Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1875 — Report of the Paymaster-General of the Army. [ARTICLE]

Report of the Paymaster-General of the Army.

Washington, Dec. 29. The Paymaster-General of the army in his report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, gives the following statement of receipts and disbursements: Balance on hand at the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1, 1873).....'... $2,152,991 81 Received during the fiscal year from the Treasury.... ... ..."...,14,241,096 12 Received from soldiers’ deposits.... 346,609 56 Received from other sources 697,043 91 T0ta1517,437,741 43 Disbursed to the army 511,782,168 86 Disbursed to the military academy.. 195,928 47 Disbursed ou Treasury certificates. .1,284,733 11 Total disbursementssl3,262,B3o 44 Surplus funds deposited in the Treasury 837,794 85 Paymasters' collections deposited in the Treasury 697,442 30 Balance in hands of Paymasters June 30, 1874, to be accounted for in next report ~ 2,639,673 81 Total... The. number of re-enlistments during the last year has 'been 1,400 more than during the previous fiscal year. During the fiscal year ending June 30,1874, there were 2,600 less desertions than during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1873. A little of this reduction is due to the diminutioijof the number of enlisted men, but it is fair to presume that a large share of it is owing to the increasing contentment with the service by the full operation of the acts of May 15, 1872, for gradual increase of pay and for soldiers’ deposits. The Paymaster-General recommends to favorable consideration an annuity ’scheme for officers of the army, first presented by Gen. J. B. Fry, of the Adjutant-General’sDepartment. Under it, officers could, by making certain monthly deductions from their pay,secure to their widows, heirs, oi nominees a monthly annuity which will commence on the death of the officer. It is contemplated that the operation shall in the end be a safe one for the Government, and shall involve no loss to the Treasury; It contemplates that the War Department shall have power to prescribe from time to time the rules and tables to be employed in the execution of the plan. I’he average annual mortality of officers of the United States army during the last fifty years (including deaths in war) has been 24.1 per 1,000.