168 



IT.V-ION SYSTKM 



'7 pensioners upon the rolls, classified 

 :.- follows : :fj:i.i>:M late war army invalids; '.H >.*!.'. laic 

 war army widows, minor children, and dependent rela- 

 tives; 3815 late war navy invalh. <tc \v;ir navy 



widows ; 806 survivors of the war of 1812. and K.7S7 

 widow* of those who served in that war; 111, (>60 sur- 

 vivors of the war with Mexico, urn) 5104 widows of 

 those who nerved therein. I hiring the same year then' 

 were received 2,697,608 pieces of mail matter, and 

 2,041, 4M' wn -cut nut. ITie highest rate of |<rn>iuii 

 issued during the year was $2000 per annum ; the 

 lowest now being granted is $24. The annual average 

 value of a pension for the same year is $!25.30. The 

 average age of pensioners. ('' years; average length 

 of service for which pensions are granted on account 

 of the war of 1861-65 is two years. The highest rate 

 of i>ension paid under tlie general law is $72. Allow- 

 ances by special acts of Congress range from $10 to 

 $416.66 per month. Up to June 30, 1888, three per- 

 sons were receiving $5000, four were receiving $2000. 

 and fire were receiving $1200 per annum under special 

 acts of Congress : I ' ''>'i were reviving $72 pur month. 

 From 1861 to 1865 President Lincoln approved 41 spe- 

 cial pension acts; from 18t">") to ISM, President John- 

 son, 431 ; from 1869 to 1.^77. I'n-ident Grant, 490; 

 from IS77 to 1881, President Hayes, 303; from 1881 

 v>. Presidents Garfield and Arthur. 736 ; from 

 1888, President Cleveland, 1577, making a total 

 of 3578. On June 30, 1888, there were 2363 pension- 

 ers, receiving $367,976 annually, who resided in foreign 

 countries ; Mil in Canada, 38 in France, 375 in Ger- 

 maiiy. "'-" in (Jreat Britain. 5S in Switzerland, and 

 the remainder throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, and 

 An-tralasia. 



III. Who nre r,,l,'lM t,, Pennon ? 1. All officers 

 of the army, including regulars, volunteers, and militia, 

 officers of the navv and marine corps, and all enlisted 

 men however employed in the military or naval service 

 who have been disabled by reason of wounds or injuries 



cd or disease contracted in the service of the 

 Tinted Suites and in the line of duty. These consti- 

 tute the class known as "invalid pensioners . " 



_' The widows, or minor children iiiider sixteen years 

 of age, of all officers and enlisted men of the army or 

 navy who have died of wounds or injuries received or 

 disease contracted in the service and line of duty. The 

 widow of a soldier who died of disease contracted in 

 the military service prior to March 4. 1861, is not en- 

 titled to pen-ion unless the cause of death originated 

 in some war ; and the widow of an officer or enlisted 

 man in the navy who died of disease originating prior 

 to March 4, 1861, is not entitled unless he died in the 

 service. 



3. The dependent mothers, fathers, or minor brothers 

 and sisters of such officers and enlisted men who died 

 of injuries or disease originating as above stated, and 

 led no widows or minor children surviving. I Vpendcnt 

 relatives are entitled in the order in which they are 

 named. Upon the death of the mother the father lie- 

 conies entitled, and upon the death of the lather the 

 minor brothers and sisters (jointly). They must have 

 been dependent upon the soldier for support, in whole 

 or in part, at the date of his death, otherwise there is 

 no title. 



4. The several classes above mentioned who are en- 

 titled to service pension under the various acts of Con- 

 gress for services rendered in the Revolutionary war, 

 war of 1812. ami Mexican war. 



IV. Rute* ami Duration nf Pentium*. The original 

 rate of a pension was half the monthly pay the bene- 

 ficiary had received as an_officer or tin enlisted man. 

