New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-10-09

MENr UNSATISFACTORY AND To HAVE CAUSED
HIS RsMovAL-tNGIIsH PROVED 10 De SELF
CONTRADICTORY.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO TIE T&IEUSE.l
WASHINGTON, Oct. SIT Is not necessary 10
characterize spurious the receipts ana o'"er
papers which have been tclegraphed from In
dianapolis Is the defence Of William II. English
against the CHARGES made in the official papers OF
President P0ks Secretary of War. his Attorney
General and his Commissioner of Pensions. lhs
charge could be fairly made from the evidence oi
these receiDts themselves and from the facts set
forth bv the high Democratic officials named and
already published. But accepting these papers as
genuine they by no means meet the ease. They
scarcely better 1t III any particular for Mr. EneiiSh,
and IN some particulars they make 1t much worse Tor
him. since they show that the written explanation
which he made to Secretary Marcy in January,
1919 was false in the most material part OF 1t. The
following points should be kept in mind IN e&amln-
ing bis defence
/. HIS papers of administration were Illegal
=. With these Illegal papers he received b. order
OF Secretary Marcy the pension due to his mother
and three of her sisters and two OF her brothers.
his money, as stated over the Signature of Sccre-
tary Marcy, WAS for the exclusive OF these per-
sons. each one beng named.
g. Mr. English drew tho money September s.
1916.
4. Two years and three months thereafter tho
ComnjsSl of Pensions reported TO the Secretary
Of War that Mr. English had taken ont letters Of
administration illegally. and that he had refused on
the ground of insolvency to pay the money over to
the heirs This Secretary Marcy, after exainIna-
ton also reported to the Attorney-Gcneral.
3. A lawful administrator With full powers and
evidence that the pension money had not been
oil in Wlghi iuefos
all the facts had been examined
and it had been decided by the Attorney General of
the United States that the only remedy for the heirs
was IN a rcappropriation Of the money by Con gress
The administrator had returned 10 his clients, and
they had become aware tIat their only hope of
receiving any money was from English. This was
nearly three years after ne had received the money
for their sole use" Mr. English had also in the
meantime been put out of the Treasury Department
because he could not properly explain the rdnsac-
ton when called upon by Secretary Marcy.
Under these circumstances English had returned
TO Indiana and naturally began to scttlc with the
heirs for the pension money which be had held ior
their /" sole use " for three years
TRYING TO HOopwINK MARCY.
At this point Mr. Engishs letter of explanation 70
Secretary Marcy becomes pertinent. 1t was rs fol-
lows: - an .o,,
To The Hon wM. l. MARCY, Scc,efa,y Of war:
SIR: In relation to the suj ct bdteT OF conver'a-
unrquv3eI tI !, - fused sc H. ct Win iI
Grandmother (Mrs EJs,nnl | Was dpJtOIched upbn
the suoiec Nv n .ir Cooper. whOm knew 10 %.
.,onaI agent and from character had cy
ery reason to believe bis only object unl~r ~ be
snapc OF cxtrava mt os ctc lie approached ne ma
yrry impr rtlnent manner and asked him foc
authority he Iacd 10 produce any iIng whatever. ard
a now satisfied that he chen had no 'licieH idth0ry
If h" al anylriug all from The her, drpfeHcud IL
an 10
prosecute the claim against tbc G0yeinmeni-"thing
more Under those circumstances gave hm n satlS-
factIIn and II then he posted OFT 10 Washington.
aud taking advantage OF my absence pTccrTei cuars"s
agauet As TO my accounts under the pVw"' con
ferrcd upon have to say thai the apis ana Nouc'
PERTAINING therft' ore 90 ME ~ Indiana VITA the
court granting the authority "lc" sup Sed was e
proper place for them to be filed Nh The papers viii
be found receipts In tu in NV favor from three or ur
SeavoT DE- tne To'''' to withdraw i6em in order that
tbev NAV be exhibited TO you. Mr.. Cooper
only mad because ne was cut ou of ono nalf Of the
claim whlcn understand is the amount he expected
To receive had nc procured the all vance.
Hoping tnat what havs said w he satisfactory, and
win the assurance mat It WI aori me pleasure to
by subscrbiuE myself. Yours with respect
WILLIAM H. ENGLISH.
But the Secretary rot satisfied. Mr.
Marcy knew in the first place that MIR. Cooper had
full legal authority, and overy raucr necessary
TO show it: and further, that the heirs were through
hrm their lawiul attorney claiming that they had
not received their money up to November o.. 1913.
period more than two years after English had rr-
ceiyed II for their "sOe Use" He also knew chat
there were six heirs named hls order fur pay
ment to English. as those 10 whom he was To- pay
the MONEY, aud that from tins explanation Ot Eng
lish himself written two years ana eight mont hs
after he had received the money no did not claim
TO have receipts except from three iour" Of the
six The whole explanation. ~ view of the gros
facts disclosed to the SecrearyiE the record far
from satisfactory, and as "A consequence. in four
weeks afterward, namely March 3. 1910. Mr..
English had quietly left the department IN dis
grace.
The receipts which he prints AT Indianapolis
show that the material declaration III this 'cter to
Secretary Marcy was false, namely the calm that
he had receipts from even " three or four" of tn.
SIX heirs II was the fact that he claimed To have
only three or four that weighed most heavily
against HIM. But It now appears from the dates
of the receipts lie prints rs defence that
he did not have a single receipt at that time from
ony one of them. The only paper OF date earlier
than the letter to Secretary Marcy from of
those naned in the order for payment of the pen
sion 10 English that would even answer for receipt,
IA ,be paper from his mother making over her
claims in the estate Of hermOthcr to her William
II English As to these receipts it is only neces-
cory IN saw further that they vague, and do not
name any sum- that they are In part for settlement
| as administrator of the estate when this pension
| undar the law did not enter assets and need
t bovo beou incndrd, and they do not ,ver q
| settlement Of the Dcuaion case for ali lie heirs.
As to what s termed decision Of the case by the
| Commissioner OF Pensions dated October 10. 1919
| on which so much stress 10 lald II was merely a
| Derai statement OF the plan and well-known
| nnension law in the case. Tho question winch
| EnvIisb thus asked about three years and a month
| ty,.l Il
| rJ.r f,orn secretary Marcy. upon walch he drew
| he money September s, 1915, IN which the ONLY
surviving children, who were 70 receive IL w,a, ere
th. un.'' sole use Of those SIX heirs" Again
IT, ,s1 should be remembered that the Commisslonel
| ~ pans,ons who wrote him this general letter. i
VI o. ,e nnr who had reported officially to oecre
tar, tnU Marcy that Mr. English was illegally ap
a,, ad administrator and now refuses TO pay over