OCR Text |
Show Century or ; . .federal I '., ; The Periston Biiildiruq yiiuiuiwwws J' iv .,... - .-.. j 1 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON 1 ". .! . If I V ' 1 TJtJ V HAT Is the most expensive thin? 1 'U'" 1 t ' I WW I in Hie world? j'.;-'-.- A V-'eW5' '" "' ' , V W N"o, It Is not a rare metal, nor 1 S -, l I iasji " i. g n I a precious stone, nor any of the 1 Pa'-T.'; ' ' ..V-J 1 1 S .' ' r.V- Ti a - other thlnps which we common- f.i,-',' . ' . . "y W ff "T" V-''' i.K Jf r W V I ,y tnink of when the adjectives I SfVfi '''i SA I ''i'? '"'Sr''" 9 I V I "expensive' or "costlr" are ap- 1 V '-J ?rpjt 3 m kA T p'led to theui- 1 V-:- . ...V'i l.tA Y'Y The most expensive thing in j it 3 1 !- ' "- - "' ' 't' "'''i- LOT J the world Is war! 1 VV - ' " - f rs- Si- - 4iV-' !St- For war, while it is in pro- 1 -V. viV' Vlt''V''' ' &r Xi. ress, not only exacts a fearful 1 - . ' J - ; '.. ' v. r ; ;rj'y toll of lives, careers and money, I -ith. '"i; -Z 'f i -vijs",'-. ' l but long after the last pun has been fired and jftf,;- I "' ' the battle flags have been furled, a nation en- i Jff?.4v'?''5St5 ?-.'.''" i'" 1 . - gaged in it continues to pay and pay and pay! 1 pf--:Slc'-4-'' ' - ;oW 1 cJaTTieS JVLOTUTOS The occasion for these reflections upon the 1 H'-ii "Jt-S.---'-' " -i I costs of war is the fact that March 12 of this 1 S.t;4f ' t ; W series of I,euglon acU ln favor of tha wldowB year marks the one hundredth anniversary of i S' V? of 8oldiers ot the Revolution, restricted at first the establishment of the United States pension i". hjgf t0 tho6e who nd nmrrled before tne cIo6e of tn9 bureau and during that institution's career of mtmmmr rwmmi Revolution. These Krew more liberal later until nearly a centurv, it was the medium through GrOVer Cleveland pensions were granted to all widows, regardless .... - of the date of marrinzo. Out of these nenfllona. 4 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON i 'i 'i V 's t,le most expensive thins W I in tlie worij? 1 f 1 No, It Is not a rare metal, nor Wfc&l a Preoious stone, nor any of the I I other things which we common-r common-r t T"r 1 ly think of when the adjectives I W I "expensive'' or "costly" are ap-Jk-T J A, plied to them. most expensive thing in I "le wor' 's war! jeSt&T For war' while it is in prog-s prog-s ress, not only exacts a fearful toll of lives, careers and money, but long after the last gun has been fired and the battle flags have been furled, a nation engaged en-gaged in it continues to pay and pay and pay! The occasion for these reflections upon the costs of war is the fact that March 12 of this year marks the one hundredth anniversary of - the establishment of the United States pension bureau and during that institution's career of nearly a century, it was the medium through which there were paid out staggering sums of money in pensions to veterans, their widows and their dependents. And these staggering sums were only a small part of the actual expense of the wars in which Uncle Sam has been engaged. Here are the latest available figures on the amounts of pensions paid out from 1790 to 1932, but as will be seen later in this article even these figures do not tell all the story: 1 War of revolution $ 70.000.000-00 War of 1312 46.203,720.40 Indian wars 53.5S7.99C.S8 War with Mexico 60,139.123.29 Civil war 7,600.321.525.34 War with Spain 6S6.513.6S9.71 Regular establishment 102,912,871.61 World war 295,265.42 Unclassified 16,513.425.54 Total 55,636,487,623.19 It will be noticed that unbelievably small figures fig-ures are cited for the World war pensioners. Obviously this does not include the vast sums that have been paid out in one form or another to these veterans and the explanation is that there was a different set-up for compensating those who served in this conflict. Since the close of the World war the government gov-ernment has paid out approximately S6.31S,-108,733 S6.31S,-108,733 on account of relief of World war veterans vet-erans and their dependents an average of about $451,300,000 annually. Some of this money was paid in insurance premiums by the veterans themselves, but the greater portion came from the treasury. Appropriations made by congress for the financing of veterans' relief ln the fiscal year 1933 total $927,849,000. Seven forms of relief have been provided and all are in operation. They are: Adjusted service compensation, medical care and treatment, disability dis-ability compensation, United States insurance, term insurance paid for permanent and total disability, disability allowances, and emergency officers' retirement pay. On June 30, 1931, the veterans administration was set up, the old pension bureau