Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-07-17
THE PENSION OFFICE.
Interesting Facts In Regard Go tho
Hureau-ikemarkabl mathematical
AccurRcy-HoW; 500, 100000 Are
Annually Disburscd.

/ AhuhAAi1 bisbuF@cNs
Boston Herald
| The recent discoveries of pension
frauds ana the astounding revelations
concerning the manner of milking"
claimants and beating the government
at tbs same time by ring of claim
agents have called public attention to
! Commissioner Dudley'S administra,
ton Of the pension Office writes
Washington correspondent to the
Pittsburg Dispatch A single bureau
of the government that disturbs over
| 500, coo, 000 annually more than ali
the ether departments, outside of the
treasury, put together would seem
to require no adveuhtiouS circum-
stances TO render its operations famil-
lar. There is however SO little known
of the practical working of the pen
sion system that even well-informed
correspondents, whose business il is to
retail such information, are at a loss
to comprehend il. One of them said
to me the other day that the special
! examiner system was working great
hardship to pensioners; that every OK
amlner got his merit marks from the
number of pensioners he cut of and
The amount of money he saved the
government, and consequently stretch
eel every point TO reduce rates and stop
allowances.
He unfolded very sensational
story, in short, and one that would
make an eN-soldlers hair curl. But
he failed ANONYMOUSLY on cross-ex,
animation aEd convinced that neither
of US knew much about it, Acting
ON the impulse of the moment, took
street car and was within the next
ten minutes IN the presence of Com
missioner Dudley, When told him
| desired particularly 10 inquire into
the working of the special.eNaminer
system, he replied by sending for Mr..
McCalmont, late chief of the division
of special examination, and who
more recently resigned the Office of
supervising special examiner at Phil
adelpha, and directed him to show
me everything the books and bust
ness from beginning TO end.
/ am glad you have come to see, y
said Colonel Dudley Nobody has
before thought it worth while, but
you will see this business has grown. +"
We went up to the top floor in the
Shepherd building, and from the ele-
water caught glimpse of
A THOUSAND CLERKS
bending over a thousand desks and
heard the hum Of a human beehive.
Men and women were crow ed to-
gether until they seemed to touch
elbows i'm the foreground, and in the
distance were blended i'm a grand con
fusion Of heads and papers. Messen-
gers ran hither and thither with light
and noiseless footsteps, clerks talked
gossip or consulted over cases with
hushed voices. Discipline every
where.
This is nothing" said my guide
There are other buildings-one as
large and as crowded as this.
On the top floor were about seventy
five or 100 clerks, male and female,
industriously examining cases, an
swerlng correspondence, registering
the same, and engaged in clerical
labor incidental to the Division OF
Especial Examination. This force is
Engaged in reducing the work of
special examiners, ia the field to pro
per shape and to recording and direct
ing such WORK There are now about
| 200. examiners in the field, a growth
from seventy employed at the begin
ming of the last fiscal year Where
these are located IS shown on a map
hanging in the room Of the Chief of
Division each mans name being
pasted on the map where hc is en-
lployed There are names printed in
red ink, showing which are the super
ylsiug examiners, the latter beng in
charge Of subdivisions.
From each one of these 200 examin-
ers the office gets daily reports. These
reports show what was done by the
examiner on that day, number of
dispositions taken, the case employed
/ on, what travelling expenses incurred,
and how, where telegraphic com
munication and mail communication
can be had with him for the coming
week, etc. Thus the division has a
morning report, showing exactly
what every days work costs. This is
entered up in q register, and from
this the amount of work done by
each man and the cost in expenses
and per diem to Tie Government in
each case is obtaped. On this the
usefulness Of the man in the field is
figured down TO
MATHEMATICAL ACCURACY.
Due allowance is made for opera
tions in sparsely settled districts in
| The northwest From this registry /
learn that some cases cost the govern
ment $2j 10 800. and some cost as low
as S. to $40. Soma Of the specials
make a monthly average of cost per
diem and expenses as low as $13 in
each case. Others run up TO an aver
age of $40 a case. Where there is
nothing in the topography of the
country or the number Of dispositions
in the case to warrant this expense,
the examiner is recalled" or dis
charged, and / see those significant
words words written against a good
many, and those invariably where the
smallest amount Of work has cost the