The National tribune., 1884-04-10
OUR CORRESPONDENTS.
Replies TO Questions on Variety Of Interesting
Subjects.

Replies TO Questions a Variety OF Interesting
Subjects.
To Correspondents Write questions on a sep
arate sheet of paper, give full name and address,
aud mark it Correspondents Column No atten-
ton will be paid to communications that not
accompanied with full name and address OF writer.
Our readers are requested TO incosc a staf.,t, for
reply to their inquiries.
~. L.. Lee Taltey. Tenn-The rernarriage Of
widow TO a maa who has unCiivoreed &c living
remarraSe was Illegal.
f. A. g., Heridesl Conn., Manual labor y is labor
performed with she hands hence. any mechanical
employment requiring the use OF the hands is
cassed as manual labor.
g. w. p, Besserriue. Neb.-Under the present
rules you cannot establish claim for pension to
the satisfaction of tie Pension Office unless yss.
can prove the origin Of your disease by officer
or Two comrades. and also prove. by peelcoi tett
mony. treatment in the service immediately after
discharge There j. probably no record showing
you treated in hospital for the disability. hence the
testimony above mentioned is necessary TO the
success of the claim.
A. c., West Crnaap GA claim submitted to the
board of review Is acted npon by a member Of said
board, who passes upon the else from lest land
point only. If he approves the same he iftlorses
his action upon the brief and the case then passes
to the medical division, where it Is acted upon from
medical standpoint. and. if approved il Is rated.
From this point the road is clear and certificate
subsequently issues IN due tirne-say two or three
weeks.
s. SP., KnorriIs, Io,ya.--Your pension Of s20 a.
degree of disability for which an enlisted man
would receive IS. If your disability Is equivaient
to the loss OF a hand or fool, you entitled to
increase TO 4, and II yoa incapaeitate for any
manual labor you are entitled 10 so. or if your
disability has resulted IN condition requiring the
regular aid and attendance of another person YOU
are entitled to $50
Reader Fair Karen, Conn-YotI evidently dc rot
understand what meant by arrears D. con-
tanned in weekly statement OF certificates
issued from Pension Oiee Ii does not mean tat
been .Yafkt 4 a.
charge, but II refers to claims which were
filed prior TO January ., Is79. The law at that
time tSecton 4lU9 X. ). provided that all claims
for pension to entitie the claimant back pension
must be filed within five years from date of sol
diers discharge or deaihi otherwise, the pension
could only commence from the date W hen the last
evidences necessary to establish the claim was lied
For instance. soldier discharged III Iso5 did not
file his claim until 1872 and comp il In fsl
under the old law his pension claim could COM
mence only from 1874. This law was amended
January -, 1879, so that al claims fled prior to
July 1, 1880, should date back 70 discharge etc
Consequently, the soldier whose case we cite was
entitled to from date OF discharge IN to
1914, when his pension commenced under the old
law lheFe We're a great iII.iny pensioners the
rolls january %, 1873, whose pensions had COM
meneed at various dates prior to that time aud
each thus became eItItled to arrears All
such have been paid. with a tsry fssg exceptions
and II Is only occasionally that an arrears claim
comes up for action they have about all been
disposed Of Al invalid claims flied prior July
/, 1885, draw pension from date of discharge and
those allowed clsssed as Original" which
Tor the week ending March % were 200 out of that
number probably 200 of the certificates carried
with them pensions dating back to discharge.
Old Pet Jonesviite. MiRn--write to William g.
Roulhac, Esq. Secretary Civil Service Commission
Washington, d. C.. for copy OF the Civil Service
Act. Rules and Regulations which is IN pamphlets
form and Is furnished by the Government free of
charge He also Inform you in regard 10 the
| time and place of any contemplated examinations
which are held from time time at such places as
are deemed necessary, IN order to provide for
caneies as they occur.
g. L. B., Green's Fork, Ind-A pension granted
for disability equal to loss OF hand foot does
entltle the recipient to Communication for loss ~Of
limb or loss OF use OF limb unless the disability Is
located in his limb.
