UC-NRLF GIFT OF Mr .H.L.Leupp THE PENSION ROLL AS AFFECTED BY THE WAR WITH SPAIN IN 1898 PREPARED BY THE WAR COLLEGE DIVISION, GENERAL STAFF CORPS AS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE STATEMENT OF A PROPER MILITARY POLICY FOR THE UNITED STATES WCD 9290-3 ARMY WAR COLLEGE : WASHINGTON NOVEMBER, 1915 525 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1916 V* WAS DEPARTMENT, Document No. 525. Office of the Chief of Staff. SYNOPSIS. Page. 1. Inception of the practice of pensioning disabled soldiers and sailors 5 2. The War with Spain Beginning and duration 6 3. Forces employed 6 4. Total enlistments and reenlistments Number of individuals in service. . . 7 (a) Regular Army enlistments and reenlistments 7 (6) Volunteers of 1898 8 (c) Volunteers of 1899 9 Total for War with Spain 9 5. Number of individuals who acquired an actual pensionable status by date of discharge or muster out 9 6. Number of pension applications filed 10 (a) War of the Rebellion (first seven years) 11 (6) War with Spain (first seven years) 11 Deductions drawn from data in regard to the 10 regiments of 1898 vol- unteers 11 7. Number of pensioners on the roll 15 8. Percentage of pensioners on the rolls 16 years after the beginning of hos- tilities 15 (a) War of the Rebellion 16 (6) War with Spain 16 9. Amounts disbursed for pensions 16 10. Probable future cost of the pension list for the War with Spain 17 Table No. 1, showing applications filed, pensions granted, total pensioners, amount paid for pensions from 1899 to 1914, inclusive (for all wars) 18 Table No. 2, showing applications filed, pensions granted, number pensioners, paid for pensions from 1899 to 1914, inclusive (War with Spain) 19 Table No. 3, showing applications filed from 1899 to 1913, inclusive (War with Spain) 19 Table No. 4, showing certain data for ten 1898 volunteer regiments (War with Spain) 20 Table No. 5, showing claims filed, claims allowed, and percentage of claims allowed to claims filed from 1862 to 1868, inclusive, War of the Rebellion, and from 1899 to 1905, inclusive, War with Spain 21 Table No. 6, showing number of pensioners for the Army and Navy from 1898 to 1914, inclusive (War with Spain), and number of pensioners and percentage of pensioners (War with Spain) to total (all wars) 22 Table No. 7, showing pensions for the Army and Navy from 1899 to 1914, inclu- sive (War with Spain), and administration and maintenance from 1899 to 1914, inclusive (all wars) 22 Table No. 8, showing number of invalid pensioners, per cent to strength, widows, etc., per cent to strength, per cent total pensioners to strength from 1902 *b 1914, inclusive (War with Spain) 23 Table No. 9, showing number of pensioners, cost of administration, per capita cost per pensioner from 1899 to 1914, inclusive (all wars), and number of pen- sioners and cost of administration (War with Spain) 23 Table No. 10, showing (a) invalids, (6) widows, etc.. (c) gain, (d) loss, from 1899 to 1914, inclusive (War with Spain), and total pensioners on roll (all wars).. 24 625 (3) THE PENSION ROLL AS AFFECTED BY THE WAR WITH SPAIN IN 1898. 1. INCEPTION OF THE PRACTICE OF PENSIONING DISABLED SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. The practice of pensioning soldiers incapacitated by injuries re- ceived in active service and of providing relief for their dependent families began long before the Eevolutionary War. In 1636 the Pilgrims at Plymouth enacted a law providing that any man sent forth as a soldier and who returned maimed should be maintained competently by the colony during the remainder of his life. In 1644 the Virginia Assembly passed a disability pension law, and later a provision for the relief of indigent members of the families of sol- diers who should be killed. In 1676 a standing committee of the General Court of Massachusetts Bay held regular meetings to hear the applications of wounded soldiers for relief. After the union of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies, under the charter of 1.691, the Province continued to make provision for the relief of disabled soldiers out of the public treasury. In 1718 Ehode Island enacted a pension law which provided that every officer, soldier, or sailor employed in the service of the colony, who should be disabled from getting a livelihood for himself and family or other dependent rela- tives, should have his wounds looked after at the colony's charge, and should have an annual pension for the maintenance of himself and his dependents. This law further provided that if any person who had the charge of maintaining a wife, children, parents, or other dependent relatives should be slain in the colony's service, these relatives should be maintained while unable to provide for them- selves. The first national law on pensions was passed August 26, 1776, long before the independence of the Colonies was established. This law provided half pay for life or during disability to any officer, soldier, or sailor losing a limb in any engagement, or being so dis- abled in the service of the United States as to render him incapable of earning a livelihood. On August 24, 1780, a resolution was adopted extending the above half -pay provision to the widows or orphan children of such officers as had died or should die in the service. This was the first national law in behalf of widows and orphans. On April 23, 1782, Congress provided that soldiers who were sick or wounded or unfit for duty should receive a discharge and be pensioned at the rate of $5 per month. 525 6 It is, therefore, evident that the feeling that soldiers incapacitated in the service of the Government should be maintained thereafter at the expense of the Government is not of recent growth, but existed in the very early days of the colonization of this country. 