Pensions

The germ of the United States pension system lay in the provision by Congre near the beginning of the Revolutionary War that officers who should continue in the service till the end of the war should receive half pay during seven years thereafter. In 1785 Congre recommended to the States that they should make provision for invalid pensioners, and in 1808 the United States a umed the pension obligations of the States. These were only for persons disabled in the ‘service. In 1818 an act was pa ed granting pensions to all who had gerved nine months or more in the Revolutionary army, and were in indigent circumstances, More claimants applied than could po ibly have survived from Washington’s army, and the amount required to be paid during the first year was eleven times what had been estimated, and in the second year seventeen times. Subsequent acts provided for wars subsequent to the Revolution. Acts of 1836, 1848 and 1853 provided pensions for all widows of Revolutionary soldiers whenever married. A curious result has been that, in 1868, when all Revolutionary pensioners were dead, there remained 888 widows of such soldiers. In 1893 thirteen remained. Acts of July 14, 1862, and subsequent dates, provided pensions for soldiers and sailors disabled in the Civil War, and for the dependent relatives of those who had died. Under these Acts expenditures for pensions reached a maximum ($34,433,895) in 1871, and then declined until, on January 25, 1879, the Arrears Act was pa ed, allowing ‘‘ back-pay '’ on all pensions to which claim was then succe fully laid. This act doubled the total annual sum in two years. Meanwhile an act of 1871 had pensioned all who had served a certain time in the War of 1812, and their widows, if married before the Treaty of Ghent. (In 1893 there were 86 such, but 5,425 widows.) In 1887 a service pension act for the Mexican War was pa ed. Finally, the Act of June 27, 1890, called the Nependent Pension Act, pensioned all who served ninety days in the War for the Union, and were honorably discharged, and who are incapacitated for manual labor, and the widows, children and dependent parents of such. The effect has been nearly to double the umber of pensioners, and to raise the annual charge for pensions above $x60,000,000, nearly twice the ordinary annual expenditure for the German army. Thirty years from the war, there are now nearly a million pensioners, though probably only two million individuals served in the Union anny and navy. The total expenditure for pensions since 1861 has been about $1,700,000,000. In 1869 pensions were provided for retiring U. S Judges, and widows of Presidents have been pensioned by special act. The following figures are supplied by the Commi ioner of Pensions at Washington. They show the amount of money that has been peld annually to pensioners of the Army and Navy since the close of the Civil War, and the number of pensioners each year: Yrar. | Army. Navy. | Pensioners, VBEG. cece c eee eer nees $15,158,598.64 $291,951.24 | 126,722 3867.0... c cece eee cee 20,5§§2,948.47 231,841.22 155,474 nr 2abir 183.75 290,325.61 | 105645 1869... ese e eee e cere eeeees 28,168, 323.34 344,923-93 1870903 1870. eee cece cence eens 29,04 3,237.00 308,251.78 | 198, 52 ee nn 28,081,542. 41 437,250.21 207498 Dt) 29,276,921.02 | 475,825.79 + 2321 Ct) ke 26,502,528.96 \ 479)534-93 | 235.411 5) 29,603,159. 24 | 603,619.75 | 236,241 IB) pevecscceeeeseteteeses 28,727,104.76 | $43,300.00 | 234.821 1876... ccc eee cece eens 27,411,309. 53 | 524,900.00 | 232,137 Ty ee 27,659,461.72 | 523,360.00 | 232,104 1878 v2 vvevvereeseseees 26,251,725.9! | 534,283.53; 223,998 51: 33,109,339 -92 555,089.00 | 242,755 18800 Be oor 70.42 | 3B e866 250/802 ta 49:419905-35 1,163,500.00; 268,830 WBB2.. cece eee eee ee nee 53:328,192.05 | 984,980.00 | 285,697 1883... cece cece ce ceeeees 59,465,610.70 99903. 11 j 303,658 1884.00... 0 cece ween nee 50,945,115.25 | 7272.22 | 322,756 BB Sevres sce: seeeee 64,222,275. 34 949.661.78 | 345.125 1886.0... e eee eee 63,034,642.90 | 1,056, 500.00 | 3055783 1 rr eases ec 1,288,760.39 | 406,007 Lf... 77:712,789. 27 | 1,237,712.40 | 492557 1889... cece cece ence teens i Cee 1846.218.43 | 489,725 1890... cece cece cece eeee Io 250.39 | 2,285000.00 + 5374 0s) rs 112740 750.83: 2,567,939. 67 by6.t60 2) a 135)91 4,611.76 | 39479) 535-35 | 876,068 1893... esc ceceeeeeeeeees 153904 5,460-94 i 3,861,177.00 | 966,012 1894... cee cceeccceecceees 13 95-965. 61 | 31490,760.56 | 969.544 1895... cece cece cere ee eeeel 136,15) 33 3:650,980. 43 970,524 189B. 0. ce cee cece ee eens 134,632,175. > 21999- 10 970,678 IIE 136,31 3,914.64 3,035,802.71 976,014 18QB. cece eee e rene eeeee 140,924, 348-71 3:7 27.531 -09 9931714 BOQ. eee eee ee eee eeeeeees 134,67 1,258.68 | 3,683,794-27 | 991,519 | $2,338.559.870. 8 | $51,351,104.16 |.......... To the amount paid out for pensions, as shown in the table, should be added the pension expenses. Since 1866 the Government has paid over $15,000,000 for fees of examining surgeons; over $12,000,000 for maintaining pension agencies and general disbursement expenses, and over $52,000,000 for salaries and the maintenance of the Pension Bureau. The total of the pension bill since 1866 to the close of the last fiscal year was almost $e, 470,000,000. 84