Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 September 1916 — PENSION ACT SWAMPS BUREAU [ARTICLE]

PENSION ACT SWAMPS BUREAU

Many Applications Received for Benefit of I,aw—Author Explains Method of Obtaining Relief. Washington, I). (’., September 22. —Already the pension bureau is receiving a flood of applications for pensions under the Ashbrook widows’ pension act, which was signed by the President a few minutes before the gavels fell for the close of the first session of the sixty-fourth congress. Many inquiries have come from Indiana. Representative William A. Ashbrook of Ohio, author of the law, is remaining here to render his aid in getting the administration of the law started along right lines and is assisting Ohio soldiers’ widows in securing pensions or increases under the new legislation,

The most widespread interest is being taken all over the country in the new law, for there is hardly a community anywhere that does not number among its citizens widows who will be affected by the law. “For the benefit of those who do not know how to proceed to secure pensions or increases under .its provisions,’’ said Representative Ashbrook, “I would state that those widwho already are on the pension rolls are not required to file applications, but to prove their age and their increases, when granted, will date from the passage of the bill, September 8,191 G. Proof of age usually can be obtained from a family bible or public record. If it should happen that no proof is available in the family or neighborhood, the applicant should furnish the name of father or mother and place where the family was residing in the year lS.")ft. This information will enable a search to be made of the records of the census bureau at

Washington and the densus of 1 850, which sets forth the names of heads of families and their children living in that year, nearly always can be depended upon to supply the needed information. , All widows who are not on the pension rolls, must make an original application on a blank which will he supplied by the pension bureau for that purpose. Another thing which it is important the widows should know is that they are not obliged to pay out considerable sums for attorneys’ fees. The law expressly forbids a pension agent or attorney from

charging a fee of any widow whose name is now on the rolls, but in the case of an original a fee of $lO may be charged. Widows in making original claims should bear in mind that they should hot in any case pay a greater fee than $lO. “The salient provisions of the law,” added Representative Ashbrook, ‘‘are these: All widows who married the soldier husbands prior to June 27, 1890, are entitled to pensions if the soldier served in any war of the country except the Spanish-American war. A bill to

take care of the Spanish-American war widows is pending but has not yet passed. The soldier must have served at least ninety days and received an honorable discharge. All widows under 70 years of age get sl2 a month and all oyer 70 get S2O a month. An important provision is that all war widows, regard less of their age, are to receive S2O a month. By the term war widows' is meant widows who were married -J to the soldiers during part or all of the period of their service. The bill restores the pensionable status to a widow who may have married again. For instance, a widow may have married two or more times after the death of her Soldier husband, but under this law she is entitled to a pension when She again reaches the state of widowhood. The widow who has been divorced front her soldier husband, under its provisions, is entitled to a pension when the divorce ; was not by any fault of her own."