Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-03-01
PENSION OFFICE FRAUDS.
FACTS THAT AN HONEST INVESTIGATION
HAS DIscL0sED--wnAT IT COSTS TO
PAY THE 234, 900 pENsIoNERs-SEAR'
Iy $500, 900 souASDEhED YEARLY
CLERKS PAID RoR DOING PARTY WORK.


PAY THE 234, 900 PENsIoNERs-NEAR
LY 100000 souANDEhED YEARLY
CLERKS PAID FoR DOING PARTY WORK
WARRINGTON, Feb. 2i.--rhc Chair
nmn of tho Committee on Invalid Pen
sions, Mr.. jerks, Of Pennsylvania, to
day submitted TO the House his rcpor
on the Pension Bureau. IL shows thai
to disbursc tho annual appropriation o
$40, ,249, ,6G0 to about two hundred ant
thirty-four thousand persons il cost
the Government nearly four per cont.
or more than Sl,07l, ,770.0S. Az th'
annual rate there is paid to tho pen
sioncrs s26, ,2s9,5l9 Thus s3,950, l4l
are eaten up, il is claimed, by the cx
penscs of the service and the arrcar
ages on pensions granted during th,
year For this last item no scparat,
account is kept, but the Commissioner
Of Pensions claims that il amounts tc
81, ,Ss5, lS9, and that bo arrives at thes'
figures by adding together the annua
list and the expenses, and subtractinq
the sum thus secured from the annua
appropriation.
The officers and employees Of the
bureau proper arc paid SlS9,5SO, and
the detective service consumes $40,
900; contingencies, s33sOO; examin
ing surgeon, s57, POI while fifty-cighl
Disturbing agencies gobblc s427, ,253
The stationery and postage alone being
sot at sl0,4iS. This last item Is out
rageously large in view Of the law
which prcscribes fec of twenty-fv,
cents on each voucher as full compen
sation for all services, including post
age, for mailing vouchers and checks
But Notwithstanding this provision o.
the law the agents charge postage and
the Government pays them in fees fol
these vouchers s2l4, ,523 annually. Tn,
fifty-eight pension agents are by law
entitled to an annual salary not ex
ceeding 81, 900 each, and these fees on
vouchers make their salaries average
about s7,700 annually, while many o.
them disburso less than the average
salary. The income Of many of th,
agents exceeds $4,000, and quite q
number reach almost $4,000, exclu
sive Of contingencies.
Mr.. jerks claims the agents can be
dispensed with, and thus an annual
saving of si49,000 can be effected
The disbursements to pensioners can
easily be made direct from tho bureau
without any increase of the present
clerical force. The number of employ
ees in the bureau was in 1866 175, and
in 1875 420 were on tho rolls, but the
labor done diminished by an inverse
ratio in about the Same proportion
The triplication Of rolls by the bureau
itself, the agents, and the Third Audi
tor is useless and results in no appre.
ciaLle advantage TO the Government
or the pensioners. In 1866, with q
clerical force of only l75, about 90, 1000
original cases were adjudicatod but in
1875, with the force increased two and
a third times, only about $4,000 casc.
were adjusted, They averaged in '6G
nearly ono case overy working dav fo,
each employee, while in 1875 less thar
one case month for each clerk wa,
adjudicated. About sixty.six origina
cases are pending, and at the rate o
adjustment shown by the work of the
bureau last year, it would require fiv,
years and more to reach case filed al
this time. The committee SAYS:
ga worse state Of facts than this OK
ists, Some cases are made special ant
are nut through speedily TO satisfy Ger
tain potent politicians or fayorite at
torney. There are cases now pendinl
in this bureau which have been ther,
for more than ten wears. Such DELAY
! if ii was susceptible of being obvia
ted. should not be tolerated OF tn,
seventy thousand applicants standin,
before this tribunal hundreds and por
haps thousands are now paupcrs main
tanned at public CHARGE standip,
monument of disgrace 10 the countr,
which permits the wheels of iustice /,
move 50 SLOWLY
Tho reror, ,han nroooods % sho,
,ha, ,h;s Jslay Z a,;soi I"r.o,', e.,a ~ 9nJa ~,
hnraan ha;n'. sanssa, ~ ~ W. w.
nana,, man, s.op, % ,.s;oh I'm ~ .nu ,.,oh 10 y
tba evidence on which Tho % claims ina. ar y
dao;Jod ms, be- oh,a;aaJ amnn a., A.
nos;na oe ~ ,o;S, H. rona., ,"a a
rseds a. soi,owg. ~ VI" 'P'' P'0
In Tho aJm;r;s,ra,;or oe ,ho h,ro.,
;nof,,c;eno,, and n son,a ;a.,anaas y
| laas, s.and nrar,,i % Tho Seo ;n"eso;ooo, =
49, e. H. So. as ...s.:S.sa
Tho bead and tho emnlorpes aS ~
oa,o. consaonon, W. mon p'b ~, Iu hn,.oau ~ y" w.
;na sdm;n;s,srad ' az a no,;,;nai ouo ~
Ps.h srashI,, ,,laa,,od noi,;a;an ae M A.
d"m,nan, p.,,, ts psus, p, pI"ra 'sror;. Ul .;n, w.
mado Co.. oanaa - " h;.noi;,;oo, pG,,,v pd;',,,a,'
uaaoa =, aaoh ;nno.p;,'s Tang.,as ns''
LARGE number Of omnloyeees mos, no n.
CHARGED and others employed. Sine
March A 1879 there have been l29 em
ployees Of this Office removed and new
men appointed The heads Of bureau
are selected on the same principle, tn,
late Commissioner. Mr. Atkinson. i,
his Testimony before the committee
admitted with commcpdable franknes
that nrior to his annointment bc ba,
no knowledgc of the duties of the n,
fee In pursuance Of the nrecoden
set by the President in his own case
the Commissioner appointed ex.Goy
1 Furniss of Nebraska n special detee
tive he having become poor and ey
pressed A desire 10 travel The mum
ber of employces authorized by law /,
1873 was only 332 but the total pum
her EMPLOYED was in excess of 49C
They were not distributed nronortion
allv according 10 classes Tbe Com
missioner stated that the pressure 10