Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-27
THE WAR UPON THE PENSION
AGENTS.
District Attorney COrkhill Tells About
the Alleged Frauds.

District Attorney COrkhiH Tells About
the Alleged Frauds.
THE OLD FLAG AND A PENsIoN-How POOR OLD
SOLDIERS AND WIDOWS ARE SAID TO BE VICTIM
HED-FEEs COLLECTED FOR FILING WORTHLESS
CLAIMS-THE NATTER TO BE INVESTIGATED BY THE
GRAND JURY, DC.
sThfs business must be broken up," said Dis
trict Attorney Corkhill this morning to STAR re-
porter, referring by motion of his hand to mass
OF circulars letters, printed posters and envelopes
scattered over his desk. These were posters and
circulars sent out by pension attorneys to poor,
ignorant and unwary people, holding out to them
the almost certain prospect Of securing pension
by transmitting at once the customary fee to
Messrs. File Bleedem, or whatever the names OF
the disinterested patriots who sign the circulars
may be. Some Of these posters are printed in style
that at once appeals to mans love of the old
flag and pension. The American eagle and the
stars and stripes adorn many of them. Cannon
going off, soldiers standing guard, and other cuts
used on 4th Of July posters to revive the spirit Of
s6 are mere employed to str into NE any dormant
of the reader. There were other letters, too from
those who, it is claimed, had been shared by spe-
cfOuS circulars. The poor penmanShip and bad spell
ing that characterized most OF these cOmmuntca-
tions Indicated that the alleged frauds have been
practised chiefly upon the Ignorant and that the
recent letter of the district attorney to Secretary
Teller regarding wrongful practses of such attor-
neys had reached the class OF people who have SUI
fered.
''What first attracted your attention to these
alleged frauds?" The STAR reporter ventured to
ask
81 was in receipt Of a number Of complaints,n
.said the district attorney, "from illiterate, 1g-
norant people about several pension attorneys in
this city, setting forth that money had been sent
by them to attorneys and that they had never re-
ceived their pension. sent one day for young
gentleman who knew was clerk in one of the
him in regard to special case which appealed
strongly to my sympathy. The young man was
yer very and Informed me frankly that
the manner OF doing business, and 1 was as
founded by his revelations. l determined then to
have thorough investigation made to ascertain
whether there was not a law to punish such fraud
ulent LEI praactises."
neSS!"
81 am sorry to say" answered the district attor-
ney, "that there are a very large number. l have
been IN receipt since the publication of letter to
Secretary Teller OF hundreds OF letters all of them
making specific complaints that money has been
obtained from them by pension firms in this city,
under pretense OF obtaining pensions; though in
many cases the parties themselves knew they were
not entitled to pensions"
THE WAY THE ATTORNEYS OPERATE
"What are the methods pursued by these pension
attorneys"
81 will give you an idea of their Methods said
the district attorney picking up a paper from the
heap on the desk before him. "Let me read you a
circular received from the postmaster in Lime
Rock. Conn. 1t is a circular sent to him with
letter requesting him to please post 1t in
conspicuous place and saying that if he would send
got their mail at his office the attorney would for
ward to him a steel engraving of the late Presi-
dent Garfield. Here" said the district attorney,
taking up poster, ornamented with flag and a
screaming eagle" is the circular or poster he
wanted the postmaster to post in conspicous
tention of soldiers to the fact that Congress has
appropriated millions OF dollars for pensions. In it
the pension attorney says that sail soldiers and
n
they incurred any disability, either by accident or
otherwise, whether wound injuries, rupture, fall
matism, diarrhGa, hemorroids or piles. loss of
sight, impaired hearing, fever and ague disease Of
or any other disability whatever Even the loss OF
toe or finger entities you to pension!'
'The man who sends this out has not yet been sus-
pended by the department, and is now regular
practitioner.
"The same circular says that nearly every pen
s1oner Is now entitled TO increase of pension.
"AnOthervery prominent firm announces In It's cir
cular that on the filing OF the claim this fee-of
$l0-1s lawfully DUE and they expected to be paid
before they would perform any other service.
"The same firm announce that In view OF the neces-
Sary outlay for skilled legal and medical assistance,
for office rent, blanks stereotyping Stationery and
pOstage-the postage alone amounting to 81 .2OO
month-the ten dollar fee must be forwarded at
once, in advance
''Here is another circular" said the district at
tOrney, selecting another paper from the heap.
you will notice that all these circulars have
please return this with your reply printed upon
vent anybody obtaining possession Of the circular.
In this circular the attorney says 'Is ask is some
portion OF my fee to meet the heavy expense of the
Office, and do not doubt that you will cheerfully
SEND a small part-from one to five dolarS-fOr my
assistance @ None OF OF these attorneys ask for more
than ten dollars. They all keep within the limit OF
tied"
"Is there much OF this fraudulent business done?"
inquired the reporter.
81 should say from the Information have that
Ihe SoidieiS ana thelr widows, orphans and depend
dollars"
.'HOw long have these frauds been in progress?"
"For several years. but it is not until lately that
flooding the country with these circulars fraudu-
lent In their Misrepresentation pension attorneys
have induced the filing of claims which they knew
at the time OF taking them utterly worthless,
and which they filed only for the purpose of eX-
tortng tt the ten dollar fee In most cases the ap
table now the father OF a deceased soldier bor-
rOwed dollar at time until he had sent the whole
ten dollars asked. His claim was absolutely worth
less, and the pension attorney must have known it
or else he was unfit to practice before the depart
ment"
'Does this not entail great deal Of extra work
''Yes, it does: but there seems to be no limit to
the work that 1t necessarily becomes my duty to
perform L feel considerable interest in this mat
ter, because think tt StupendouS fraud perpe-
trated upon the most helpless class of people In the
ttfe country ana am very certain that these es
taDilShInentS Will De broken up entirely, whether
their proprietoIS suffer the punishment they de-
serve or not"
THREE-CARD-MoNTE MEN AND PENSION AGENTS.
"ln your letter to Secretary Teller you nkened
these offending attorneys to three ca9d monte
sw1ndlers, said the reporter sWas not that rather
severe?"
"The courts OF this District" said the district
attorney, shave decided that fraud can take the
place Of violence in larceny. That If you destroy
mans Judgment, impose upon him with devices,
and allure him to the loss of his money by fraud, 1t
IS larceny These claim agents send out circulars
which they know contain false allegations;
they the file He, claims h they know TO be worth
pose OF obtaining a little pittance of
money, ranging from fifty cents to ten dollars,
from the applicant who himself. in many cases,
knows that he has no claim against the govern
ment put JOINS with the pension attorneys, In the
nope OF obtaining an unjust claim. just as the man
victimized by three card monte joins in the bet be-
cause he hopes to win"
~ see that you say that the devices employed are
as numerous as the skill OF dishonest men can con-
devices?"
attorney, holding out an envelope which he had
taken from the desk "That IS an envelope ad-
a iyoM Won r