The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-01-05
Pension Claim Agents.

49, WASHINGTON, December q.
[ Commissioner Dudley has written the fol-
towing letter to gentleman Of this city who
wrote asking whether there was any real ne
oessity for employing pension attorneys, and
for brief statement Of the methods used by
dishonest attorneys to swfndle soldiers:
DEpARrMKNrOP the INTERroR. -
WASHINGTON, December H. 1883.
DEAR SIR: Your communication Of the 14th
Inst is at handf You ask me two questions:
First, ais IL absolutely necessary that an hon
est claimant for q pension should be repre-
sented BY an agentf" and second, "what are
the principal devices by which dishonest
agents fleece soldiersY' In response to the
hrst question I should say that Bee. 4,74S of
the Revised Statutes provide, that the
Commissioner of Pensions, on application
being made to him in prison or by letter by
any claimant or applicant for pension, bounty.
land. or any other allowance required by law
to be adjus ed or pa by the Pension Office
shall furnish to such person. free of all ex
pense, all such printed instructions and forms
as may be necessary in establishing and OBJ
tanning said claim. hand you herewith copy
of the pamphlet of laws and instructions is
sued in conformity with said law, and sent out
on application or freely distributed on call
When the claim. properly flied up and exc
the number of the claim given, and claimant
notified that the same will be taken ur
In It's order. At the same time an ex
trnct of said pamphlet is forwarded
containing full and complete instruc
ton. Necessarily considerable delay occurs
between the time of filing the claim and
its being taken up in its order, which delay
the claimant is advised to employ in procur
ing the necessary evidence. When the case
is reached and is taken up, IL the evidence if
all in and sufficient the claim is settled at once
Otherwise the claimant is called upon for the
particular kind of evidence required, and
the circular calls are 80 wor ed that they can
not be misinterpreted or misunderstood by
any one. The evidence of record ia obtained
by the Office direct, as is also the medical ex.
animation by the medical boards in different
parts of the country. I will only add that
the services of an agent are most Useful to the
ella mant when he devotes himself to
the preparation of the required evidence
Immediately upon the filing of the claim
or before. An agent well p sted in the law
and the requirements of this office can thus
anticipate the calls Of the office ami greatly
shorten the time consumed in the adjudica-
ton of the claim, as well as save the Office
much labor As to the absolute necessity OF
the Intervention of an agent, each must judge
for himself. 90
In response to your second question, would
say that the criminal files of this office show so
many and various prosecutions against dishon-
est agents that should DO unable to classify
and enumerate the different violations of law
and the devices used In defraudng pensioners
within the limits of such communication as
this, but the principal violations consist in
the collection, under some grise or upon
some pretext or another, of moro than the fee
allowed by law, the enforced collection of so
called expense fees or postage fees in adj
vance, addressing the calls of this Office FOL
medical examinations or other evidence by
&C. o. d." packages, the collection of fees In
advance and the abandonment of the claim as
soon as the fee is received, advertisements
holding out inducements not warranted by
law, by which honest soldiers are led to prefer
baseless claims, the only advantage in such
cases being that which accrues to the agent
who gets a fee.
Such facts are principally predatory upon
the claimant rather than upon the Govern.
ment, but ars just as meritricious and blame
worthy. Very respectfully,
w. w. DUDLEY, Commissioner.