2. THE WAR WITH SPAIN BEGINNING AND DURATION. The War with Spain began, officially, on April 21, 1898, and ceased, officially, on April 11, 1899. Actual hostilities were in progress be- tween the land forces during this period as follows : Cuba, June 24 to July 11, 1898. Philippine Islands, July 31 to August 13, 1898. Porto Rico, July 25 to August 12, 1898. On February 4, 1899, the Philippine insurrection began and hostili- ties continued until April 27, 1902. During this period the Boxer outbreak in China occurred, necessitating combined operations on the part of the powers concerned for the relief of their legations at Peking. The actual hostilities in which our land forces took part in this campaign lasted from July 13 to August 13, 1900. It thus appears that active hostilities participated in by our troops were in progress from June 24, 1898, to April 27, 1902, a period of 3 years, 10 months, and 6 days (1,401 days). The Philippine in- surrection ended officially on July 4, 1902. The official period of hostilities, then, extended from the beginning of the War with Spain to the end of the Philippine insurrection, a period of 4 years, 2 months, and 14 days (1,535 days). In the records of the Bureau of Pensions this entire period is considered, so far as pensions are concerned, as the War with Spain, and all applications for pensions for disabilities incurred during the period from April 21, 1898, to July 4, 1902, are credited to the War with Spain. 3. FORCES EMPLOYED. The first Volunteer regiment for service in the War with Spain was mustered into the service of the United States on May 1, 1898, and the last Volunteer (United States) regiment was mustered out of service on July 25, 1901. There were thus Volunteers in service continuously for a period of 3 years, 2 months, and 25 days (1,181 days). At .first glance it would appear that the number of troops em- ployed in the War with Spain could easily be ascertained from official records. This is, however, far from the truth. For the pur- poses of this paper we must know the number of individuals em- ployed during the official period of the war in order to ascertain the number of pensionable persons coming into existence during that period. A man who has served an enlistment in one organization 525 and then reenlisted in that or some other organization constitutes one possible pensionable individual. But our records may show this individual as two, or even more, since no tabulations have yet been made which will show how many of the reenlistments in the Eegular Army were by individuals who had had previous service in some organization during the period covered by the War with Spain. Nor has any tabulation been yet made that will show how many men enlisting in the Regular Army had had previous service in the Volunteers, nor men enlisting in the Volunteers who had had pre- vious service in the Regular Army or Volunteers. So it is evident that it will be impossible, with the data available, to ascertain ex- actly how many individuals were employed in the War with Spain. To take the total enlistments and reenlistments for the Regular Army the force in service on May 1, 1898, the totals for the Volun- teers as shown by the muster-out rolls, would give us a total of 451,970, which is, of course, vastly in excess of the number of indi- viduals employed in the War with Spain. The published reports of the Bureau of Pensions give an estimate of the individuals employed in the land forces in the War with Spain as follows: War with Spain (proper) 312,000 Philippine insurrection 139, 438 Boxer trouble in China 6, 713 As no tabulations covering this subject have yet been made in the office of The Adjutant General it is not known by what method these figures were arrived at. The total, 458,151, is undoubtedly too great. Even if we deduct the 6,713 men credited to the " Boxer " troubles in China (all of whom are accounted for, of course, in the Philippine force) we will have a total of 452,561, which is still much too great. 4. TOTAL ENLISTMENTS AND REENLISTMENTS NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IN SERVICE. From the published records of The Adjutant General's Office we find the following: (a) Regular Army enlistments and reenlistments: May 1, 1898, to June 30, 1898 18, 880 June 30, 1898, to June 30, 1899 62, 175 June 30, 1899, to June 30, 1900 19, 549 June 30, 1900, to June 30, 1901 22, 479 June 30, 1901, to June 30, 1902 36, 964 Total enlistments and reenlistments 160, 047 Strength Regular Army May 1, 1898 30, 268 Total Regular Army 190, 315 But we know that this number does not give us the actual number of individuals employed in the Regular Army, since it contains 525 8 reenlistments and a certain number of men who had seen previous service in the 1898 Volunteers. Without tabulated data we can only guess at what the actual number of individuals serving in the Regular Army during the period of the War with Spain really was ; but it is believed that even a guess will bring us nearer the truth than to take the figures as they stand. The strength of the Regular Army on May 1, 1898, was 30,268. The total number of enlistments and reenlistments between May 1 and June 30, 1898, was 18,880. This gives us a total for the Regular Army on June 30, 1898, counting enlistments and reenlistments, of 49,148. The total enlistments and reenlistments between June 30, 1898, and June 30, 1902, was 141,167. This number includes many reenlistments and a certain number of ex- Volunteers of 1898. From the records of The Adjutant General's Office we find that the largest force in the Regular Army for any one month during the period between June 30, 1898, and June 30, 1902, was 88,362. While this number contains many reenlistments and a certain proportion of ex- Volunteers of 1898, there were also during this period a total of 78,561 men killed, died, discharged, retired, and deserted, whose places had to be filled. It seems probable, therefore, that if we estimate that two-thirds of the men enlisted in the Regular Army during this period represent the number of individuals in service who had not had previous service during the War with Spain, we will be not far from the truth. This would give us 94,112. We would have, therefore, for the Regular Army for the period from April 21, 1898, to July 4, 1902, a total of about 143,360 individuals. Another method of estimating the number of individuals employed in the Regular Army was as follows : Original enlistments of 1896 to serve until 1898-99 5, 676 Original enlistments of 