Our national dime museum
A bloated Civil War veteran sits on a chair beneath a sign that states, “How the Fatman has grown. Number of Pensioners over 30 Years After the Close of the War 976,014. Number in waiting 200,000.” On display next to him is Uncle Sam sitting on a chair beneath a sign that states, “The Living Skeleton. He has run behind $46,000,000 in 5 months and the Fatman keeps on Worrying him.” At the base of the pedestal where they are sitting is a sign that states, “What it cost to raise Him. Pensions appropriation in 1866 $13,500,000… in 1897 $142,000,000. Unless policy is entirely changed it will soon require – $160,000,000.”
Collection
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Creation Date
1898-01-05
