will establish the disabled man as a self-respecting, self-sufficient, independent citizen among fellow citizens. Compensation will be given to all according to their disabilities, but the new conception of the community's duty embraces much more than the payment of pensions. It embraces complete restoration, or restoration as nearly complete as can possibly be achieved by the expenditure of public money, by the utilization of every existing public agency, and by the development of such new agencies as may be required. CHAPTER II HUMAN WASTAGE UNDER THE PENSION SYSTEM The tide of our pension expenditures still rising — Appropriation for 1918-19 a new high record- Total pension expenditures of nearly five and one-half billions - The pension roll of soldiers and widows - The monthly allowances Inmates of Soldiers' Homes - Pensions inadequate to discharge of the Nation's debt to its defenders Their welfare insured only by economic rehabilitation Needless wastage of human capacities the lingering blight of previous wars The programme of rehabilitation. In the rising tide of pension expenditures in the United States, the "crest wave" of one year has been speedily overtopped by succeeding crest waves, which have continued to roll in, year after year, mounting ever higher in the face of insistent prediction of subsidence to lower levels. The tide which set in after the Civil War has been steadily making, and even after half a century it is doubtful if the turn has really begun. The following excerpt from the Congressional Record of June 19, 1918, tells its own story of the last record-breaking roller: There being no objection, the Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the bill [the general Pension Appropriation bill for 1918-19] which had been reported from the Committee on Pensions with an amendment. The amendment was, on page 2, line 1, to strike out "$185,000,000" and insert " $220,000,000," so as to make the bill read . The amendment was agreed to. The bill was reported to the Senate as amended. It was brought out in the few minutes' consideration given to the amendment that the new amount was higher by $12,000,000 than the pension appropriation had ever been before, that it included a deficit for the preceding year of $23,000,000, but that even without this deficit it was still the highest in the history of the Government. Doubt was expressed as to whether there would ever be another general pension bill for Civil War veterans, and it was stated that "next year" pensions would decrease "at least 15 per cent., and perhaps 20 per cent." In regard to these statements one Senator commented as follows: I do not think it will be the last general pension bill for Civil War veterans. I remember, a number of years ago, reading the statement of President Garfield. He stated that when the pension roll reached the maximum of $27,000,000- the Senator from Ohio corrects me and says it was $35,000,000, but the statement which I saw attributed to him the sum of $27,000,000—it would recede, and that would be the highest crest of the wave. With a pension bill of $220,000,000, it merely illustrates what a poor prophet the great President Garfield was. It illustrates, furthermore, that the further we recede from the period of that great strife the larger the pensions and the heavier the drafts made upon the Treasury of the United States. The amendment was agreed to, and the bill as amended was read a third time and passed. A little over one column of the 50 columns in which the proceedings of the Senate on June 19 are reported in the Record comprehends the report of the bill, the text of the bill as amended, the reported discussion on the amendment, its passage, and the passage of the bill. Pension appropriations have become more or less routine and the passage of such legislation through Congress can be expedited. Disbursements for pensions in the period of 52 years (1866-1917) since the close of the Civil War have totaled over five billions, approximately, $5,119,000,000, to which must be added $133,000,000 to cover the cost of maintenance of the pension system, making a grand total of $5,252,000,000. With the appropriation for 1918-19 the amount is approximately five and one-half billions. The total amount paid in pensions from 1790 to 1917 is $5,216,000,000. Of this amount $70,000,000 represents the Revolutionary War; $46,000,000, the War of 1812; $14,000,000, Indian wars; $51,000,000, the war with Mexico; $58,000,000, the war with Spain and in the Philippines; $59,000,000, the regular establishment and unclassified; and $4,917,000,000, the Civil War. With a few years of inconsiderable temporary recessions, the number of pensioners on the rolls increased from 126,732 in 1866 to 999,446, or practically one million, in 1902. In succeeding years the number fell off to 673,111 in 1917. year expenditure for field and special examinations. amounted to $79,503, and for fees and expenses of examining surgeons to $35,627. In this latter Among the "interesting facts" reported by the Commissioner of Pensions for the year ending June 30, 1917, are the following: Civil War soldiers on the roll, June 30.... 329,226 Civil War widows on the roll, June 30... 284,216 The largest number of Civil War soldiers on the roll was in 1898.... 745,822 The largest number of Civil War widows on the roll was in 1912...................... Employees of the Bureau of Pensions at begin ning of fiscal year 1917-1918.... Amount of fees paid to attorneys, 1917... 304,373 1,115 $100,554 An Act of 1916, among other provisions, provided a pension for any widow who had married a soldier or sailor with the requisite service record prior to June 27, 1905, extending the former date limit 15 years, from June 27, 1890. Under this Act, to June 30, 1917, 6,147 original pensions had been granted to widows who had married soldiers in the years 1890 to 1905. In the year ended June 30, 1917, the Mail and Supplies Division of the Pension Bureau received 117,552 applications of all kinds, of which 98,759 were accepted and classified as formal applications. Most of these, of course, were applications for increases under the various laws of Congress, but during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1917, original first payments were made to 299 Civil War veterans under Acts of 1907 and 1912, and to 16,915 Civil War widows under Acts of 1908 and 1916. Under these Acts cases of first payment of increases and reissue in the course of the year numbered 48,641 to veterans and 113,114 to widows. Exclusive of those of the war with Spain, original claims to pensions have been allowed since March 4, 1861, to the number of 1,180,164. During the fiscal year 1917-18, 25 omnibus pension bills were passed by Congress, granting pensions or increases of pensions in 4,178 individual cases. This special pension legislation, of course, deals with cases |