1897 to serve until 1899-1900 5, 332 Original enlistments of 1898 to serve until 1900-1 24, 248 Original enlistments of 1899 to serve until 1901-2 43, 780 Original enlistments of 1900 to serve until 1902-3 15, 588 Original enlistments of 1901 to serve until 1903-4 25, 688 Original enlistments of 1902 to serve until 1904-5-- 26, 026 Total 146, 338 A mean of the results arrived at by the two methods would give us 144,849, which is perhaps nearer the truth than either result taken separately and as near the actual number as we can arrive with the data now at our disposal. When we come to the Volunteers our data are better, but still by no means complete. The muster-out rolls of volunteer organizations show the number of all individuals who at any time served therein. (b) Volunteers of 1898. As there were no reenlistments in the 1898 volunteer organizations, and as there were no men in these organizations who had had pre- 525 9 vious service in the War with Spain, the totals as shown by the muster-out rolls will give us the number of individuals serving therein. This number was 223,235. (c) Volunteers of 1899. The muster-out rolls of the organizations of 1899 (the United States Volunteers) show a total of 38,420 men who served in these organizations. However, this number contains a large number of men who had had previous service in the War with Spain, so that we can not use this figure as it stands. It is a matter of common knowledge that there was a large number of men in these organizations who had previously served either in the 1898 volunteers or in the Regular Army during the War with Spain period. Just what this number was we have no means of tell- ing with certainty, since no tabulation from the records on the sub- ject has yet been made. In the report of The Adjutant General's Office for 1901 it is estimated that at least 65 per cent of the volun- teers raised in 1899 (United States Volunteers) had had previous service during the War with Spain. If we accept this statement as a-ccurate we will have to deduct the number corresponding to this percentage from the total number of 1899 volunteers. This would, then, give us only 13,447 individuals in these organizations who had not seen previous service and who had, therefore, not already been counted either in the Regular Army or in the 1898 volunteers. As a result of all our estimates and guesses, then, we have the following : Total number of individuals employed in the Regular Army 144, 849 Total number of individuals employed in the 1898 Volunteers 223, 235 Total number of individuals employed in the 1899 Volunteers 13, 447 Total for the War with Spain 381, 531 The charge has been made many times that the number of applica- tions for pensions filed by survivors of the War with Spain or by their dependents was unduly large in comparison with the forces employed and with the battle casualties. Let us see to what extent this charge is justified. In order to make any comparisons with other wars we must endeavor to arrive at the total number of possible pensioners. 5. NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ACQUIRED AN ACTUAL PEN- SIONABLE STATUS BY DATE OF DISCHARGE OR MUSTER-OUT. It is evident that the " dependents " of those men who were killed or who died in service and those men themselves who were dis- charged for disability or found with disability upon muster-out, acquired an actual pensionable status. 30669 No. 52516 2 10 The records of The Adjutant General's Office show that the total mortality from all causes for the period May 1, 1898, to June 30, 1902, was : Regular Army . 5, 870 6, 025 Total 11, 895 A computation made in the Office of the Commissioner of Pensions in connection with the records of the War of the Rebellion shows that 36 per cent of those dying did not leave pensionable depend- ents. As this percentage will probably hold good for the War with Spain, we must deduct from the above total of those who died in service 4,282, in order to ascertain the number of individuals who attained a pensionable status by date of discharge or muster-out. Referring again to the records of The Adjutant General's Office we find that the number of men discharged for disability during this period was : Regular Army 8, 103 Volunteers 4, 862 Total _ 12, 965 The number of 1899 Volunteers found with disability at date of muster-out was 586. The records do not show the results of the examinations of the 1898 Volunteers at muster-out. The above figures, then, will give us a total of 21,164 persons who had attained an actual pensionable status at date of discharge or muster-out. There were wounded during the period under consideration 2.645 Regulars and 2,032 Volunteers. In figuring the number acquiring an actual pensionable status this figure is disregarded, because it is not known how. many of this number are included in those discharged for disability or how many wounds constituted actual pensionable disability. 6. NUMBER OF PENSION APPLICATIONS FILED. Table 1 shows the number of applications received on account of all wars from June 30, 1899, to June 30, 1905. Also the number of pensions granted during this period. The total number of applica- tions received for this period was 373,083, and the pensions granted, 297,222, a percentage of pensions granted to applications filed of 79.6 per cent. Table 5 gives the number of applications filed on account of the War with Spain credited to Army invalids and to widows, etc., from June 30, 1899, to June 30, 1905, and for the War of the Rebellion, from June 30, 1862, to June 30, 1868. We can therefore obtain com- 525 parative figures for these two wars for the first seven years after the beginning of hostilities in each. (a) War of the Rebellion (first seven years) ; Claims filed Invalids 134, 300 Widows, etc 162,454 Total 296, 754 CLums granted Invalids 84, 427 Widows, etc 116, 499 Total 200,926 Percentage of pensions granted to claims filed, 67.7 per cent. (6) War with Spain (first seven years) : Claims filed Invalids 69, 687 Widows, etc 10, 248 Total 79, 935 Claims granted Invalids 18, 510 Widows, etc 5,416 Total 23, 926 Percentage of pensions granted to claims filed, 29.9 per cent. The percantage of invalid pensions granted to claims filed was : (a) War of the Rebellion, per cent 62. 