The Ely miner., 1930-02-28
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON


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MlS2l2zX officers and employees
Hhf of one of the biggest
businesses In the world.
- HUw naturally has some big
Hk@ bills to pay. One Of the
\~ biggest is the bill which
Old Man Mars, who
deals In war, brings
around every year and after he has
left Uncle Sam finds that he has
handed over to this dealer in wars
nearly one-fourth Of all the money
which he had laid aside to pay all Of
the expenses of running this business
which operates under the name of the
United States Of America.
For instance, this year Uncle Sam
will have to pay to Old Man Mars
the staggering sum of SS2S, 900 900.
That is almost S1OO,00OO00 more than
the total cost of running the entire
federal government back in 1916. 1t
is more than one-half the cost Of run
ming the entire nation of France for
one year. 1t is almost equivalent to
the anual cost of maintaining the
navies of the United States, France
and Japan. Back in 1917 when it
was announced that it would require
$1,000,0O0,0O0 to run our government.
there were those who shook their
heads and wondered "what we are
coming to-" Now, Is years after that
first 'billion-dollar year." we are fac
ing the necessity of spending nearly
that amount, paying for wars which
ended long before most of US were
born.
If anyone wants a lesson against
war, let him talk to Gen. Frank Hines,
head of the veterans bureau, or to
Col. Earl D. Church, United States
commissioner Of pensions, and from
them learn something of the cost in
careers, lives and money Of the mere
aftermath Of war. Being more or
less intangible, it is difficult for us
to visualize those first two-careers
and lives-but for the third, let these
figures from the government budget
for 1880 tell their own story:
(woRLD wAR) VETERANS BUREAU
salaries anu expenses. 4o,oUUpUUU
Printing and binding...... 125.000
Military and naval compen-
sation ................... 91.45o, 900
Medical and hospital serv-
ices Sl,65O,OOO
Adjusted service certificate
fund $4,000. 900
Military and naval insur-
ance .................... 115.25o.OOo
Hospital facilities and serv-
ices 100000
Z. S. government life in
surance fund ......... 974oOO0O
Total ....................s s5s7. 7.s75,0OO
PENSION OFFICE
Army and navy pensions. 1921 ,000, 900
Salaries, pension Office. ....N 1,225,0OO
Investigation pension census 10000
Fees of examining surgeons 100000
Total ....................S S222,7S0. 900
UNITED STATES SOLDIERS HOMES
National homes of disabled
volunteer soldiers .......S 8689100
Grand total .............. .$S2S,S4410
Nor will the paying of Old Man
Mars bill this year be the end Of the
matter. Next year it will be the
same, only larger, and the next and
the next and the next until the esti-
mated peak is reached in 1865. For,
even though by that time Uncle Sam
probably will be through paying pen
sions for the War of 1912, and the
Mexican war, he probably will still
be paying some for the Civil war and
certainly some for the Spanish-Amer-
lean war. And then there are the
World war pensions yet to be paid.
We haven't come to those yet, but it
seems certain that we will come to
them. AS the number of our World
war veterans grow less, the needs of
the aging survivors and their families
and dependents will increase. And no
one dares predict how far in the future
Uncle Sam will be paying out World
war pensions.
The War Of 1872 has been over 115
years but during the fiscal year which
ended June so, 1929, the government
paid $50 a month each to II gray
haired women whose husbands fought
under the American flag when it had
only fifteen stars in its field of blue.
The Mexican war ended 83 years ago
but until September Of last year Uncle
Sam was paying monthly pension to
Owen Thomas Edgar who served in
the navy during that war. And when
he died at the age of ninety EIGHT
there still were 730 widows of MexI-
can war veterans on the rolls of the
pension bureau. The Civil war has
been over 55 years but last year pen
sions were being paid to 59,045 SOL
diers who served in that war, to 80
nurses and to ISL .235 widows Of vet
Grams.
Other pensioners last year were 49,
S04 soldiers. 414 nurses and 2S,643
widows placed on the rolls by the
Spanish American war; 5,574 soldiers
and 1000 widows by the Indian wars;
A. soldiers and IL widows by the
World war aud l4.I5S soldiers and