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In all the leading governments of Europe, physical disabilities are tabulated for the purpose of better classifying pensioners. Inasmuch as there are degrees in disability, and rates of pension primarily depend upon these, it has been deemed a simple act of justice to the invalid to fix, by law, some definite scale whereby his disability could be classified, and his rate of reward apportioned accordingly. But for this, each examining surgeon might form his own opinion of the disability under which the invalid should be rated, some making it higher, some lower, so that throughout a whole country no similarity in classification would exist, each surgeon acting according to his own fancy in the matter. The consequence would be, that the Pension Bureau would very often have upon its lists men laboring under similar disabilities, yet differently classified and drawing different rates of pension, from the fact that one surgeon had rated at one-half, or two-thirds disability, the same infirmity which another had considered as total disability. It is undoubtedly true that diseases produce different consequences upon their subjects, and that all men are not similarly affected by them, yet wherever the integrity of any organ has been compromised, and however long it may have required to produce this change, we have no general law authorizing us to believe that its lesion will slumber benignly, as it may appear to us by one examination, but rather that it will increase, and continue acquirere vires eundo until life itself is threatened. For this reason, among others, it is possible to frame a scale of disabilities sufficiently precise to cover the prognosis as well as the diagnosis of an infirmity. We may say that such or such disabilities being probably incurable, shall constitute a particular class, and should the pensioner afterwards recover, the biennial examination can easily test this, and if proved, eliminate him from the list of the disabled, or place him in a lower class.

Another reason calling for the establishment of a graduated scale of disabilities in our country, is found in the fact, that surgeons are now tempted to exaggerate their estimates of the consequences of disabilities, by the greater number of pension applicants which are thus invited to their doors, and the increased income derived from their examination fees. A surgeon who believes in nothing short of total disability, and can see no degrees below this, will of course be selected and of preference by invalids, to examine their infirmities; while his colleague, who practises upon a more just and scientific estimate of the moral and physical laws governing mankind, and believes in degreees of moral turpitude as well as of physical impairment, will be studiously avoided. These consequences have been observed already in many places, and are inaugurating a system of deceit and successful fraud, which, not even the unfortunate condition of those in whose behalf it is practised, can justify. Besides this, high-toned and scientific men will be driven away by such practises from the ranks of examining surgeons, and this important field of observation be surrendered to the low-minded and unfaithful, alone.

Again, a scale of disabilities is called for, because it does not seem right to put upon the surgeon the responsibility of determining and deciding what rate of pension the invalid should have. Strictly speaking, he has no business with that consequence of his otherwise physical exploration of the applicant. The law alone should regulate this. Since, where it is so largely optional with the surgeon, as at present, the tendency is always to lean towards the granting of the largest rate. All these disadvantages, which have manifested themselves fully in the Old World, and led to the establishment of a fixed scale of disabilities, in most countries, warn us that the time is now at hand when such should be done here likewise. Every day the list of pensioners is increasing, and we owe it to all to see that no injustice is done any, but that each one, according to his degree of disability, shall take his proper place in the ranks, neither usurping others' rights, nor having his own usurped. (12)