8 (6) War with Spain, per cent . 26.5 The percentage of widows, etc., pensions granted to claims filed was : (a) War of the Rebellion, per cent 71.7 (6) War with Spain, per cent 52.8 Among the causes for this great difference between claims filed and pensions granted the two which are, undoubtedly, of most im- portance are: (1) That the Army in the War with Spain constituted only a very small percentage of the total population, while in the War of the Kebellion it constituted a very large one, and (2) that maAy Spanish War soldiers and their dependents claimed pensions who were not entitled to them. This latter fact will appear more clearly as we proceed. Table 3 shows the applications received year by year from June 30, 1899, to June 30, 1913, credited to the War with Spain. This includes both the Army and the Navy, but as the number for the Navy is undoubtedly small it may be disregarded. It is a remarkable fact, as will be seen from the table, that the number of claims filed up to June 30, 1899, only 14 months after hostilities began, was larger by 2,829 than for any other year. The next largest number was for 1901, 14,157. This latter year, of course, included many of those mustered out of the 1899 Volunteers. With- out doubt the vast majority of the applications filed during 1899 pertain to the period covered by the hostilities with Spain, proper April 21, 1898, to April 11, 1899. Of this number, also it is evident that few came from men serving in the Philippine Islands, since almost the entire Infantry of the Regular Army was in the Philip- 625 12 pine Islands by June 30, 1899, and the 1899 Volunteers had not yet been organized. In addition to this, those organizations of the 1898 Volunteers sent to the Philippine Islands in the early expeditions had not yet been returned to the United States. While our information is by no means complete, we can find the approximate number to whom the claims filed up to June 30, 1899, should be credited. From what has been said above, it is evident that the vast major- ity of the 16,986 claims filed by June 30, 1899, must have come from (1) the 1898 Volunteers (less the organizations of this force actually in the Philippine Islands), (2) the men of those regular organiza- tions serving in the Philippine Islands who were discharged for any cause before their organizations were sent to the Philippines, (3) the men of the regular regiments which did not go to the Philippine Islands and were either still in service or who had been discharged and were in the United States, (4) also members of the organiza- tions of the 1898 Volunteers serving in the Philippines who had been discharged before June 30. 1899, (5) also the dependents of those men who had died in service before June 30, 1899. Let us see if we can make any estimate of what this number of possible appli- cants was. The total regular force which served in Cuba and Porto Rico during the hostilities with Spain was approximately 17,688. Of this number it is estimated that only about 25 per cent went to the Philippine Islands with their organizations in the early part of 1899, the remaining 75 per cent having either died or been discharged for various reasons. Thus about 13,251 men of the Cuban and Porto Rican forces (or their dependents) were in a position to file applications for pensions by the date in question. Of the 1898 Volunteers there were 18,819 serving with their organizations in the Philippine Islands. This number deducted from the total number of 1898 Volunteers leaves, in the United States, 204.416. The number belonging to the various organizations serving in the Philippines who died or were discharged before June 30, 1899, and who (or their dependents) were in a position to file claims for pen- sions, was 6,872. Combining these figures we have 13.251 Regulars and 211,288 Volunteers, a total of 224,539 individuals who, on or before June 30, 1899, were in a position to file applications for pen- sions. Since the number of applications filed up to that date was 16,986, the percentage of applications filed to the total number of individuals in a position to apply for pensions was 7.5 per cent, certainly a very large percentage within 14 months after hostilities had begun. In connection with the large percentage of Spanish War soldiers who filed applications for pensions, the report of the Commissioner of Pensions, dated September 10, 1901, says: 525 13 Much criticism has been visited upon Spanish War soldiers by reason of the promptness with which they filed claims for disabilities and by reason of the large percentage of claims filed considering their short service and the absence of battle-field casualties as compared with the Civil War. Only a little over three years have passed since hostilities began, and yet claims amounting to about 20 per cent of the number of men enlisted for the Spanish War have been filed. It is believed that the percentage given by the Commissioner of Pensions is too large. Apparently he has considered only the 1898 Volunteers, which would give a percentage of 19.3, which is, he says, nearly 20 per cent. There were, however, a large number of men in addition to the 1898 Volunteers who' were in a position to file applica- tions which the commissioner does not take into account. However, that the percentage of claims filed for pensions was much larger than it should have been there is no doubt. The Bureau of Pensions has roughly tabulated the number of ap- plications filed from 10 of the 1898 Volunteer regiments up to June 30, 1900. Table 4 shows this, together with other data, with respect to these regiments. The total number of claims filed from these or- ganizations was, roughly, 6,000, or 19.9 per cent of the total number of applications filed for the War with Spain up to that date. The percentage of the strength of these 10 regiments to the strength of the 1898 Volunteers was 5.8 per cent. By reference to Tables 4 and 5 we find that these 10 regiments filed a total of 6,000 applications up to June 30, 1900, out of a total number of applications credited to the War with Spain to that date of 30,025. The total number of individuals enlisted in these 10 regi- ments Avas 13,076, or about 4 per cent of the number of individuals employed in the War with Spain up to that date. That is, with a strength of only about 4 per cent these regiments filed applications amounting to 19.9 per cent of the total number of applications filed up to June 30. 1900. Only three of these regiments saw any active service, and of these only 9.6 per cent of their total strength acquired a possible pensionable status by reason of death or discharge for dis- ability. Yet their percentage of applications filed to their strength was 47.4 per cent. In the seven regiments which saw no active serv- ice, 4.3 per cent had acquired a pensionable status by date of dis- charge and are credited with 45.2 per cent of the total number of applications filed by the 10 regiments. That is, while 5.3 per cent more per total strength in those regiments which had had active service acquired an actual pensionable status by date of muster out. their actual applications for pensions amounted to only 2.2 per cent more than those regiments which had seen no active service at all. It is evident, then, that so far as these particular regiments are con- cerned, the number of killed, died of wounds, and wounded had little, if any, bearing on the number of applications for pensions filed. Nor is it believed that these particular regiments differed materially 525 14 from other regiments of the 1898 Volunteers. It seems impossible then, to escape the conclusion that the 1898 Volunteers were very prompt to file applications for pensions, and that an unusually large percentage of them to total strength did file them. To those who were familiar with the conditions obtaining at the time of muster- in and muster-out of these organizations, as the Commissioner of Pensions remarks in the above-mentioned report, the cause for this state of affairs is not difficult to find. Before the Volunteers were mustered in, they were examined physically, and it was explained that one of the reasons for the examination was to prevent the sol- dier from filing a claim for pension for a disability supposed to have been contracted in service when he really had the disability before he entered the service. The impression left on the mind of most men was, undoubtedly, that the Government expected them to make an application for pension eventually, else why this care to safe- guard itself against false claims. In addition to this they were all, of course, familiar with the fact that a large percentage of the soldiers of the Civil War were drawing pensions. But what brought the ap- plications in so promptly was this : At every camp where Volunteers were mustered out, a great swarm of agents lay in wait and, in many instances, actually fought with each other for the privilege of han- dling the application for a pension, which they used every endeavor to persuade each discharged soldier to make. These agents received, at this period, $25 for each pension claim which was allowed. As the soldier knew that the law provided that he should receive a pen- sion should he have contracted any disability in service, and believ- ing that the Government expected him to make an application should he be entitled to it, it was probably not a very difficult matter for these agents to persuade many of the discharged men to try for a pension whether he was suffering from a disability or not. The wonder is that more men did not apply for pensions than actually did. That thousands applied without proper grounds is evidenced by the fact that the percentage of Army disability pensions granted to claims filed for the period to June 30, 1905, credited to the War with Spain, was only 26.5 per cent, while the percentage of pensions granted to claims filed for all other classes for the period above cited was 91.5 per cent. 7. NUMBER OF PENSIONERS ON THE ROLLS. Table 6 shows the total number of pensioners on the rolls credited to all wars for each year from June 30, 1899, to June 30, 1914, and the number of pensioners on the roll for the same period credited to the War with Spain. The total number of pensioners of all classes and for all wars on the rolls on June 30, 1914, was 785,239. The total number credited 626 15 to the War with Spain on this date was 28,910. The number of invalid pensioners credited to the War with Spain was 24,250. The number of invalid pensioners credited to the Army alone for the War with Spain was 23,511 and of dependents 4,403. For this period the highest number of invalid Army pensioners was in 1914, 23,416. The highest number of dependent Army pensioners was in 1909, 4,845. The greatest annual increase for pensioners for the War with Spain was in 1901, 4,658. The yearly gain for total pensioners, War with Spain, has continuously decreased since 1908. In 1914 there were 87 less pensioners on the rolls for the War with Spain than in 1913. There is a continuous increase in the number of invalid pensioners for this war from 1899 to 1915. The increase in 1915, however, was only 124. After giving this brief resume of the condition of the Spanish War pension rolls it will be necessary to see if we can make some sort of comparison of the proportion of pensioners on the rolls to the number of individuals employed in the last two years. 