they are hereby, appointed a commission with full power to settle the indebtedness to the Government growing out of the issue of bonds in aid of the construction of the Central Pacific and Western Pacific bond-aided railroads, upon such terms and in such manner as may be agreed upon by them, or by a majority of them, and the owners of said railroads: Provided, That any and all settlements thus made shall be submitted in writing to the President for his approval or disapproval, and unless approved by him shall not be binding. That said commission shall not agree to accept a less sum in settlement of the amount due to the United States than the full amount of the principal and interest and all amounts necessary to reimburse the United States for moneys paid for interest or otherwise: And also provided, That said commission are hereby empowered to grant such time or times of payment by installment, and at such rates of interest, to be not less than 3 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, and with such security as to said commission may seem expedient: Provided, however, That in any settlement that may be made the final payment and full discharge of said indebtedness shall not be postponed to exceed ten years, and the whole amount, principal and interest, shall be paid in equal semi-annual installments within the period so limited, and in any settlement made it shall be provided that if default shall be made in any payment of either principal or interest or any part thereof then the whole sum and all installments, principal and interest, shall immediately become due and payable, notwithstanding any other stipulation of said settlement. That there is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $20,000 to defray the expenses of said commission in making the said settlement. Provided further, That unless the settlement herein authorized be perfected within one year after the passage of this act, the President of the United States shall at once proceed to foreclose all the liens and securities now held by the United States against said railroad companies and to collect the indebtedness herein sought to be settled, and nothing in this act contained shall be held to waive or in any way modify the lien already held by the United States. The roads are 860 miles in length, the two together carrying an indebtedness of something over $100,000 to the mile. The Central Pacific road commences five miles west of Ogden and runs to San Francisco; the Western Pacific commences at or about Sacramento and runs to San Jose. This money is now due except in round numbers about $10,000,000, which (having in the meantime been paid out of the Treasury under a former law to redeem the subsidiary bonds) will be due the last day of next January, so that the whole $60,000,000, or, to be accurate, $59,000,000, will then be due and owing, subject to the lien of $27,000,000 or $28,000,000, which is a first mortgage prior to the Government lien. Now, in this condition the question arises, What is it best for the United States to do in order to secure this great sum of money? One remedy might be to foreclose. If there should be a foreclosure and no purchaser then the United States, to get possession of the roads, must pay the first mortgage-$27,000,000 or $28,000,000, and enter upon a policy of the ownership of railroads, which is repugnant to the majority of people outside of the Populist party. The roads have transported the supplies of the Government, and that has gone as a credit upon this indebtedness. Then there is the 5 per cent sinking fund and the sinking fund under the Thurman Act. There has been declamation year in and year out ever since the Pacific roads were constructed; declamation about the plutocrats, about the great fortunes that have been made. How just or unjust that declamation has been is not to the purpose. The country through which the roads pass was an untracked desert, a wilderness, when these roads were built. Most of the way it is now a settled country, with many commonwealths. Most men recollect the old story of Columbus and the egg. He stood it on end, and after he showed them how, any fool could stand it upon end. Congress decided to create this commission of three Cabinet officers to make the best agreement they can touching securities, upon the basis of full payment, with 3 per cent interest, twenty semi-annual payments, in not longer than ten years; if there is default in any one payment, the whole to come due. Otherwise the hands of this commission are left untied, and when the agreement is made it is to be submitted to the President of the United States, to be ratified by him, and agreement to be made under the white light of public criticism. PENSIONS. Record of the Work Accomplished Under President McKinley in Contrast with Former Periods. The expenditure of nearly $150,000,000 during the past fiscal year on account of pensions, thirty-three years after the close of the civil war, which is chargeable with more than nine-tenths of this expenditure, shows that this Government has not forgotten its promises and obligations to the heroes who offered upon the altar of their country, their lives and all they held dear for the preservation of the Union. Unfavorable comparisons are sometimes made as to the number of certificates issued during a former administration of the Pension Bureau and the present, but it must be remembered that during the period when the large number of certificates was issued (1891, 1892 and 