Pensacola

3668

Pensions

 

Navy Yard is now located the Penbacola
Naval Air Station. The historic Plaza Fer-
dinand, where the transfer of Florida took
place, is the civic center of the city. Pen-
sacola has an extensive foreign trade, the
chief items of shipment beinjr cotton, lum-
ber, naval stores, hides, fertilizers, and iron
and steel articles. Founded in 1559 by the
Spaniards under Luna, it fell before the
French arms in 1719 and by the Treaty of
Paris (1763) passed with West Florida into
the hands of the French. In 1783 the terri-
tory was restored to Spain by treaty. Al-
though the United States claimed Pensacola
by the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Spain
consented to its occupation by the English in
the War of 1812. It was taken by General
Jackson in 3814, and again in 1818, and was
formally ceded by Spain the following year;
P- 37449-
Pensacola Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of
Mexico on the west coast of Florida. It
affords an excellent harbor.
Pensions, pecuniary allowances payable at
regularly recurring periods, usually in rec-
ognition of past services. The first national
pension law was enacted by the Continental
Congress on Aug. 26, 1776, giving half pay
for life to any officer, soldier, or sailor who
had lost a limb in an engagement, or had
been otherwise incapacitated for earning a
living. The principle of pension for service,
without regard to disabilities incurred in line
of duty, was introduced in 1818. By act of
July 4, 1836, widows of Revolutionary sol-
diers were pensioned. Pensions for the regu-
lar military establishment were first granted
in 1790, but the fundamental law for regular
army pensions up to 1886 was that of 1802,
which declared that officers and privates dis-
abled by wounds or otherwise while in the
line of duty should be placed on the pension
list. In 1802, also, a grant of half pay was
made to the widows or children of com-
missioned officers dying in consequence of
wounds. The first important legislation re-
lating to Civil War pensions was the act of
July 14, 1862, by which pensions ranging
from $8 to $30 per month were granted for
disabilities arising from service in the Union
Army or Navy after March 4, 1861. The
law of July 4, 1864, introduced the principle
of fixed rates for specific disabilities. In 1866
the provisions of the act of 1862 and sup-
plementary acts were extended to all pen-
sions granted under previous acts except Rev-
olutionary pensions.

Since the dose of the Civil War the ten-
dency of pension legislation has been in the
direction of even greater liberality. Accord-
ing to the National Defence Act of 1916, offi-
cers and enlisted men of the National Guard
drafted into the service of the United States
in time of war are entitled to all the bene-
fits of the pension laws existing at the time
of their service. Further provision was made
for soldiers and sailors in the Great War in
the War Risk Insurance Act of Oct. 6, 1917
designed to do away with the evils of the
pension system. World War compensations
were handled along with insurance and dis-
ability compensation by the Veterans' Bu-
reau. A system of loans to Veterans on Ad-
justed Service Certificates was arranged. Pay-
ments differ from pensions in not being paid
at stated intervals. They were not, however,
loans; as they did not have to be paid back.
In 1931, over President Hoover's veto, the
amount of loan obtainable was increased to
50 per cent of the face value of the Certifi-
cates instead of ->5 per cent as in 1924. The
time limit for making application for a cer-
tificate was extended to Jan, 2, 1935. These
payments are in effect cash bonuses, dispensed
at will of Congress before maturity of the
certificate—which was previously given in
the form of a so-ycar insurance policy. See
bonus.
In 1930 a pension bill was passed in which
the rates stand at $12 a month minimum and
$40 a month maximum. Veterans will be
deprived of compensation for diseases due to
their wilful misconduct. Veterans of suffi-
cient means to pay an income tax are ex-
cluded from the benefits of the act. In ad-
dition to pensions granted under the general
laws, a large number of claimants rejected by
the regularly constituted authorities have been
pensioned by special act of Congress. Span-
ish War veterans come under the general
measures applicable to soldiers of the Civil
War. In 1930 a bill which increased the
compensation of Spanish-American War vet-
erans by $11,000,000 was passed over the
veto of President Hoover* By executive or-
der of July 21, 1930 the Veterans' Bureau,
Bureau of Pensions and the National Home
for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers were con-
solidated. The combined organization is the
Veterans' Administration. The total disburse-
ments to June 30, 1940, exclusive of the
amount disbursed under Civil Service and
Canal Zone Retirement acts, was $23,999,-
,282,000, The largest items are Army and