The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1917-07-05
LAST VETERAN TO SEE 1045. -
Civil War Soldiers Life Chances Are
Better Than Civilians.

ton of the Union.
This man when he dies will be
more than los years of age. 1t is not
at all impossible that he may be
nearer LILO.
When on the occasion Of the 1915
encampment of the G. A. X. in Wash
Iington the old soldiers footed it in a
procession from the Capitol to the
White House there was tear in the
eye OF many spectator. The boys in
blue of 1S61-ah, where were they?
How difficult to realize that all that
was left OF them was represented by
these old fellows, who, with such an
effort to appear vigorous and spright-
ly. marched, rank on rank, up Penn
| sylvania avenue.
! Many newspapers in their head
lines spoke of it as the last march"
OF the veterans Of the great war.
| But, happily, the idea thus convey
ed was wholly incorrect. Although
their ranks are steadily, and even
have many march yet to make be-
fore the last Of them departs for the
bourne whence there is no return.
The government here in Washing
ton has the matter all carefully fgur-
ed out, SO that it knows with certain
ty just about how many Civil war vet
Grams will be alive in each coming
year up to the time when the last Of
them will be mustered out and
| vanish from the scene.
The reckoning is based mainly
upon data furnished by tWenty-odd
| life insurance companies, and dealing
as it does with such great numbers
of individuals, serious error in the
average is virtually eliminated. Neces-
sarily, the figures are approximate,
but tney may be accepted as nearly
exact
Twentv-three years from now, in
1910, there will be about $40 Civil
war veterans surviving. All Of them,
Of course will be very old-the young
having reached the extreme limit of
life, they will die off rapidly All of
them will be gone by 1915, but the
last old soldier may linger almost
until then.
According to the best estimate the
government has been able to make,
there served in the Civil war Cinclud-
corps) 2,213,365 men. OF these Eek
Guiding deserters) l,t27 ,3o3 were
alive when the conflict terminated.
The survivors then averaged only zS
years Of age, and so it is not surpris-
ing to learn that in 1890 there were
still 1,2S5,471 of them in the land OF
the living.
Ten years later their total number
was reduced to point slightly be-
low million. 1t stands today estl-
mated at about four hundred thou
sand.
With advancing age the death rate
of the old soldiers is increasing, and
may be expected further in increase
with the progress OF the. years. Thus
only 251 ,7S7 survivors, and in 1928
there will be less than half that
manv the estimated number being
1908.
In $50, according to the govern.
ment's reckoning, 1902 veterans OF
the Civil war still will be living. Five
years later they, will number only
6,296; and, as already said, in l940
there will be but $40 survivors.
What insurance companies call the
''expectation of life for survivors of
the Civil war has been matter OF
much discussion in preparing the
table that shows how many veterans
of that conflict will be alive from
year to year as time goes on.
cannot be reasonably expected to live
as long, on an average, as other men
of corresponding age who nave heEer
been exposed to the shock OF battle
aud the hardships and privatioas Of
field, camp and prison.
But the government experts en-
ployed to do the figuring are Of opin-
fittest works the opposite way. me
veterans now surviving were, when
they enlisted, picked young men. APP
plicants for enlistment who could not
pass fairly rigid medical eXamina-
ton were rejected. Furthermore, n
dividuals of least endurance and ten
acity of life have long Deen eliminat-
i ;,,;o H.; 1,1yc r q
old soldiers Many OF them have
succumbed to diseases contracted
during the war The present surviv-
ors, therefore, are to be regarded as
what the insurance companies call a
select class" whose lives are likely
to be longer than those Of an equal
number of other men OF the same
ages.
The last surviving soldier of the
Revolution was Daniel F. Brakeman,
who died at Freedom. N. Y. April 5,
1869. He passed away at the extra
ordinary age of 100 years, = months
and days. His widow, Nancy Sc
rena Brakeman, who died two years
LATER was herself living at the per-
iod of the Revolution--a rather cur
ious coincidence of circumstances, IN
asmuch as she was the Oldest surviv-
or of all soldiers widows who could
claim TO have witnessed the struggle
for American independence.
The last survivor of the war OF
1912 was Hiram Cronk, who died at
Ava, N. Y, May IS, 1905. He had
passed sixteen days previously his
dlew PENSION of $50 month from
the federal government md TO his |
allowance the legislature OF The state /
CT New York added STE a month :
his military service having been with |
tn. New York troops.
At the present writing there are
of soldiers who fought in the. War OF
1872. The government statisticians
figure that the last Civil war widow
will be living in the year 2O04.-i
Rene Bache in the Washington Post.
Fairview.
(Delayed)