1893) the Act of June 27, 1890, had just been passed and several hundred thousand claims had been filed thereunder which required but little, if any proof aside from the medical examination, and the Bureau was thus able to adjudicate the claims very rapidly. The claims now pending are largely those which require more or less evidence, and embrace those claims under the general law, the prosecution of which was waived by the claimants for the time being, in order that the settlement of their new-law claims might not be delayed. It needs no argument to show that a comparison of results between the two periods of time is not practicable, and that while it is impossible to issue as many certificates as were issued during the years stated there is really as much work done now as there was then, but with different material and necessarily with different results. The high figures showing allowances of claim under the Act of June 27, 1890, which were reached during the Administration of President Harrison, immediately following the passage of said act can never be equaled, because the majority of those entitled to its benefits promptly filed their claims which have long since been adjudicated. The act of June 27, 1890, which has been so far-reaching in its benefits was passed by a Republican Congress and approved by a Republican President. Its beneficiaries now number 539,638 of which 413,909 are soldiers and sailors and 125,729 are widows and dependent relatives. The amount of money expended for pensions during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, was $144,651,879, of which $66,255,670 was paid out to pensioners under the act of June 27, 1890. The money annually expended during the four years preceding the present fiscal year was as follows: The following table shows the growth, or increase, in the amount of mail handled in the Pension Bureau: Total pieces of mail handled, received and sent: 1896, 2,162,581; 1897, 5,056,768; 1898, 6,566,967. During the past year there were 2,054,048 letters sent out (not including cards), being one-third more than the previous year. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1897, 94,454 pension certificates were issued by the Pension Bureau, 30,538 of which were granted during the months of April, May and June of that year, after the present Commissioner assumed charge of the Bureau. For the preceding nine months of that year the issues amounted to only 63,916. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1898, the number of certificates issued was 95,760, showing an average of nearly 8,000 allowances per month, or 320 for each working day during the year. The number of pensioners on the rolls on June 30, 1897, was 976,014; on June 30, 1898, the number was 993,714, being a net increase during the year of 17,700. These figures are obtained from the official records of the Pension Bureau, and show a steady increase in the roll since March 4, 1897, as well as in the number of applications received and disposed of by the Bureau. When it is considered that from July 1, 1897, to June 30, 1898, the board of review in the Pension Bureau acted on 181,389 claims, most of them involving the most careful scrutiny, and the best judicial consideration, in order that no injustice may be done the applicants, it is apparent that the adjudication of claims under the present Administration is being conducted with the utmost expedition consistent with correct action. In the present organization of the Pension Bureau, the "soldier element," as it rightfully should, largely predominates, and the policy of the administration of the affairs of the Bureau and its different divisions is guided and controlled by those who served in the Union army during the civil war. The head of the Bureau, his two Deputies, the Medical Referee, the Chief of the board of review, and nine of the other chiefs of divisions, are veterans of the late war, and under their direction the rights of the soldier and his dependents are protected to their fullest extent. One of the first acts of the present Commissioner after he assumed his duties was to order the reinstatement of a large number of veterans of the late war who had been discharged by the former Administration, and his action in this respect was so prompt and general that it won for him the highest testimonials of commendation from the Grand Army of the Republic and other kindred organizations composed of ex-Union soldiers. Pensions in the Fifty-fifth Congress.-On the 31st day of March, 1898, we had on the pension rolls the following pensioners: Under act of June 27, 1890: Army invalid Navy invalid Total soldiers, sailors, and marines... Under general law: Army widows and dependent relatives... 93,376 394,702 14,349 409,051 743,675 95,596 Under act of June 27, 1890: Army widows and dependent relatives... 118,056 5,907 In truth, about 1 person out of every 70 of our population draws a pension from the General Government. In 1897 we paid pensions to the amount of. Faid expenses of Pension Bureau.. .$139,949,717 35 572,439 41 3,415,343 66 Total expense, year ending July 1, 1897....... 143,937,500 42 During the fiscal year ending July 1, 1898, we have paid, in round numbers, $148,000,000 to our pensioners. Pension Office Statistics.-The following Pension Office Statistics will be of interest: .... 976.014 Number of pensioners on agency rolls June 30, 1898. Originals granted in 1898...... Restorations granted in 1898.. Total 762 7,614 52,648 4,089 56,737 1,040,365 |