The National tribune., 1880-02-01
Libelling the Pensions Committee.

sontatves recently appointed investigate the pension
system of the Department and practicable to recon-
mend such changes will do speedy Justice to claimants
met yesterday morning to hear statement from MT
Bentley the Commissioner. Mr. Bentley appeared, put
before any statement made Judge Geddes, member
of the committee called the attention OF the committee To
Washington dispatch in the Chicago Inter Ocean, of
Saturday last and pronounced the same utterly ground
less full of erroneous statements, and calculated to do
gross injustice TO the Commissioners well the COM
mittee Judge Geddes read extracts from the article ana
asserted that the same pure fabrcatons by
either the author of the article his informant The
following paragraph appears in the article The com
mittee at put itself under the direction of number
of claim agents. Of whom have been debarred from
practice in the Pension Bureau for completely in frauds
and all of whom have grudge against Commissioner
Bentley for securing the passage of bill cutting down
their fees from 1926 to SO in pension The commit
tee has called before it every who has grievance
against the Pension Office, hoping to find something out
of which political capital be made Judge Geddes
then asserted that every member of the committee must
know this statement TO be untrue and it imputed bad
motive and infamous conduct the author should be sub
pnaed before the committee to explain the motive that
prompted the article and the information upon which it
based The denuncation of the article false
ooncued in by the entire committee all being present
except Mr. Harmer. The Commissioner of Pensions who
present concurred in the statement of Judge Geddes
that the article referred to inaccurate to what
CURED with him No claim agent has yet been before the
committee. The committee has proceeded to hear the
Commissioner of Pensions first after which such steps
will be taken as may proper.
We insert the above extract from the Washing
ton Post of the 18th of February, for the careful
consideration of our readers.
We cannot say by whom the article in the Chi
cago Inter Ocean was prepared We cannot trace
il directly to Mr. Bentley but it is certain that it
breathes his spirit and almost repeats his words
Year after year. in his annual reports and official
letters he has continually charged that the opposi
ton to his schemes came from claim agents y
Claim agents" and their attacks upon him are his
nightmare He has exhausted the language in his
abuse of these people. And the Inter ocean article
Is the reproduction Of this line of abuse.
The ear marks are very plain and the inspiration
of the whole is the inspiration of the Commissioner
or of some near and trusted friend.
So long as this was confined simply to a sup
posed combination Of attorneys to resist his Sixty
Surgeon BIZ to show his mismanagement of the
Pension Office it was of but little account.
But when it scars so high in criminal audacity
as to charge committee of the House with being
subservient to, and being controlled by "claim
agents it becomes serious offence against decency
and grave disrespect to important public body.
1t is the most unseemy and insulting utterance ever
made II is utterly false, and prevent be false by
the unanimous concurrence of the entire committee
Now newspaper correspondents do not invent
the inter Ocean obtained his information from some
one.
That 'some one had purpose in uttering this
Galse information, and that purpose TO help Mr.
Bentley, to hurt the investigation and TO prejudice
the public mind against both the investigation and
the committee.
Who is it that has such interest in the matter
Who is it that wants TO create a prejudice who
that wants to stife an examination?
These are questions we'll worth consideration by
the committee and the public
1t cannot be that Mr. Bentley himself would have
furnished this stuff TO the Inter Ocean That would
be TOO utterly contemplate. But he has unfortun
ately some superservieabe toadies around him, whC
catch his air, repeat his tone, reflect his prejudice
and breathe his atmosphere These either on con