Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1883-01-05
Pension Claim Agents.

WASHINGTON, December 81.
Commissioner Dudley has written the foI.
lowing letter to gentleman of this city who
wrote asking whether there was any real ne.
cessity for employing pension attorneys, and
for brief statement OF the methods used by
dishonest attorneys to swindla soldiers:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
WAsHINGTON, December L. 1852
DEAR SIR: Your communication of the Ilth
inst. Is at hand? You ask me two Quest:ons:
First, "ls it absolutely necessary that an hon.
est claimant for a pension should be repre-
sented by an agentY' and second, .what are
the principal devices by which dishonest
agents fleece soldiersY' In response to the
first question should say that Sec 4.74s of
the Revised Statutes provides that the
Commissioner of Pensions, on application
being made to him in person or by letter by
any claimant or applicant for pension, bounty
land. or any other allowance required by law
to be adjusted or paid by the Pension once.
shall furnish to such person. free OF all ex.
pense, all such printed instructions and forms
as may be necessary in ESTABLISH hing 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 filled up and exc
cuted. Is filed, 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.
tract 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, If the evidence Is
all IN and sufficient the claim 10 settled at once.
Otherws 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 m1Slnterpreted misunderstood by
any one. The evidence of record Ia obtained
am nation by the medical boards in different
parts or the country. l will only add that
the services of an agent are most useful to the
ella mant when he devotes himself tn
the preparation of the required evidence
Immediately UPON the fling OF the claim
or before. An agent well posted in the law
and the requirements OF this office can thus
anticipate the calls of the office ana greatly
shorten the time consumed in the adJudica-
ton of the claim we'll as save the office
much labor AS to the absolute necessity OF
for himself.
In response to your second question, would
say that the criminal files of this Office show so
many and various prosecutions against dshon-
est agents that should be unable to classify
and enumerate the different violations of law
and the devices used in defrauding pensioners
within the limits of such a communication as
this, but the principal violations consist in
the collection, under some guise or upon
some pretext 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
med cal 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 fee.
Such facts are principally predatory upon
the claimant rather than upon the Govern
ment, but are justas meritricious and blame
worthy. Very respectfully,
w. w. DUDLEY, Commissioner.