8. PERCENTAGE OF PENSIONERS ON THE ROLLS 16 YEARS AFTER THE BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES FOR (a) WAR OF THE RE- BELLION AND (b) WAR WITH SPAIN. To a greater degree than we found it to be in the War with Spain is the number of individuals employed in the War of the Rebellion a matter of estimate. Many estimates have been made, some of them differing very widely. That made in the report of the Commissioner of Pensions for 1882 is probably as reliable as any of them, and we will use the figure deduced in that report for the purposes of the following computations. The report gives the number of individuals employed as 2,046,969. To this figure is added the 16,442 men in service in the Regular Army and Navy at the outbreak of the war, giving a total of individuals employed of 2,063,391. This figure, of course, includes the Navy, but as there are no data available which will give us the number of individuals employed in the Navy, the total figure will have to be employed in the following computation. For the War with Spain we will use the figure deduced in section 4 of this paper, 381,531. This, of course, includes only the Army, but as we have no data on the Navy this figure will have to be used. In order that the comparison may be as fair as possible, a period has been selected which is the same number of years after the begin- ning of hostilities for each war. The number of years selected is 16, which will give us the year 1877 for the War of the Rebellion and 1914 for the War with Spain. As no " service " pension laws had been passed up to 1877, the laws under which pensions were granted for both wars were practically the same at the period selected for each war. 526 16 (a) War of the Rebellion. The total number of pensioners borne on the roll on June 30, 1877, was 214,693. This includes all pensioners on the rolls except the pensioners for the War of 1812. A certain number must be de- ducted, therefore, for the War with Mexico and the Indian wars. In no place in the report of the Commissioner of Pensions for 1877 does this number appear. In House Report No. 64, Forty-fifth Con- gress, second session (1878), an estimate of the number of pensioners for the War with Mexico is given as 11,000. In the report of the Commissioner of Pensions for June 30. 1914, the number of sur- vivors for the War with Mexico and for the Indian wars is given as practically the same. It is probable, therefore, that there were about the same number for each of these wars on the roll in 1877. If, then, we deduct 20,000 from the total of 214,693 as given above, we will probably come very near the number of pensioners for the War of the Rebellion borne on the rolls on June 30, 1877. This will give us a figure of 194,693. Using this figure will give us a percentage of pensioners to num- ber of individuals employed of 9.5 at a period of 16 years after the beginning of hostilities. (b) War with Spain. The total number of pensioners on the rolls for the War with Spain on June 30, 1914, was 27,915. This would give us a percentage of pen- sioners to the number of individuals employed of 7.3 at a period 16 years after the beginning of hostilities. It would appear, then, that, in proportion to the number of indi- viduals employed (as nearly as this number can be estimated), the number of pensioners on the roll for the War with Spain 16 years after the beginning of hostilities was less than that for the War of the Rebellion at the same length of time after the beginning of hostilities for the war, the percentages standing 9.5 for the War of the Rebellion and 7.3 for the War with Spain. 9. AMOUNTS DISBURSED FOR PENSIONS. The amount disbursed for pensions for the War of the Rebellion for the year ending June 30, 1914, was $163,377,551.53. The amount disbursed for pensions for the War with Spain for this year was $3,907,510.53. The total amount disbursed for pensions proper for all wars up to June 30, 1914, was $4.633,511.926.71, and the total cost of adminis- tration was $127,938,472.79, or a total cost to the Government for our pension system of $4,761,450,399.50. (Report, Commissioner of Pensions, 1914.) 525 17 10. PROBABLE FUTURE COST OF THE PENSION LIST FOR THE WAR WITH SPAIN. It only remains to endeavor to make some estimate as to what the future cost of the pension system for the War with Spain is likely to be. In the nature of things this must be a very rough sort of a guess. By the use of the " mortuary tables " in common use by life insurance companies we can ascertain the approximate date when the last survivor will have died, since we know the average age at which they entered the service. But we have no such information with regard to the ages of the dependents. Again, no one can forecast the action of Congress in regard to pensions. Up to this date no " service " law has been passed for the War with Spain, and it is possible that none will be. If we judge the future action of Congress by what its action has been in the past, however, we are justified in expecting that such action will eventually be taken. For the wars prior to the War with Spain service-pension provi- sions were passed as follows: War of 1812 (14 days' service), on March 9, 1878; War with Mexico (60 days' service), on January 29, 1887; War of the Eebellion (90 days' service), on May 11, 1912. That is, in the case of these three wars service-pension provisions were passed an average of 50 years after the ending of hostilities. The sentiments of our people with respect to the pension system and political methods remaining the same, we may, then, reasonably expect a service-pension bill for the survivors of the War with Spain to be passed about, say, 1950. If we grant that this will occur, we can make at least a rough estimate of the number of survivors who will still be living on that date and the approximate amount that the pension list will cost. The total number of individuals estimated to have been employed in the War with Spain was 381,531. .From this number we must deduct the number of those who deserted during the war, since neither they nor their dependents are entitled to pensions. This number was 17,599. This will leave at the end of the war 363,532 possible pen- sioners. By the use of our " mortuary tables " we will find that there should be living in 1950, 124,692 survivors, since 238,840 will have died. However, it is possible, though not probable, that all of these survivors (less a percentage to be deducted later) will .leave surviving pensionable dependents. A calculation made by the Com- missioner of Pensions in 1882 in connection with the War of the Rebellion shows that 36 per cent of those dying do not leave pen- sionable dependents. In order, then, to ascertain the number of pensionable individuals living in 1950 we must deduct 85,982 from this total. We will then find that we may have in 1950, 277,550 pos- sible pensioners still living. However, all of these will not apply for pensions, nor will they all be living. 