The Ely miner., 1930-02-28

5000 widows by the regular army.
These, with the pensioners previously
mentioned, made total of 417,915
persons who received total of S229,-
S90.1S9 from Uncle Sam. There were
1929 fewer persons drawing pen
sions in 1929 than in 1928 but the total
paid the last year was S924,517
greater because the level of expendf-
ture was raised by new legislation
which increased pensions to Civil war
widows more than seventy-five years
old.
The history of pensions for veterans
of American wars goes back to the
earliest days of the republic. On June
20, 1776, even before the Declaration
of Independence had been adopted, the
Continental congress appointed COM
mittee to Consider what provision
ought to be made for such as are
wounded or disabled in the land or
sea service"
This committee made prompt re-
port, and on August 26, 1776, the first
pSuSlOu oSI III AAhSAANo "oS
passed by the Continental congress.
That part of the law fixing the amount
was as follows: "That every COM
missioned officer, on-commissioned
officer, and private soldier who shall
lose a limb in any engagement, or be
so disabled in the service Of the
United States of America as to render
him incapable afterwards of getting
a livelihood, shall receive, during his
life or the continuance of such dis
ability, the one-half of his monthly
pay from and after the time that his
pay as an officer or soldier ceases"
The resources of the Continental
congress, however, were very meager,
and therefore it asked the states to
make payment Of the pensions and in
corporated the following provision in
the law: ''That it be recommended
to the assemblies or legislative bodies
Of the several states to cause payment
to be made Of all such half pay or
other allowances as shall be adjudged
due to the persons aforenamed on ac-
COuuI VI lnC CAllCu SlolCSs
The Continental congress also placed
the burden of administering the law
upon the states. AS the states were
to pay the pensions, it was perhaps
only fair that they should have the
right to determine who were to re-
ceive pensions under the law. The
states, however, were also at times in
a precarious financial condition, and
payments were uncertain and irregu-
lar. Many of the pensions were soon
far in arrears and remained so.
After the Constitution had been
adopted and the new government had
been organized, it continued fori
time the pensions which had been pre-
viously granted and assumed their
payment. Soon, however, strong de-
mand arose for a new pension law,
and on March %, 1892, the first pen
sion law passed by the new govern
ment went into effect. The main pro-
vision of that law was as follows:
That any commissioned officer, not
having received the Communication of
half pay, and any noncommissioned Of
ficer, soldier, or seaman, disabled in
the actual service of the United States.
during the late war, by wounds or
other known cause, who did not desert
from the said service, shall be entitled
to be placed on the pension list of the
United States, during life or the con-
tinuancs of such disability, and shall
also be allowed such further sum for
the arrears of pension, from the time
of such disability, not exceeding the
rate of the annual allowance, in con-
sequence of his disability, as the Cir
cult court Of the district in which they
respectively reside, may think just.
Later there grew demand for a
pension law not based upon disability
incurred in the service and in his an
nual message to congress on Decem-
Der 2, 1917, President Monroe recon-
mended such law. bill was passed
by the house on December "a, as a
sort of a Christmas present to the
veterans of the Revolution, passed by
the senate Immediately afterwards
and approved by President Monroe on
March 1S, 1918.
The loose wording of this law, how
ever, made frauds easy and the grant
of pensions became public scandal.
A law passed in 1920 required all pen
sioners already on the rolls and future
annlicants to file statement Of prop