remaining
the same and no new business intervening, this number of claims
(193,000) could be acted upon in a period of six years; and taking
January 1, 1884, as a near period from which to estimate in each case
an average amount of arrears, it is found that every case allowed would
require for the first payment upon it the sum of $1,350. Multiplying
this amount by the whole number of probable admissions gives
$250,000,000 as the sum required for first payment. This represents the
sum which must be paid upon claims which were filed before July 1, 1880,
and are now pending and entitled to the benefits of the arrears act.
From this amount ($250,000,000) may be deducted from ten to fifteen
millions for cases where, the claimant dying, there is no person who
under the law would be entitled to succeed to the pension, leaving
$235,000,000 as the probable amount to be paid.

In these estimates no account has been taken of the 38,500 cases filed
since June 30, 1880, and now pending, which must receive attention as
current business, but which do not involve the payment of any arrears
beyond the date of filing the claim. Of this number it is estimated that
86 per cent will be allowed.

As has been stated, with the present force of the Pension Bureau (675
clerks) it is estimated that it will take six years to dispose of the
claims now pending.

It is stated by the Commissioner of Pensions that by an addition of 250
clerks (increasing the adjudicating force rather than the mechanical)
double the amount of work could be accomplished, so that these cases
could be acted upon within three years.

Aside from the considerations of justice which, may be urged for a
speedy settlement of the claims now on the files of the Pension Office,
it is no less important on the score of economy, inasmuch as fully
one-third of the clerical force of the office is now wholly occupied in
giving attention to correspondence with the thousands of claimants whose
cases have been on the files for the past eighteen years. The fact that
a sum so enormous must be expended by the Government to meet demands for
arrears of pensions is an admonition to Congress and the Executive to
give cautious consideration to any similar project in the future. The
great temptation to the presentation of fictitious claims afforded by
the fact that the average sum obtained upon each application is $1,300
leads me to suggest the propriety of making some special appropriation
for