 In 1816 the "total pension" for private., was in- 

 creased to $8 per month, and this rate, although in 

 many cases grossly disproportionate to the d< ^roe of 

 disability, was the highest that could be allowed to 

 persons under the rank of commissioned officers until 

 about the close of the civil war. The " total '' rate for 

 second lieutenant was $15 ; first lieutenant, $17 ; cap 



Uins. $'JO; majors, $25; and lieutenant-colonel 

 all officers <>f higher rank, $30. Like rates were fixed 

 for naval officers of the same relative rank. Fractional 

 ratings were given for lesser degrees of disability. In 

 1866 Congress created three grades al>ov that of "total 

 pension,' and the' pension for all these grades has since 

 been increased. V hat is known as the first grade in- 

 cludes cases of permanent disability in a degree re- 

 quiring the regular aid and attendance of another 

 and entitles the beneficiary to $50 per month. 

 On June lt">. l*^i. an act was passed increasing the 

 pension of all who were then on the roll at $50 to $72. 

 IJy a liberal interpretation this ha.s Ix-cn held to include 

 those who were then entitled to $50; but those who 

 have become entitled to a first grade pension since that 

 duti' receive only $50. The second grade includes cases 

 of permanent incapacity for the performance of any 

 manual labor, for which the pension is $30 per month. 

 The third grade is for a disability equivalent to the loss 

 of a hand or foot, the rate lieing $24 per month. 



For disabilities below these three grades the rates 

 range from $2 to $18 per month for privates, non- 

 commissioned officers and lieutenants, the maximum 

 in the cases of officers above the rank of lieutenant 

 being the old "total of rank." The a class 



of "permanent specific" disabilities, for which the 

 rates are fixed by law, such as the loss of both feet, 

 both hands, or both eyes, for which the pension is $72 

 per month. For amputation at the shoulder or hip 

 joint, or so near the joint as to prevent the use of an 

 artificial limb, $45 per month is paid ; for total disa- 

 bility of an ann or feg, loss of one hand and one foot, 

 or total disability in the same, or amputation at or 

 above the knee, $36 ; for the loss of a hand or foot or 

 total disability in the same, or for total deafness, $30 

 per month. 



\Vidows of privates receive $12 per month, and $2 

 additional for each child of the soldier, and when no 

 widow survives minor children receive their pension 

 jointly; dependent relatives receive $12 per month: 

 widows and dependent relatives of commissioned offi- 

 cers receive the "total of rank." The pension of a 

 survivor of the war of 1812 or of the Mexican war is 

 $8 per month. Pensions on account of disabijity or 

 death from causes originating prior to the beginning 

 of the civil war commence from the date of discharge 

 or death of the soldier, if the application was made 

 within three years of the time the right of pension 

 accrued, otherwise from the date of completing the 

 proof. Pension on account of disability from can*. -s 

 occurring since the beginning jaf the civil war begin 

 from the date of discharge or death of the person 

 having prior right to pension, provided application was 

 made before .Inly 1, 1880} otherwise from the date of 

 filing application, except in the case of widows, whose 

 pensions begin from the time of the soldier's death 

 without regard to the date of application. Widows' 

 pensions are generally granted for life, but pension- to 

 minor children, brothers and sisters terminate when 

 they attain the age of sixteen years, or. in the case of 

 sisters, when they marry. Widows' pensions end 

 when they remarry. The open and notorious adul- 

 terous cohabitation of a widow operates to terminate 

 her pension, and an invalid pension may be with- 

 drawn if it be shown that the disability has ceased. 



V. llmr, I'msfoiitare AUniotdand Hiui. The great 

 majority of claims are adjudicated upon KK parte testi- 

 mony filed by the claimants, or their attorneys, but if 

 doubt or suspicion arise in regard to the merits of any 

 claim the papers may be referred to a special pension 

 examiner, who will proceed to take testimony in the 

 neighborhood where the claimant resides, or in such 

 oilier places :i~ m.iy 1 necessary, and report the facts 

 to the CommU-ioner of Pensions. Pensions are paid 

 every three months through 18 U. S. Pension Agencies 

 referred to above. At each of these agencies a per- 

 manent roll is kept of all pensioners residing within its 

 limits, showing the class, sex, rates of pension and 



