New-York tribune., 1874-06-01
ROBBING PENSIONERS.
UNJUST AND CRUEL DECISIONS OF The
PENSION OFFICE.


ERs-srRAINING THE LAW TO DEPRIVE cRifrLhS
AND INvAIIDs OF MONEY - LARGE SUMS 0N'
u,srIy WITHHELD FROM PENSIONERS
70 ira Editor Of The Tribune.
SIR: In 1871 and 1872, shortly after Gen. |
I H. Baker became Commissioner OF Pensions mos'
false and dangerous economy began to he prae'ceo i
his Bureau From pensioners apparently the most
frendless considerable OF pension money 10 wncn
they were entitled by law and by the written tou'
verbally countermandcd rulings Of Commissioner baker'
have been arbitrarily withheld by the Pension omce'
except when xpected aud influential frienos OIL soe
of these crippes afterward forced payment Vi 'uo
money legally due. This revision OF Official acuou "
the thumbscrews began upon the wrong person' peoa
% source of embarrassment" as Gen. Baker expressed
a, To escape this embarrassment and TO shield himself
from public censure for persistence in such con-
duct, o change OF law was necessary auu
hi, ne secured by causing certain words, and III
fact an entire proviso to be added to Section
of a revision OF the pension laws. by TINS anu
certain catchwords scattered through the law, roDplhg
A. of its real intent he was throw upon the law
the blame for these and unjust actions The In
Justice caused by the Interpretation OF the trcK words
referred to- shown TO several members OF congress
by the writer OF this who then prepared an amendment
recurring that those whose disabilities were, Tor pur
poses of manual labor equal to the loss of hand or foot
should be paid Of pension warranted by that
degree OF disability during its continuance The neeu
OF this amendment grew out OF the fact that Gen. BAKER
had made the word permanent" the legal excuse Tor
refusing TO very helpless pensioners year after year.
the pension which their condition entitled them Ihe
Office virtually said "The law only allows pensioners
permanently disabled slch and such pensions; 1t is
true that service you have been deforned
paed great heplessness for years. but persons
in your condition have been known TO recover therefore
rs we do not know your disability is positively perma-
nen the pension claim is refused" On that OASIS
nothing but death could prove their disability perma-
pent Many whose sacrifices for the nation have made
their lives torture and burden TO themselves have
been for years by such word tricks. cut of from even
the pary additional day that might have re-
lieved some pang Of hunger or other suffering
In May, 1872 Judge Niblack OF Indiana demonstrated
70 the House how outrageously this word "perIna-
nent" and others used to contravene the mahest
intent OF the law; whereupon 1t was agreed Without
dissenting voice to strike them the the House
Mt the same time adopted the amendment proposed oy
the writer of thswhich eoquenty urged by Judge
Nblack As it provided payment TO the penslohe'
simply during the continuance of his disability the
rights of the pensiOner and Government were wen
guarded. But observe the sequel. When the fchson
Office saw what House had done MAY, ls72l pen
sion official then much in the private counsel OF Cen
Raker said In substance: will never do 10 let this
House amendment become law. 1t won't be many years
before those whom II would benefit Will die on' ana
then they won't need It, The Once can't afford to pay
out 20 much, and the thing will have TO be fixed or got
around somehow Thus the bureau official assumes to
know better than Congress the country whether the
people can cannot afford an extra five cents day
required to fulfill nations promises to our most
needy sufferers II Congress makes law that does not
.nt the pension official, then the latter proposes to
.hx" 1t liking. Hearing of this, watched to see
II any one would dare tamper with the peoples law
shortly discovered that the action OF the House was
set aside In the following manner:
The bill as passed by the House engrossed and
sent TO Senate, where ii passed TO the office OF the
Secretary for entry one 0; his journals
Possibly by reason OF interpretations in the engrossed
copy. any just in That journal against people
who should be and who have the name of being self
governing perpetrated the outrage OF not copying
passed the House. but OF putting into that
journal as a truthful transcript to the Senate Of the
Houses action, false statement OF that action. The
words permanent and Others whose cruel use space
forbds detailing, there renserted, notwhstand-
ing the House had unanimously expunged them. Curl
ous to know whether this done by Government
official whether the encrossng clerk his tool in
Guired of the latter who copied the bill. He
replied that member OF the Pension Committee Win
another man. TO hasten Its copying Tor the
Senate. Having lot of work on hand he let them have
the bill TO do as they desired. they seeming
10 he responsible in haste for its passage
then told him the false copy in the Journal at which
be seemed surprised and thereupon took pen INK and
eraser, scratched out the fraudulent interpolation and
corrected the false copy so as to make the
amendment really passed Oy the House. An hour after,
this correction would been late TO have stopped
the false bill being printed When the true bill was
printed cnashing OF teeth and general disgust
among certain officials The who had said the
amendments should be fixed" remarked, with dsap-
pointed emphasis though 1t was shameful and i IN
possible Democrat to be humane, What possessed
Judge Nibiack, Democrat, TO pat that amendment in
and strike those wOrdsl What interest has he,
Democrat in pensioners, any wayi" The only way left
to block the equitable action OF the House 20 pre-
vent its bill from being acted upon in the Senate The
benev oen haste Of officials subsidized The bill was no,
reached, and so was killed for that session.
AT the next session bin was drawn up again in
the interest of the Government against the pensioncr
counterbalancng possible the increased allow
nnees Congress had insisted for the seyerer dsabil
ties The disastrous trick words twice expunged
there a third time replaced. Again their vicious use
was exposed through the Washington pap3rs and ex
plained matters the Senate Committee on Pensions.
They agreed TO the amendment had prepared, and
which was passed in the House the previous Summer,
but retained the Old trick words and added, probably
Dnwttingly others also Injurious TO the pensioners
nights. A short pamphlet, signed Equity" pub
ushed on the matter, aud this followed by another
making a fuller expose the writer's
Tive bill was then taken up for reconsideration by
a conference committee OF both Houses. But
not until several New-York daily jour
malls came ont in their special dispatches and
editorial columns in protest did the members Con-
gress realize their responsibility to the people to
examine into the matter Then seeing the need OF a
more lst law, they caused the Objectionable words to
struck out and adopted the corrective amendments.
Yet again, Notwithstanding correction after correction,
the bill again tampered with, though not 70 the
rnserting the catch words then stricken out
that now for over year have not reganed foothod in
proper to state here that Senator ingalls,
Of Kansas In April OF this year, moved the rensertiOn
of the pernicIous words. permanent" and "incurabe
Being member, he was probably misled into this
without realizing the disastrous effect the pensioners.
the statement that the bill again tampered
ne fact in he 10 he ident