Office of the Historian

Mr. McCormick to Mr. Hay.

United States Legation,
Vienna, April 22, 1902.
No. 77.]

Sir: Replying to your No. 36 of the 14th ultimo, with a copy of a letter from C. H. Flournoy appended thereto asking whether the widow [Page 34] of a man who served in the Austrian army live years is entitled to a pension or other gratuity, and, if so, what steps she must take to secure it, I have the honor most respectfully to inclose herewith a copy of a letter from the Imperial and Royal ministry of war to Capt. Floyd W. Harris, the United States military attaché at Vienna, in reply to a request made by the latter for the desired information in regard to this matter.

I further beg to say that I referred this case to Captain Harris instead of sending it through the foreign office, in order to expedite the obtaining of a reply.

I have, etc.,

Robert S. McCormick.
[Inclosure.]

Mr. Benkiser to Mr. Harris.

Imperial and Royal Ministry of War,
Section 9, No. 2896,
Vienna, April 14, 1902.

Sir: In reply to your esteemed inquiry of March 28, 1902, the Imperial minister of war has the honor to inform you that, as a general rule, a widow of a soldier is entitled to a pension in that case only in which her husband has acquired for himself a legal claim to a pension.

Since this is not the case in the present instance, on account of the short length of service of the husband, the widow has no right to the granting of a pension. See the Austrian act of April 27, 1887 (Article XX, Hungarian Statutes, 1887), concerning the provisions for widows and orphans of officers and soldiers.

For the Imperial minister of war:

Benkiser, G. M