The National tribune., 1879-01-01
Their Fees may be $1,000 or $500 or
more. in a Single Case.
THE INTERESTS OF CLAIMANTS jEoPARDzED.

out proper consideration, and under the advice
and urgent persuasion Of the Commissioner of
Pensions, passed law which leaves unscrupu-
lous attorneys at perfect liberty to demand and
receive whatever they can extort from claimants
for pensions without the slightest criminal LA
bility.
The wholesome and wise provisions which
fixed the fee not to exceed $50 upon the APP
proval of the Commissioner, and affixed serious
penalties for demanding or receiving more, and
which made even that fee contingent upon sue
cess in the case, were blindly repealed. A new
fee, not to exceed ten dollars in any case, was
established, and the attorney might demand it
before he rendered the service, or without rem
dering any service, but no penalty was provided
by the new law, and the old one in the Revised
Statutes did not apply to the new case.
We were aware at the time that this would
be the case, and opposed the passage of the law
in question for that among other reasons. 70
render the matter more certain, we have sub
mitted the question to Judge Shellabarger, of
Ohio, and Judge Wilson, of Indiana, for many
years members Of Congress, whose high stand
ing as lawyers renders their opinion conclusive
We subjoin their formal opinion, and ask the
attention of the President, the Hon. Secretary
of the interior, the Pension Committees in
Congress, and Others interested, to the ground
taken and ask them further if they consider
it safe TO follow the advices OF an officer when
it brings about results so disastrous to the pen
sioner, and which give unprincipled men such
opportunities for wholesale robbery
Capt. GEO. e. LEMON,
DEAR SIR: We have examined the question submitted
us by YOU viz Whether OF not there is now any penalty
those provided for by law and reply that clearly Of
opinion that there is not,
naly constituted section See section 81 II Statutes
at Large, p SIS In the revision that section sepa
rated into the sections above named
Section 47S5, you will observe, provides that no
agent attorney, &C., shall receive any other compen
ton &c. than such he Commissioner OF Pensions shall
direct &c. not exceeding twenty-five dollars
Section 54S5 makes " offence for the attorney
ceye any greater compensation than provided in the
title pertaining to pensions.
These were both enacted at the same time and went
into the revision at the time and the latter refers
the former and has efficacy except by its relation to
the former.
You viii observe that by section 47s5, the Commits
sioner fixes the fees that attorney may charge within
the limit of % per cent SO that the provisions of the
section originally enacted, @nd of the after
the revison) substantially these
1st The Commissioner may fix the fees
3D. If any attorney takes more fees than the Commits
sioasr has fred, he shall be punished, &c.
Now, by the act of June 90 1873 section 47S5
pealed Hence after that act, the Commissioner no
longer had authority to fix the amount of fees and
section 54S5 provided penalty for taking greater
amount of fees than had been fired 6y tho Commissioner
when the Commissioner could longer fix the fees il
necessarily resulted that the penalty ended the section
54S5, became nugatory by implication repealed
The 1st section of the of June 30 1878 provides
that the shall be exceed ten dollars The Com
missioner is not authorized to fix it, but is fixed by the
statute itself And section 54S5 only provided that
should be punishable offence TO take fees than the
Commissioner should allo would not apply
where more fees had been taken than had been feed by
the statute after the power of the Commissioner fix the
amount of fees had been taken away from him.
The LIST section of the of June 90 1878 which xes
the fees exceeding dollars, does pro
vide any penalty for its violation is there any other
act that does section $685. above shown being wholly
inapplicable to it.
We will add that much of section 5485 relates te
the wrongful withholding of money by attorney from
pensioner longer any force for the that
h 80