In addition to the pensions granted under gen eral laws, many claims, often rejected by the Pension Bureau, have been granted by special legislation. From 1861 to 1902 no less than 9296 acts have been passed granting such pensions. A large part of the activity of Congress is devoted to such measures, though a legislative body is ill-adapted to the proper investigation of claims. Elaborate rules which have been framed by the committees of the two Houses for their guidance offer. however, a certain guaranty for the justice and reasonableness of their procedure.
The provisions of the general pension law were of course applicable to the war with Spain. and this brief struggle has already brought forth a considerable number of pensions. Up to 1902 50.071 applications had been filed. There were on the roll July 1, 1902, 6611 Spanish War invalids and 2854 Spanish War widows.
The development of the pension system in the United States can be seen from a few typical figures taken from the Reports of the Commis sioner of Pensions: This table indicates the considerable increase of pension expenditure between 1875 and 1880.
due to the Arrears Act. This is brought out more fully by separating the first pension pay ments from the others, as is done iu the follow ing statement: This statement shows the great increase in first payments immediately following the passage of the Arrears Act and its subsidence until 1890, when the great number of new pensioners in creased such payments to a large extent. Our first table showed the rapid increase of the pen sion roll after 1890. At present we have in fact two systems of pensions—one under the general law, and the other under the law of 1890. Under the first there were 372.268 pensioners on the rolls in 1902 on account of service in the Civil War, and nnder the second 597,319 pen ' sioners.
The Commissioner of Pensions gives in his re port for 1902 the following statement of the aggregate cost of pension expenditures since July 1, 1790: