, 1908
which is the most liberal law passed
a widow of soldier who served in tn
u rebellion has to prove that the soldie
rendered at least 90 days service ant
held an honorable discharge, that sh,
was married before June 81, 1890, ant
legal widowhood. Legal widowhood in
j cludes the death or divorce of an,
| former husbands or wives, proof O
marriage, the death of the soldier ant
continued cohabitation without divorce
G. W. D.-Heart disease has no spe.
cific rating; the amount allowed de.
ponds upon the degree of the disability
| shown by the report of the Board OF
Surgeons by whom the soldier was ex-
amined.
I n L Tow
relative to desertion of wife and prob
able death of former husband would
come under the jurisdiction of the civil
courts of the State in which such de-
sertion took place and would not be
controlled by general pension laws.
What would allow a pension to a
claimant from one State might be de-
MED to claimant from another State.
Legal widowhood depends upon State
| laws.
T. s., Auburn, Me.-If the pension
for loss of one eye and defective vision
of the other is under the act of June
81, 1890, the highest possible rating is
$12. The pension for loss of sight of
and loss of the eye-ball is SIT. De-
fective vision will be rated according to
the degree of vision as shown by ex-
animation by specialist; total blind
ness under the general law being rated
at 500. If the soldier whom you
mention is drawing pension under the
act of June 81, 1890, for loss of one
eye and defective vision of the other
and is entitled to $40 on account of
age it will be to his advantage to ac-
cept rating for age.
A. H. G., Des Moines, Iowa-A re-
married widow has no title to pension
under the new law. IT, however, the
first husband or soldier died of dis
ability which was contracted in service
and line of duty and it is susceptible
of proof she can apply for pension and
receive same covering the period of
her first widowhood.
High Private, Fairfax, VIA di-
vorced wife has no title to soldiers
pension during his lifetime and no title
in her own right after his death.
NJ B. c., Ill.-The only law by which
a wealthy widow" could draw pension
of $12 a month prior to the passage of
of July IA. 1862, provided the mar
riage was before March 10, 1886, in
come being no bar to pension under
the general law, but under said law
she has to prove that the soldiers
death was due to a disability incurred
In service and line or duty.
w. W., Dodd City, La.-If a soldier
dies and does not leave sufficient as
sets to defray the expenses of his last
sickness and burial and leaves no
widow or minor children under 16
years of age the person who bore such
expenses can apply to the Auditor for
the Interior Department. United States
Treasury Department. Washington, d.
c., for blank application for REIN
bursement. The General Government
does not pay anything towards the
funeral expenses of soldiers, except
where the soldier dies in INDECENT cir
cumstances at or in the vicinity of the
District of Columbia, in which case $45
is allowed for burial expenses, and in
nearly every State there Is a proyi-
sion for the interment of old soldiers
who may die within their borders in
INDECENT circumstances, the usual al
lowance being $50.
A. E. H, Oroville. Cal-Your claim
under the general law that was filed
in 1886, but which you abandoned to-
accept pension for age, can be re-
opened and allowed, provided you can
furnish the evidence called for by the
Pension Bureau.
j. w. F., Pa.-Since you were en-
ployed in the Quartermaster's Depart
ment and owing to the raid you were
organized with others in a temporary
company for the immediate protection
of the stores you would not be entitled
to regular discharge from the service,
since you were not regularly enlisted
or mustered into the United States Ser
vice. The oath which you took was
probably the oath required of all
civilian employees in the Quartermas-
ter's Department.
P. ]. H., 1st.-Unless the remarked
widow whom you mention was en-
titled to a pension under the general
law prior to her remarriage, even tho
the wife of the soldier during the
war time, she could not draw pension
altho she is legally divorced from the
second husband, but if she was entitled
to a pension under the general law
during her first widowiiood and the
divorce was secured by her and without
fault on her part and she is in necessi-
touS circumstances she can be restored
to the rolls under the act of March 8,
1901.
I'd. The widow who was married
after the close of the war and drew
pension under the act of June 81, 1890,
and relinquished such pension to re-
marry canot be restored to the pension
rolls on her divorce from the second
husband.
PENSION DECISIONS.
Declaration - Premature Declaration Il