525 18 The largest amount paid out for pensions for the War of the Re- bellion in any one year was in the year 1913. So that 52 years after the beginning of hostilities the " high tide " of pension disbursements was reached for the War of the Rebellion. In that year the total number of pensioners on the roll for all wars was 820,200, of which number 762,331 were credited to the War of the Rebellion, which would be 36.9 per cent of the total number of individuals employed in that war. The amount disbursed for pensions proper for the War of the Rebellion for the year 1913 was $164,897,872.48, which would make the average annual value of a pension amount to $216.30. The total cost for administration and maintenance of the pension system for the year 1913 was $2,543,246.39. This would make the per capita cost per pensioner amount to $3.10 for that year. With the above data as a basis we can roughly calculate the cost of the War with Spain pension roll 52 years after the beginning of hostilities in that war, bearing in mind that we are supposing that the same conditions as to longevity and laws will obtain as have been found to exist for the War of Rebellion pensioners. In 1950, then, we would have 140,785 pensioners of the War with Spain still on the rolls. To them would be paid a total of $30,451,- 795.50 in pensions. The cost of administration and maintenance for the War with Spain for this year would amount to $436,433.50, making a total disbursement for the year 1950 for this war of $30,888,229. On the same basis, then, the total amount disbursed for pensions for the War with Spain, up to and including the year 1950, would be $677,832,376.82, and for administration and maintenance, $10,242,- 457.98, which would make a total cost to the Government, for this war to and including 1950, of $688,074,834.80. TABLE 1. All wars. Table showing the total number of applications for pensions filed, total number of pensions granted, total number of pensioners on the roll, and the total amount paid for pensions proper on June 30 of each year from 1899 to 1914, inclusive (from reports of the Bureau of Pensions) : Year. Applica- tions filed. Pensions granted. Total pensioners. Amount paid for pensions. 1899 63 51 58 47 52 55 52 (' h s (' ,881 .946 ,373 ,965 ,325 ,794 ,841 37 40 44 40 40 44 50 P h ji (i I , O'/Y ,645 868 ,173 ,136 ,296 ,027 > > 991,519 993, 529 997, 735 999,446 969, 545 994, 762 998,441 985, 971 967, 371 951,687 946, 194 921, 083 892,098 860,294 820, 200 785,239 $138, 355, 052. 95 138, 462, 130. 65 138,531,483.34 137,504,267.99 137, 759, 653. 71 141,093,571.49 141, 142, 861. 33 139, 000, 288. 25 138, 155, 412. 46 153,093,086.27 161, 973, 703. 77 159,974,056.08 157, 325, 160. 35 152, 986, 433. 72 174, 171, 660. 80 172,417,546.26 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 . . . : 1905 1906 1907 19^g 1909 ... 191 1911 U12 Ifl3 1H4. i No data. 525 19 TABLE 2. War with Spain. Table showing applications for pensions filed, pensions granted, and number of pensioners on roll on June 30 of each year from 1899 to 1914, inclusive, for the Army for the War with Spain (from reports of Bureau of Pensions) : Year. Applica- tions filed. Pensions granted. Number pension- ers. Paid for pen- sions. 1899: Invalids 15,009 125 117 $8,852.41 2,551 178 165 16,972.06 1900: Invalids 12,038 801 822 145, 460. 54 1,383 710 845 170,562.64 1901: Invalids 12,814 2,795 3,344 644,315.04 Widows etc ... . 1,834 1,240 1,981 476, 914. 68 1902: 10, 210 3,441 6,282 1,121,499.79 Widows, etc 1,395 884 2,727 536, 452. 50 1903: Invalids 7,728 3,415 8,798 1,468,368.56 Widows, etc 1,282 936 3,488 634, 126. 10 1904: Invalids 6,152 4,013 11,946 2,147,332.08 Widows etc 938 885 4,187 825,983.17 1905: Invalids 5,736 3,920 15, 138 2,457,638.71 Widows etc 865 583 4,540 806, 604. 92 1906: Invalids 0) (0 17,038 2,508,428.09 Widows, etc 0) 0) 4,715 787,952.60 1907: Invalids (i) (1) 18,393 2.533,410.75 Widows etc 0) 0) 4,775 789,997.06 1908: (1) (1) 19,857 2 698,394.73 Widows etc (1) 0) 4,840 797,024.38 1909: Invalids w 0) 21,264 Widows etc (1) M 4,845 V s 3, 820, 169.80 1910: Invalids (1) (1) 22,063 Widows etc (1) (0 4 817 J 2 3, 807, 919. 91 1911: Invalids (1) (1) 22,644 2,999,776.96 Widows etc 0) M 4,817 787,431.05 1912: Invalids 0) 0) 23,097 3,021,362.75 Widows etc . (1) (1) 4,734 789,612.03 1913: Invalids (1) (1) 23,416 3, 130, 866. 45 Widows etc (1) irf 4 586 780,066.43 1914: Invalids ... (1) (1) 23,512 3,019,167.05 Widows etc (1) (1) 4 403 726 829.98 i No data. Amounts paid for pensions for these years show only as total for Army and Navy combined. TABLE 3. War with Spain. Table showing the number of applications for pensions filed on June 30 of each year credited to both Army and Navy for the War with Spain, from 1899 to 1913 (from data furnished by the Bureau of Pensions) : Year. Applica- tions filed. 'Year. Applica- tions filed. 1899 . 16, 986 1907 4,170 1900 13,039 1908 4 472 1901 14, 157 1909. . 4,207 1902 11,055 1910 3 372 1903 8,546 1911 2 878 1904 6,774 1912 .. 2,710 1905 6,309 1913 2 465 1906 5,302 525 20 90JAI9S 1^0} JO SA"ep 02I9AV 90JA.I9S uSraaoj jo SA"i3p 83ei8AV punoj inao i8j; ^no laisnra jo a^Bp AnrqBSTp - ^no aa^snui jo a^Bp iu qi3u8.iis oj suosaad aiqBuoisusd jo ^uao aaj o; jo J9j oiNc4 o i-J r^ oc t^ 06 -5 jo suosjgd giqcuoisuad jo ^ngo agj 0061 o^ suots -esip aoj pa2jBqosip jo ^U90 J9j o; 9SB9SJP jo parp jo ITKO J9j qiSuaiis IB^OJ o; sptmoM. jo paip PUB pain^ jo ^uao J9) War with Spain. Also the percentage of claims granted to claims filed. [From reports of the Bureau of Pensions.] (a) WAR OF THE REBELLION. Year. Claims filed. Claims allowed. Percent- age of claims allowed to claims filed. 1862: Invalids 1,362 335 Widows, etc 1,000 14.1 1863: Invalids 26,380 3,938 }_ _ Widows, etc ... . 22,327 3,630 15.5 1864: Invalids 20,263 16,770 I TI e Widows etc 32,627 22,198 > 73.6 1865: Invalids .... ... 27,299 14,962 X Ct Widows etc 44 404 24,693 > 55.3 1866: Invalids 35,799 22,645 I __ Widows, etc 28,732 27,076 } T 7 1867: Invalids 15,905 16, 452 1 ft C Widows, etc 20,265 19,660 > 99.8 1868: Invalids 7,292 9,325 V 140 Widows etc 13,099 19,242 Total 2% 754 200, 926 67.7 (6) WAR WITH SPAIN. 