The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-11
WILL TRY TO KEEP IT.
Kansas Senator's to Fight for Topeka
Pension Agency.

Washington. Feb. 1.-THE fight for
the retention of the United States pen
sion agencies will be very vigorously
conducted, and it is doubtful If the
recommendation of the secretary of the
interior and commissioner of pensions
will be carried out, even though Ia
vorably passed upon by the committee
on appropriations of the house of rep
resentatives.
Senators Long and Curtis are of
course interested in maintaining the
Topeka agency. which is the largest
and most important in the country;
but they will join with other senators
and representatives who are interested.
to the end that none of these be dis
turbed at present.
The Topeka agency is the largest in
the United States. its territory is great
er, 1t pays more soldiers and other PEN
sioners, and its total disbursements
are greater. The agency pays out
about IT millions of dollars annually.
It covers the state of Kansas. Missouri.
Colorado, Oklahoma, and the territory
of New Mexico. The Kansas senators
are already organizing, and have been
for some time past. to keep the office.
The chief argument used by the
secretary and the commissioner is that
1t Is in the interest of economy to
abolish all agencies and combine them
In one central distributing office In
connection with the pension office In
this city. Opponents Of abolition dis
some figuring. and have come to the
conclusion that the statement made
by Mr.. Garfield and Colonel Warner
that 100000 of the estimated S55O,0001
required annually to maintain the
various agencies throughout the coun-
try would be saved. is not borne out
by the facts. They insist that the cost
OF distributing annually to nearly q
million pensioners the sum of more
than 40 millions of dollars is less I'M
der the present system, we'll organized
as it is, can not be lessened by the plan
propos ed 1t means disruption of
perfectly organized machinery for dis
tributing this money, and concentra-
ton there, at a great distance from
every part of the country, with vast
details of correspondence, red tape,
error and the like. The time that
would be consumed in getting the pay
ments to the soldiers; the correspond
ence involved; the added clerical force,
and the inevitable tangle, that would
result. are cited by the defenders OF
the present agencies in favor OF keep
ing them as now established.
The abolition of the Office of pen
sion agent at the eighteen existing
agencies would save about $72,O0O per
annum; but would require more than
that amount, 1t is asserted, to pay the
added compensation of clerks in Wash
ington, as clerk hire here is said to
cost $500 per annum per man more
than in the agency cities.
Inc senators ana
who are friends of the agencies also
asert that the personal contact of PEN
sioner with the local agency is worth
consideration. In Topeka, for instance,
there is not day that many soldiers
do not visit the federal building for
information desired and required by
them that they get Immediately ana
satisfactorily that a central agency at
Washington might take several letters,
with far greater cost, to disseminate.
The feeling in other agency cities is
great on this question, and nearly
every senator or representative is in
terested. The Kansans feel a pride in
the location of the institution at To-
peka, and that it is the largest and
probably best conducted in the coun-
try. Grand Army of the Republic
posts, individual veterans. commercial
organizations, ETC., are daily writing
Kansas members, particularly Senators
Long and Curtis, to try to save the
Topeka agency. This was done by
them a year ago, and it will probably
be done again, in conjunction with the
friends of other agencies.