was absorbed In It and all veterans' activities and operation of homes for veterans are now concentrated In this federal organization which is headed by Brig. Gen. Frurik T. Hines as administrator. The adjusted compensation law, changed by the act of made it possible that compensa tion certificates, maturing in 20 years, should be available to all below the rank of captain who had served in the military service more than 60 days. At maturity these certificates will vary in value from 5150 to $1,595, depending on the length of the veterans' service, and meantime money may be borrowed on them. Certificates issued up to March 1, 10.11, totaled 3,498.376, and had a total maturity value of 53,528,022,777. Loans made upon them approximated about $243,000,000 during the same period. Under the hospitalization plan all veteraDS are entitled to free treatment of hospital nature either In or out of government hospitals, 51 hospitals being operated in 1931, five more being be-ing built and ten more authorized by congress. The cost of operating these Institutions and caring car-ing for the patients Is ln excess of $450,000,000 to January 1, 1031. The government relief program includes death and disability compensation, disabled emergency officers' retirement pay and disability allowance which have cost $2,205,215,659 up to July 1, 1932. Another relief activity Is the grant of low-cost insurance against death or permanent disability ln any multiple of $500 from $1,000 to $10,000 to any healthy veteran who has previously applied for or has been eligible to apply for annually renewable war-time Insurance or United States government life (converted) insurance. The total amount paid on these Items Is $1,070,157,-409. $1,070,157,-409. Many thousands of claims have been filed under un-der the law providing monthly payment of term Insurance and government life Insurance for total and permanent disability, and relief was being given in 20,195 cases on June 30, 1932. The disability allowance plan, which went Into effect July 1, 1030, provides monthly payments to veterans permanently disabled to the extent of 25 per cent or more, even though their disability dis-ability was not Incurred In or as a result of their terms of service. Another new relief law provides for the pensioning of emergency offi--cers who are 30 per cent or more disabled or Incapacitated In-capacitated as a result of their World war service serv-ice on the same basis as retired officers of the regular army. The history of pensions for veterans of American Amer-ican wars goes back to the earliest days of the republic. On June 20, 1776, even before the Declaration of Independence had been adopted, the Continental congress appointed a committee to "Consider what provision ought to be made for such as are wounded or disabled ln the land or sea service." This committee made a prompt report, and on August 26, 1776, the first national pension act In America was passed by the Continental congress. con-gress. That part of the law fixing the amount was as follows : "That every commissioned officer, offi-cer, non-commissioned officer, and private soldier who shall lose a limb in any engagement, or be so disabled ln the service of the United States of America as to render him Incapable afterwards after-wards of getting a livelihood, shall receive, during dur-ing his life or the continuance of such disability, disabil-ity, the one-half of his monthly pay from and after the time that his pay as an officer or soldier ceases." After the Constitution had been adopted and the new government had been organized, It continued con-tinued for a time the pensions which had been previously granted and assumed their payment. Soon, however, a strong demand arose for a new pension law, and on March 23, 1792, the first pension law passed by the new government went into effect. Later there grew a demand for a pension law not based upon disability incurred in the service and in his annual message to congress on December De-cember 2, 1817, President Monroe recommended such a law. A bill was passed by the house on December 24, as a sort of a Christmas present to the veterans of the Revolution, passed by the senate Immediately afterwards and approved by President Monroe on March 18, 1818. The loose wording of this law, however, made frauds easy and the grant of pensions became a public scandal. A law passed In 1820 required all pensioners aJready on the rolls and future applicants to file a statement of property as proof of their alleged dependence upon government govern-ment bounty for a livelihood. As a result, the names of many pensioners were stricken from the rolls. In the early days of the