Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 January 1908 — Widow’s Pensions to Be Increased. [ARTICLE]

Widow’s Pensions to Be Increased.

8o many bills have been intro duoed at this session to increase the pensions of all widows of soldiers that the house committee on invalid pensions has decided to frame a bill of its own and pash it thru congress during the session. Messrs. Chaney, Holliday and Dixon, of Indiana, who are members of this committee, will en deavor to frame a bill embracing the good points of all bills thus far introduced. As matters now stand the widows of soldiers are drawing pensions varying in amounts and the idea is to equalize all of them and make the amount sl2 a month. Most of them have been getting $8 and some only 16 while others have been getting 110 and sl2 a month. The committee has been busy gathering data on the subject and finds that by the latest statistics there are 180,639 widows on the pension rolls. Figuring an average increase from $8 to sl2 a month would mean S4B increase to each one a year and it figures up that to make this change would require* an increase of 98,665,872. A majority of the members of the committee feel that the government can well afford to do this and will so report in the committee bill. f