1899: Invalids 15 009 125 \ Widows, etc 2,551 178 / L7 1900: Invalids 12 038 801 }" Widows, etc 1 383 710 11.2 1901: Invalids 12, 814 2,795 \ Widows, etc 1 834 1,240 | 27.5 1902: Invalids 10 210 3,441 x Widows, etc 1 395 884 / 37.2 1903: Invalids 7.728 3,415 1 Widows, etc 1 282 936 V 48.2 1904: Invalids 6 152 4,013 Widows, etc 938 885 69 1905: Invalids 5 736 3 920 Widows, etc 865 583 V 68.2 1 Total 79 935 23 926 OQ Q 525 22 TABLE 6. War with Spain and all wars. Table showing the number of pensioners for the Army and the Navy in the War with Spain and the total number of all pensioners for all wars from 1898 to 1914. Also the percentages of pensioners for the War with Spain to the total number of pensioners. [From Reports of the Bureau of Pensions.] Year. Pensioners, War with Spain. Pension- ers, all wars. Percent- age pen- sioners, war with Spain, to total. Year. Pensioners, war with Spain. Pension- ers, all wars. Percent- age pen- sioners, war with SP toSi. t0 Army. Navy. Army. Navy. 1898. . . 993,714 991,519 993, 529 997, 735 999,446 969, 545 994, 762 998, 441 985,971 ""6" 03 .17 .56 .94 1.3 1.6 2.04 2.2 1907 1908 23,168 24,697 26, 109 26, 880 27, 461 27,831 28,002 27,915 909 968 986 1,009 1,029 1,019 1,010 995 967, 371 951,687 946, 194 921,083 992,098 860,294 820,200 785,239 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 2.89 3.3 3.5 3.6 1899 282 1,667 5,325 9,009 12,286 16, 133 19,678 21,753 17 88 279 456 576 696 813 868 1900 1909 1901 1910 . 1902 1911 1903 . 1912 1904 1913 .. . 1905 1914 1906 . . TABLE 7. War with Spain and all wars. Table showing disbursements for pensions for each year from 1899 to 1914, inclusive, for the Army and for the Navy. Also the total disbursements for administration and maintenance of the Bureau of Pensions for the above-named years. [From Reports of the Bureau of Pensions.) Year. Pensions, War with Spain. Administra- tion and maintenance, all wars. Year. Pensions, War with Spain. Administra- tion and maintenance, all wars. Army. Navy. Army. Navy. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. $25, 824. 47 316, 023. 18 1,121,229.72 1,657,957.29 2, 102, 494. 66 2,973,315.25 3,264,243.63 3,296,380.69 3,323,407.81 $2,782.34 16,882.07 53,996.04 80,488.99 101,589.55 133, 616. 53 145, 754. 91 145, 775. 84 147, 749. 46 $4,147,517.73 3,841,706.74 3,868,795.44 3,831,378.96 3,993,216.79 3, 849, 366. 25 3,721,832.82 3, 523, 269. 51 3, 309, 110. 44 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. 1913. 1914. Total $3,495.419.11 13,820 !3,807 3,787,208.01 3,810,974.78 3,910,932.88 3,745,997.03 $158, 703. 87 , 169. 80 , 919. 91 164, 043. 24 160,111.27 160,235.54 161,513.50 $2,800,963.36 2, 852, 583. 73 2, 657, 673. 86 2,517,127.06 2, 448, 857. 31 2,543,246.39 2,066,507.15 236,831,408.51 1,633,243.15 1 Amounts for these years not shown separately for Army and Navy. 'Disbursements for 1909 and 1910 not in this total. Total, Army column ... . . $36, 831, 408. 51 Total, Navy column 1,633,243.15 Total, Army and Navy, 1909 3,820,169.80 Total, Army and Navy, 1910 3,807,919.91 Total, Army and Navy. 525 46,092,741.87 23 TABLE 8. War with Spain. Table showing percentages, from the close of hostilities to June 30, 1914, of " invalids," " widows, etc.," and total pensions granted each year, to the total number of individuals employed in the War with Spain. [From reports of the Bureau of Pensions and computations.] Year. Invalid pensioners. Per cent to strength. Widows, etc. Per cent to strength. Percent total pen- sioners to strength. 1902 6,282 1.7 2,727 0.7 2.4 1903 8,798 2.3 3,488 .9 3.2 1904 11,946 3.2 4,187 1.1 4.3 1905 15, 138 4.1 4,540 1.2 5.3 1906 ... 17,038 4.6 4,715 1.2 5.9 1907 18,393 4.9 4,775 1.2 6.2 1908 19 857 5.3 4 840 1.3 6.6 1909 21 264 5 7 4 845 3 7.0 1910 22 063 5.9 4,817 .3 7.2 1911 22 644 6 1 4 817 3 7.4 1912 23,097 6.2 4 734 .2 7.5 1913 23 416 6 3 4 586 2 7.5 1914 25,512 6.3 4,403 .1 7.5 TABLE 9. Year. Number of pen- sioners all wars. Cost of administra- tion. Per capita cost per pensioner. Number of pensioners War with Spain. Cost Of adminis- tration for War with Spain. 1899 . 991,519 993, 529 997, 735 999,446 969, 545 994, 762 998, 441 985, 971 967,371 951. 687 46, 194 921. 083 892, 098 860,294 820, 200 785,239 $4,147,517.73 3, 841, 706. 74 3, 868, 795. 44 3,831,378.96 3,993,216.79 3, 849, 366. 25 3,721,832.82 3,523,269.51 3,309,110.44 2,800,963.36 2,852,583.73 2,657,673.86 2,517,127.06 2, 448, 857. 31 2,543,246.39 2, 066, 507. 15 $4.18 3.86 3.87 3.83 4.12 3.86 3.72 3.57 3.42 2.94 3.01 2.88 2.82 2.84 3.10 2.50 282 1,667 5,325 9,009 12,286 16,133 19,678 21, 753 23,168 24, 697 26,109 26,880 27,461 27,831 28,002 27,915 11, 178. 76 6, 434. 62 20, 607. 77 34,504.47 50,618.32 62,273.38 73,202.16 77,658.21 79,234.56 72, 609. 18 78,588.09 77,214.40 77,440.02 79,040.04 86,806.20 69,787.50 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 . 1908 1909 1910... 1911 1912 1913 1914 525 24 TABLE 10. War with Spain and all wars. Table showing the following on June 30 of each year from 1899 to 1914, inclusive. For the War with Spain : (a) Number of " invalid " pensioners, (&) number of "widows, etc.," (c) total gain to roll for the year, (d) total loss to the roll for the year. For all wars: Total number of pensioners on the roll. [From reports of the Bureau of Pensions.] Year. War with Spain. Total pen- sioners on roll. (o)Invalids. (6) Widows, etc. (c) Gain. (d) Loss. 1899 117 822 3,344 6,282 8,798 11,946 15,138 17,038 18,393 19.857 21,264 22,063 22,644 23,097 23,416 23,512 165 845 1,981 2,727 ^ 488 4,187 4 540 4,715 4,775 4,840 4,845 4,817 4,817 4,734 4,586 4,403 991,519 993,529 997 735 1900 728 4,658 3,784 3,277 3,847 3,545 2,075 1,415 1.529 1,412 771 581 370 171 1901 . . 1902 999,446 969,545 994,762 998,441 985,971 967, 371 951,687 946, 194 921,083 892,098 860,294 820,200 785,239 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 .. . 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 87 625 o 667382 C/B UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW AN INITIAL FINE OP 25 CENTS WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH DAY AND TO $I.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY OVERDUE.