Republic, pensions were distributed by the secretaries of war and navy. But on March 12, 1S3.1, a commission of pensions was set up under the direction of the secretary of war. In 1840 the pensions disbursed dis-bursed by the secretary of the navy were also placed under the administration of the commission commis-sion of pensions, which ln the same year was transferred to the department of Interior and became be-came the pensions bureau. There It remained until 1931 when the United States veterans' administration ad-ministration was established and absorbed the pensions bureau. In 1836 there began the enactment of a long series of pension acts In favor of the widows of soldiers of the Revolution, restricted at first to those who had married before the close of the Revolution. These grew more liberal later until pensions were granted to all widows, regardless of the date of marriage. Out of these pensions, and similar ones for widows of veterans of later wars, grew many abuses of the pension system, for It became a practice for young women- to marry aged veterans In order to benefit by a government pension after the death of their husbands. hus-bands. The pension rolls of the Revolution had scarcely scarce-ly grown to their peak when the United States became engaged ln another war the War of 1S12 to add to Its list of veterans and dependents depend-ents drawing pensions. And the same thing was repeated later at Intervals of two decades with the Mexican war and the Civil war. The first law pensioning soldiers of the Civil war was a disability pension act of July 14, 1862, which provided for the disabled survivors, for the widows, orphan children and dependent members of those who died because of wounds received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States and in line of duty. Rates for total disability ranged from $3 to S30 a month, according to rank, and these same rates were applied to the widows of the soldiers. Successive laws, beginning July 4, 1S04, and culminating ln ' the recent act which increased the pensions of Civil war widows more than seventy-five years old, have Increased the rates, setting fixed rates for various kinds of disability. The Civil war changed a number of things as regards the pension treatment of war veterans. In the first place, the veterans of that war were numerically of large political Importance. They were able to make their Influence felt in Washington Wash-ington ; consequently the march of pension legislation leg-islation quickened after the close of the war. The passage of the arrears act In 1879 added greatly to the burden of debt which Uncle Sam bears because of the wars in which he has engaged. en-gaged. This act provided .that all pensions which had been granted or might hereafter be granted should date from the time of disability, provided application were made before January 1, 18S0. The effect of thnt law is shown by the fact that the total sum paid for pensions jumped from $32,000,000 in 1S79 to $56,000,000 in 1880, the greatest increase in any one year in the history of our pension system. From time to time during the course of the pension history of the country various Presidents have attempted to stem the tide of pension payments. pay-ments. Outstanding in this effort was President Grover Cleveland. A bill to establish service pensions for persons ln dependent circumstances was vetoed by President Cleveland in 1886. A similar bill was passed June 27, 1S90, providing that all persons who had served 90 days in the war and who were suffering from any mental or physical disability of a permanent character which Incapacitated them from performing manual man-ual labor might receive pensions ranging from $0 to $12 a month, according to the degree of disability. Widows of soldiers who served 90 days who were dependent upon their daily labor for support could receive $8 a month. The most carefully worked out attempt to forestall fore-stall the expensive and sometimes wasteful results re-sults of the pension system was made when we entered the World war. It was the first time that our government had ever tried to find a system sys-tem at the outbreak of a war to deal with disabled dis-abled veterans in some manner other than by pensioning them. After the war, too, efforts were made to prevent pre-vent the beginning of a pension system by giving giv-ing the veteran some government assistance Id establishing himself. What the result nas been in the long-drawnout dispute over bonus legislation legisla-tion and other matters connected with veterans' compensation Is too well known from recent events to require further comment In this article. by Western Newapaper Union. |