The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-05-05
COST OF new
PENSIONS MAY
PASS BILLION
Heavy Burden to Be Placed
on Taxpayers If House
Bill Becomes Law.
MADE EASY TO QUALIFY
Civil War Compensation
History Repeated on
Larger Scale.
BY TALcoTT POWELL


The pension for World var
widows and orphans which has been
passed BY the house will commit
the taxpayers to huge expenditures
for the next century, II past ex-
perience with similar legislation Is
any indication
even experts have no way OF ac-
ruratelv estimating the cost, since
It is impossible to Judge how many
World war veterans may marry be-
fore they die, but there IS every
indication that the total cost may
run as high as the proposed two
billion dollar bonus.
Widows and orphans OF men VINO
died in military service are not
provided for in this new legisla-
ton. Under previous laws,
woman whose husband lost his life
from service connected disability Is
receiving $50 a month. plus $40 Tor
the first child and S. for each ad-
ditional child.
The present legislation would
give a widow with an income not
exceeding $3.50 a year $40 month
pension. with SIS additional for each
child. The widow need not have
been married to the veteran at the
time OF the World war. She may
not have even been born until after
the war
Requirements Are Easy
only requirement for the pension
is that her husband served ninety
days in the army or navy before
the armistice and that she had
lived with him prior TO bis death
for five years.
Estimates Of the costs of this
measure are twenty millions the
first wear and st00.000OO0 for the
next five years. These seem low
when it is considered that an al
most identical law passed in 1890
for Civil war widows and orphans
cost from s50,00O,000 to S70,0OO,OOO
annually for more than a decade
and still is a heavy dram on the
treasury.
And there were nearly twice as
many men under arms Ia the World
war as there were on the Union side
during the Civil war.
Each war in which this country
fought has brought the same cycle
of relief measures for widows and
orphans. The country provides for
dependents Of those actually killed
in the service Immediately after the
close of hoStilities.
Then. through the ensuing years.
the legislators constantly liberalize
the original plan, until the burden
of cost becomes many times that
originally contemplated.
First Passed in 1878
The first widows and orphans
pension was passed in this country
by the colony of Maryland in 1878.
1t was based fatty on service-con-
nected deaths.
During the Revolution, Pennsyl-
vania provided for widows and or
phans OF those dying in battle. dur
the enemy. The Continental con-
gress followed with a law pension
ing widows of officers.
Fifty-three years after the Revo-
luton, there were some heavy treas
ury SURPRISES. The Jackson admin
istration opened the law wider by
giving pensions to all Revolutionary
widows provided they we're married
during the war.
In 1878 Revolutionary widows of
men who had served fourteen days.
or in an engagement. were PEN
stoned. This Revolutionary pen
sion list was active until 1906. when
the last widow died.
The war Of 1912 widow legisla-
ton followed the same general lines.
The taxpayers still are taking care
of six widows of this war.
The Civil war widows pensions
provide a closer parallel to the
present situation. In 1862 widows
were given grants only if their hus-
bands died from causes directly
traceable to injuries received. or
disease contracted while in military
service.
Gates Are Opened
For nearly three decades this re-
NAMED the principle of the Civil
war widows pension Then in 1890
congress struck out the provision of
service-connected death and gave
pensions to all widows and children.
Their husbands must have been dis
charged honorably after at least
ninety days service and they must
have married prior TO June u. 1890.
DR.. William H. GLEASON, in his
study of these pensions for the
Carnegie Foundation. says Of this
act: 1T was the high bid for the
political support Of the 10000 G. A.
r. men and other ex-Soldiers with
both the Republican and the Demo-
cratic parties bidding.
Before 1t was superseded in 1907.
II cost the country more than ST.
000, 100000. The amount was raised
BY taxation upon all the people and
paid out to a favored class.
The provision especially bene-
flied young women. who, long years
after the war. married elderly ex-
soldiers. It made it possible to
grant military pensions, regardless
Of the cause OF the husbands death.
to widows who were unborn or
merely small children when the
Civil war ended"
With the change OF only a very