1849, to take charge of various duties not properly belonging to any of
the existing departments. There are two assistant secretaries. The
chiefs of the bureaus into which this department is divided, and their
respective duties are as follows: _The Commissioner of the General Land
Office_ has charge of all the public land of the government, its care,
supervision, and sale or distribution. In another chapter we give
further details concerning the operations of this important bureau.

_The Commissioner of Pensions_ has charge of the granting of pensions to
old soldiers and sailors. He has a large force at Washington. There are
eighteen pension agencies in different parts of the country. In 1808 the
United States assumed all the state pension obligations. The act of 1818
gave pensions to all who had served nine months in the Revolutionary
War; other wars were afterwards included. The acts of the period
beginning 1862 have enormously increased the amount paid. The report of
the Commissioner for 1890 shows that at the close of the fiscal year of
1889 the number of pensioners was 537,944, and the annual expenditures
for pensions $105,528,180.38.

The disability pension law passed June 27,1890, will greatly lengthen
the pension list and increase the annual expenditures. The present
Commissioner says in his last report that "it is believed that there are
probably over one hundred thousand claims in this office which can be
properly allowed under the provisions of these regulations. The act of
June 27, 1890, is the first disability pension law in the history of the
world which grants to soldiers and sailors pensions for disabilities
which are not proven to have been incurred in the service and in line of
duty." Speaker Reed of the House characterized it as "the most generous
piece of pension legislation ever passed by any nation on earth."