A. O., Attburn, Me.-The pension allowed for any
disability resulting in condition requiring the reI
lar all and Attendance OF another person $50 This
IS defined as Total permanent heiplessuess'f and
those pensioners who We're the roll at $50 for
such DISABILITY June l6 1850. were increased TO 81
But as the act OF that date only provided for those
actually the roll June is 1850 $50 and made no
provision for those who might be thus pensioried
after that date, we have the anamoious condition
existing of two rates for the same degree of dis
ability A totally helpless pensioner who was
fortunate enough to get his claim through on or
before June 10, l5sD, gets 81, wIIie equally dis
abled pensioner whose claim allowed after
that date can get but so under the law. We pre-
sumo this defect IN the law. so giaringiy unjust,
viii be remedied by this Congress.
F. IT, RcrrisriHe, Pa-The initials A. c. NJ. fol-
lowing the signature Of the officer on certificate of
discharge, stand for assistant Tor aeting) commits
sary of nnusters.
j. McC:, Harren. Ohio writes that he has been
benefited to the amount of $50 for Communication for
the loss OF use of left leg by information given him
In this column previous ISSUE and THU every
soldier IN the country ought 10 take THE TRIBUNE
That Is Just what we think. We do not see how
any soldier can get along without IL Our COM
radeis dollar was good investment. and II Is very
gratifying TO know that every one of our SUBJ
scrIoers not only gets the full value OF s subscri
ton, but II may be- in this case returned To him
fiityfod. Conlrade Nice. also pFoponnds the fol-
4 Ix.s1rf
Ridge, May 9, 1854, and brought home July :
1864. The regiment was not discharged until some
time In the summer OF 1850 Am entitled TO pay
for rations duripg that timer Why does not the
Surgeon-General date back the claims for the loss
OF use of limb If they do notZ ARsz1er-i The
amount due you for rations during that period " as
Included IN your final statements and paid you bv
the paymaster when you were discharged. 2 Be
cause the law provides that continuation shall
commence only from the date when application
therefor is fle3 and does not provide any arrears
H. G. b., Waynssooro, Pa-The captured Confeei
crate battiehags are IN possession OF the War De-
partment and are shown to visitors daily If you
ever visit Washington drop In and see Us and w
viii show you where they
ED, Burr Oak. Mich. asks. what was the
largest shell used during the rebclhons" AnSsCer
Fifteen inches diameter.
Subscriber, 81. Clair, Jfieh-I The amount Of
bounty and back pay due soldier who died in
the service. leaving widow children will be
paid to the father of said soldier or 10 the
mother if the father be dead and ia case of death
OF Doth parents ali the OrOtHefS and
deceased soldier share alike; and IN case one of the
brothers or sisters have died the children of same
get the share their parent would have been EN-
titled to had he or she lived; and in case one or
more OF said brothers sisters whereabouts ere
unknown, and 1t cannot be ascertained whether
they are living dead their share will be. with
held by the Government until the fact OF death Is
established, when, IN they left no children
their siarc would be divided up pro rata among
the parties entitled 2. A soldier having in his
possession his original furiongh collect twenty
i've cents per day tor the authorized period.
If. D. a, Burr Oak Ean says: ITO settle a
dispute, please answer through the columns of
your valuable paper the following question. Has
the Commissioner OF Pensions any statutory law
making II obligatory upon a claimant prove that
he was sound at the time of enlistment" AnSscer
No; there Is no law the subject Ii is simply
rule of the Pension Office, and u bill has been
introduced IN Congress, which, if it becomes a
law-and we hope 1t may-ySill do away with calls
for such testimony. IL Is simply obligatory upon
the Commissioner to satisfy himself that claim
ants disability was contracted ia the service and
in line of duty. The character and sufFeieney OF
proof is for him to decide There is no statutory
law which prescribes any particular testimony that
is called for in pension case
j. III. E., Rockford, H. says: l. VIII you please
explain in your next issue the different classes of
pension certificates? 2 When claim is sent in, is
it rejected before it reaches the or
not until he has passed his opinion it2 Answer
l. Original" is the first certificate issued in a
claim Increase" certificate is issued where claim
for increase of pension is allowed Reissue Is
aarfifi aafa to