The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-01-04
Pension Claim Agents.
wAsH1NaroN, December q.

"AShINtfIONs LcCtulBcF
Commissioner Dudley has written the fol-
lowing letter to n gentleman of this city who
wrote asking whether there was any real ne
cessty for employing pension attorneys, and
for brief statement of the methods used By
dishonest attorneys to swindle soldiers:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
WASHINGTON, December II, 1882
DEAR SIR: Your communication of the I4th
inst. is at hand? You ask me two questions:
First, ''Is it absolutely necessary that an hon
est claimant for a pension should be repro
scented by an agent?" and second, what are
the principal devices by which di hon st
agents fleece soIdiers?'' In response to the
first question 1 should say that Sec. 4,74S of
the Revised Statutes provides that the
Commissioner of Pensions, on application
being made to him in pe rson 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 d by the Pension Ofhee,
shall furnish to such person, free of all eX-
pensc, all such printed Instructions and forms
rs may be necessary in establishing and o5-
tanning said claim. / hand you herewith acopy
of the pamphlet of laws and instructions IS
sued in conformity with said law, and sent out
on application freely distributed on call.
When the claim properly fiji ed up and exc
cuted, is fled the receipt is acknowledged,
the number of the claim given, and claimant
notified that the same will be taken up
in its order At the same time an ex-
containing full and complete fnstrue-
ton. NecCs sarily considerable delay occurs
between the time of filing the claim and
ats beng 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, if the evidence is
all N and sufficient the claim is settled atOnce.
Otherwise the claimant is called upon for the
particular kind of evidence required, and
the circular calls are so wOr ed that they can
not be misnterpCeted misunderstood by
any one. The evidence of record is obtained
by the office dreet as is also the medical ex-
animation by toe medical boards in different
parts of the country. | viii 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 fling 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 he time cOnsu ned in the adjudica-
ton of the claim, well as save the Office
much labor As to the absolute necessity or
the Intervention of an agent, each must judge
for himself.
in response to your second question, I would
say that the criminal files of tbs office show so
many and various prosecutions against dishon-
est agents that l shoul be unable to classify
and cnUmeCate the different violations of law
and the devices used in defraudinr pensioners
within the limits of such communication as
this, bat the prime pal violations consist in
the collection, under some guise or upon
some p"cteXt or another, of more than the fee
allowed by law, the enforced collection Of so
called expense fees or postage fees in ad-
vance, addressing the calls of this Office for
medical examinations or other evidence by
SC O. DE- 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 ara led to prefer
basee5s 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
meut, but are just as meritricious and blame
worthy. Very respectfully,
w. w. DUDLEY, Commissioner.