_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." _The Commissioner of Patents_ has charge of the granting of patents. Up to 1793 the granting of letters-patent was given to a board consisting of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War and the Attorney General, the records and models being kept in the Department of State. In 1793 the granting of patents was given exclusively to the Secretary of State. In 1821 the clerk of the State Department who examined applications for patents received the title of Superintendent of the Patent Office, and on July 4, 1836, the Patent Office was created as a separate bureau and a Commissioner of Patents created. About 24,000 patents are issued annually. There is an Assistant Commissioner-in-chief, an Examiner of Interferences, three Examiners-in-chief, thirty-eight Principal Examiners, and a large force of assistant examiners for different branches. Patents run for seventeen years. The annual receipts of the bureau from fees more than equal the expenditures, and the office now has a surplus of several millions to its credit in the Treasury. _The Commissioner of Indian Affairs_ has charge of all matters concerning the Indians, their education, government and support. There are 239 Indian schools supported by appropriations made by Congress, 147 of which are controlled directly by the Indian Bureau. The average attendance of pupils at these schools is between eleven and twelve thousand. The number of Indians in our country (not counting those of Alaska) is about 250,000. They occupy or have control of about 116,630,106 acres.