Evening star., 1928-12-09

In the matter of payment of pensions
to It's ordinary. soldiers the United
States is the most generous Nation in
the world. In the last fiscal year a
total Of $228, ,965, ,672.49 was paid out in
pensions. This sum divided by the
number Of pensioners on the rolls shows
that the average annual pension
amounts to $466l4. There are many
classes of pensions which have been
The Civil War pensioners receive the
most, averaging S93l l06 a year. Next
come veterans of Indian Wars, who
receive an average of $497.09; then
Spanish War veterans, who are allowed
S364,24 on all average, and lastly
Soldiers, Sailors or Marines Of the
regular enlisted forces who have con-
tracted disability In the line of duty
In time of peace. These receive an
average of $23634 year.
The practice of pensioning the fight
ing men of nation has been pursued
from early times pensions taking diff
ferent forms. however. 1t is only in
relatively modern times that fixed in
comes have been paid at regular inter-
walls. But In the days of the Roman
Empire the legions received what were
called donatives from time to time,
usually on some important occasion
Thus, a Roman Emperor would decree
the payment of a donatlve to the le-
gions on his birthday or in celebra-
ton of some victory. Almost invariably
a donative would be paid on the access
sion Of new Emperor to the throne.
England has paid pensions for years
but they have been much less than the
American scale. Also England has special
pensions. A life pension goes with the
"A ct
Parliament has. by special act, voted
very large pensions to great military
commanders and great statesmen In
civil life Sometimes, In fact usually,
these are turned over in lump sum,
the interest on which Is expected TO sup
port the recipient in luxury for the rest
of his life.
The United States inaugurated the
practice of pensioning soldiers from the
very first. One of the first acts of the
newly created Congress was to vote
pensions to the soldiers Of the Revolu-
tionary Army. These were small COM
pared to what later was paid, some of
them being less than SO month.
Days of Land Grants.
However, the new Republic was very
rich in land and veterans who desired
had no difficulty In obtaining grants of
public lands in what then was consider
ed the West. Many acres In such States
as Ohio, Kentucky and the territory
between the Alleghenies and the Mis-
sissippi were patented to Washington's
veterans. Veterans of later wars such
as the War of 1912, the Mexican War,
the Civil War and various Indian wars
also were given land grants. Abraham
Lincoln. for example, received a grant
for his services as soldier in the
Black Hawk War. In no few instances
these lands became very valuable, en-
riching the veterans or their heirs.
With continuing pension policy, the
United States finds that the number Of
It's pensioners is constantly undergoing
change. Following war the numbers
increase rapidly; then, with the pas
sage Of time, the numbers are dimin-
ished by deaths until further military
operations bring recruits to the pension
rolls. The War of 1912 was ended more
than O century ago. but 13 widows OF
veterans Of that struggle still are draw
ing pensions. Their husbands were
little more than boys, nearly all of them
privates and. after the war married
women still younger than themselves.
At the peak there were 2,213,365 Civil
War veterans on the pension rolls.
These have now dwindled to only
1920, with each year seeing further
marked reduction Veterans of the