Senator Foraker

And the Pension to Mrs. McKinley—The Precedent Cited in the Garfield Case.

     Senator Foraker, it is stated, will introduce a bill when Congress assembles to pay Mrs. McKinley a year’s salary, or $50,000, on her late husband’s account. This will be following a precedent established in the case of Presidents Lincoln and Garfield. Some friends in Congress desire to pay her the salary of the unexpired term of President McKinley, but it was decided to followw [sic] precedent, especially as Mrs. McKinley has no children.
     It will be recalled that in the case of Mrs. Garfield a popular subscription was also opened and the handsome sum of $360,000 was quickly realized and turned over to the widow. It is also suggested that a pension of $5,000 per year should be voted to Mrs. McKinley. This will be in line with previous legislation in such cases.
     The question of compensation for the surgeons and physicians who treated President McKinley during his fatal illness, is also being discussed. In this case the legislative experts are looking up the precedents. President Garfield lingered eighty days. A board of audit finally agreed to compensate the surgeons and physicians in the following proportions: Dr. Bliss, $6,500; Drs. Agnew and Hamilton, $5,000 each; Dr. Reyburn and Boynton, $4,000; and Dr. Susan B. Edson, $3,000. The board also allowed different parties $5,929 for services and supplies. This included $1,500 to the Central Railroad of New Jersey and $1,162 compensations was allowed to certain government employes [sic], and the total expenditure was $25,000.