The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1883-11-22
SMALL TALK


patches 70 tie press Oh the Country 10 WOulG
appear that all applicants for pensions are per-
jurers. or simpletons, who are being gulled
by their attorneys and that all the legal repre-
sentatives Of claimants are engaged in a whole
sale attempt to defraad the Government and
not their clients. On the other haAd, a mo-
mcnts reflection would convince any reason
bic person that if al the alleged eases Of fraud
that have come 70 the notice OF the Pension
O6ice are true, it shows that pensioners and
their attorneys are, as a class, far more honest
than bankers, railroad managers. or merchants
less proportion of the one class have been
questioned a to their honesty than the other
OF the 5000 pension attorneys OF the country
who have been recognized before the Pension
Office only about bakers dozen have been
accused of Illegal practices. This is a record
which speaks eloquently for the integrity Of
the claimants and their representative, and
until the pulpit of the country at least can
show as good record, there seems to be little
ground for the recent howl
A representative Of THE NATIONAL TR5sUSz
called upon Commissioner Dudley, the other
morning and talked TO him upon q question
about which great deal has been said, and. "a
usual. it was found that when the facts were
aseertained, the expectations Of the pessi1nists
did not pan out.
II wish to inquire" said the TRrBUxE rep
resentative. whether or not the publication
OF the vOlHmimous pension lists has led to the
disclosUTeof any large amount Of frauds, as WIS
predicted would be the result Of the issuing OF
the document"
Commissioner Dudley responded: No; next
to nothing of the kind has traaspired. We haze
received numSer OF letters from communities
where the list was published, giving names Of
certain persons on the roll who were dead. We
know II ourselves, however, and their names
were published IN this way: We prepared the
roll and sent it 20 the printer, giving the names
OF those on the list January l. 1888 OF course,
among such vast number OF persons some are
dying every day, and as absas ten months
elapsed between the date Of the making up OF
( the rolls and the publication, quite a number
/ died IN the meantime. 1t does nos follow be-
/ cause pensioners name appears or the roll
low, THAI his pension Il being paid after be s
/ dead and gone. it only shows that at the date
! Of the preparation OF the roll for the printer
/ either the peEsIOuer was alive OF bis demise
/ had not yet been reported 70 the oiIiee."
Have you actually detected any frauds
/ froLa the publication Of the names and adj
/ dresses Of the peEsiOners7"
/ Nothing Of any consequence, replied Gen.
/ Dudley There have beel Complaints for
L warded TO this Office in bus three or four cases
! cut of ali the hundreds OF thousands on tina
/ roll and, OF course, these nay be shown 20 bs
/ ali right upon investigation
+ It would seem, therefore that the iukhOrn
must be about dry IN this crusade against men
/ who only ask a pittance ia their cid age %
compensate them In their declining years for
thousand times riskIug violent death 20
save the Constitution Of their fOrefathers for
the benefit OF the generations to come
/ Government official remarked to-day, N
discussing the question OF claims which II IS
| said are fled without the prospect OF success:
Such talk Is mere nonsense, and comes from
sources hostile 20 the payment Of any claim
" DO knows whether a claim can be allowed or
not till it has been hesrdz Again. many
/ claims for pension have but little Of the evi-
dence IN support of the case required by the
Pension Office when first fled and in the end
are allowed. Ii Is a long time ago that the dis
abilities were incurred Look over your own
acquaintance. How much difficulty would
you have IN finding people enough, who either
knew or remembered the facts about any law
suit Yea might want Co bring IN the c0uTts2
You would find, if you should attempt il, THAI
/ years or months of search and no telling what
expense would be necessary, before y0n would
| be able ID produce the evidence which on first
| thought you might suppose would cost you no
| trouble Of all. just so with a pension claim
There may be next TO no evidence 0btaiDzbls
for long while after the claim is fled, but IN
time il may al come in. You may discover
by accident the address Of Just the man you
want, bat who has elEded your search for
Years But suppose, in the end. you cannot find
these persons at ali, whose afhdavits the PEN
sion Office requires. Xaur case IS disaIlOWed,
and then, and not till then, have you right
to go TO TIE Congress OF the United States for
justice BY especial act. Ii a claimant commits a
fraud by fling claim at the Pension Office
he ever to get justice from Congress? The first
question asked by the Pension Committee
IN Congress would be: Have you laid vour case
before the Pension Ofiee2 If not YOU VIII be
told to take it there. That is the place TO settle
pension claims, except IN extraOrdi nary eases,
where is can be shown that there IS equity in
the case, but the evidence demanded by the
Office cannot be found. 1t is no presumption
of fraud against pensioHer that he has
delayed the application till his witnesses
are all dead Many man did not hie his
application years ago because he did not need
it. Now perhaps he does. and his right IS not
impaired because he did not see fit to exercise
it before. 1t lives as long as he lives"
Word is received from General Henderson. of
Illinois, that he intends TO press his bill in
| Congress this winter to correct an injustice
done many officers and their heirs by teehni-
eality IN the present law. It often happened
leInaI men were promoted WIrAS n the uetU OF
in the midst of 8 campaign, and it was
weeks or months before the fact was noted on
the muster-rOlIs. Perhaps he was killed or
died, and IL was never fixed. In all these
cases his bounty and pension is rated according
TO the muster-rolIs. By this showing he might
have been commissioned and acting rs captain
for months and stin appear rs a lieutenant on
the rolls. General Hendersen'S Bill proposes
70 'adjust the bounty and pension claims OF all
officers according to the date of the commission,
and not leave it to the haphazzsrd circumstance
of the correction Of the muster. It is reported
that number Of influential members Of the
House have promised General Henderson 70
help him pus this measure through during tina
| approaching session.
as
The Hon. VIM. N. Springer, of Illinois, has
reached the capital. He says he is a candidate
for Speaker, and hopes TO get the most votes on
the last ballot.
80
, Secretary Teller remarked TO a representa-
tive of The TRIBUNE recently, that he would
, recommend the cutting down of the Indian
reservations this winter. He thinks an Indian
J ought not to act the dog IN the manger and
keep two or three square miles OF land when he
does not use, on an average, one acre Of ir, and
; the Government offers TO pay him all it ID
worth, in order to throw it open to settlement
J A regiment Of old soldiers could make good
, homes Cor themselves by applying their time
I 10 fasr