Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1879.djvu/45

Rh be impossible to have the settlements made as contemplated under the provisions of that act in time for the money requirements to be paid into the Treasury by the first day of February in each year; the Auditor therefore recommends that the day be changed to the first day of April in each year; and also that the settlements and payments for the sinking fund be required to be made semi-annually instead of annually.

He further recommends that the investments of the sinking-fund be authorized to be made in the first-mortgage bonds of the respective companies, or in such United States bonds as the Secretary of the Treasury may select.

Sinking funds are also recommended by him to be established for the Kansas Pacific, Central Branch Union Pacific, and Sioux City and Pacific Railroad Companies.

In order to prevent misunderstanding as to the locality of his office, and to make the title uniform with those of other bureau officers of this department, it is recommended that the title of the office of the Auditor of Railroad Accounts be changed to “Commissioner of Railroad Affairs.”

On the 30th of June, 1879, there were 242,755 pensioners, divided as follows: Army invalids, 125,150; Army widows, children, and dependent relatives, 81,174; Navy invalids, 1,844; Navy widows, children, and dependent relatives, 1,772; surviving soldiers of 1812, 11,621; widows of deceased soldiers of that war, 21,194.

During the year 31,346 new names were added to the list; 908, formerly dropped, were restored; 13,497 were dropped. `

The aggregate amount of one year's pension is $25,493,742.15. The actual payments, however, during the year largely exceeds that sum, as nearly all the claims admitted embrace several years accrued pension. The aggregate amount paid to new pensioners during the year was $5,763,758.60.

The number of unsettled pension claims on the 30th of June last was 136,645, exclusive of claims for arrears.

If new original claims continue to be filed as rapidly during the remainder of the year, as they have been for the past nine months, the Commissioner estimates the number of unsettled cases that will be pending at the close of the year at 250,000.

Since the passage of the “Arrears” act, the claims for pension have come in at an unprecedented rate, the invalids nearly double that ever known before in the history of the office.

This large inflow of claims and the consequent accumulation of work has given rise to complaints and much embarrassment, and these must continue until Congress authorizes the employment of a force sufficient to prevent the accumulation of claims.

A new and better system for recording the claims received has been