Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-01-22
PENSION FRAUDS.

When the Pension Arrears Bill was
passed by Congress, under an access OF
partisan patriotism which made both par
ties afraid to challenge its provisions or
hint at the dangers it embodied, few
journals had the courage to express the be-
lief that Congress was opening the door to
enormous frauds upon the Treasury, and
that the men who fought for the preserva-
ton of the Union were not the ones who
would profit most by such measure. Ali
remonstrances and warnings were however
disregarded at the time, and it was conf.
IDENTIFY estimated that a sum of from
$50, O0O 600 to 800, 900 would meet
all the demands that could be made.
The law has now been long enough in op-
Grafton to test its efficacy, and the recent
report of the Commissioner of Pensions
fully justifes the apprehensions which this
journal among others expressed when the
bill was introduced. Commissioner Bentley
now estimates that the total cost of the bill
will not be less than $500, 900, 900. This
is bad, but worse remains to tell. Ii
such vast amount was needed to relieve
the soldiers and their widows and chill
dren the nation might stand the strain,
however painful it was. But it is unfortu-
nately demonstrated that probably as high
as 80 per cent. of the total amount will be
fraudulently obtained. A steal of $780,
900, 900 is sufficient to arouse public atten-
ton, and nothing less than this appears to
be threatened by the Pension Arrears Bill.
The Commissioner frankly confesses that
his office is unable to cope with the fraud
ulent claims. He thinks that about thirty
per cent. of those filed are detected and
disallowed, but at the end of last June
there were $4,000 pending claims, and
what proportion of them was genuine no.
BODY could tell The Commissioner
points out that the bill facilitates
fraud to such an extent that it is
| almost impossible to detect it in
majority of instances. He says that
most of the discoveries have been made
accidentally, and not by following any
systematic clues. 1t is stated that there
are practically no checks upon the evidence
of the claimants witnesses. All this tes-
| timony is taken in secret, so far as the
Government is concerned. Commissioner
Bentley says, 81 have proposed to Con-
'gress a system which provides for the
"taking of testimony before Government
" officers in public in the neighborhood of
'the claimant and his witnesses. This
proposition was made in my first
"annual report in the fall of 1876, and
has been repeated each year since. l
"believe it is the only remedy possible,
"and in fact the only one necessary, to
"protect the Government against the
frauds perpetrated, and at the same time
"secure to the meritorious claimants an
"early and fair consideration of their
"claims." But Congress has refused to
listen to the proposal of the Commits
sioner, and the result is that the
treasury is being ralded with increasing
audacity and success all the time, and
that now the taxpayers are threatened
with gigantic robbery of $4,000, O00
under the pretense of providing for the
defenders of the Union. In fact this
pension business appears to be already
the hugest swindle of the period, and it
is time that public attention was directed
towards it seriously, SO that pressure may
be brought to bear upon Congress for the
adoption of remedies and safeguards. A
mob of conscienceless thieves are deluging
the Pension Office with fraudulent claims,
and under the law the Pension Office is
incapacitated for the detection of these
sham demands.