The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1885-03-12
OUR CORRESPONDENTS.
Replies to Questions on Variety OF Interestin
Subjects.


served out his time and was honoraby discharged,
re-enIisted and deserted, does that bar him from
pension for wound received III first enlistment?
r. Ii. All pension bills and other measures
that failed to pass the Congress that has Just ended
/ will have to be again introduced in the next Con-
gTesS to receive action. . We cannot say as to the
provisions of bill to extend the Arrears Act When
such bill shall become law we VIII interpret 1t
for you 3. The difference in ratings for pensions
are based upon different degrees of disability. y
pensioner drawing IS is considered totally disabled
drawing SO or So more, Is considered dis
/ abed to greater degree than total.
/ H. c. D., Gait, No.. When a pensioner Is prov
! ing his pension claim for two disabilities and
! proves a third disability in addition to the two
mentioned, all contracted in line of duty will the
Commissioner of Pensions give an increase on said
disability on the proof filed? q Has the Commits
sioner of Pensions right to set aside the report of
a Board of Examining Surgeons and rate the
applicant for pension, if said report is untavor-
able? s. Has the Secretary of the Interior the right
| to grant n pension? ARseer. l. Not unless the
applicant shall file formal claim for the third dis
ability 2. Yes. 8. He can direct the Commissioners
of Pensions to grant pension IN case; but such
| action would be taken only in Il case of appeal.
s. OK, National Military Home UiS.-T. b.
enlisted Sept r. 1861 received gunshot wound in
right leg Gainess Mills June27, 1862 sent to
hospital and discharged June -, 1868; is long since
pensoned at SD for this wound He is refused any
bounty on the ground that he discharged for
disability before two years service DECISIONS oil
Second Auditor and SecoHd Comptroller.l is there
no relief or appeal IN such a case, to Congress or
otherwise? AnSicer. No Had he been discharged
for the wound atone he would have been entitled
to bounty but he either discharged for disease
or for the wound and disease and bounty can
be paid in such 1t is n most unjust law, and
it is just such cases above that would be bene-
flied by the Equalization Of Bounty Bill, but Con-
gress refuses to consider the bill.
II. j. p, KnorriUe.-Pease state how the old
Liberty bell was cracked? AnSrer. 1t was acct
dentally cracked when it was last runS which was
! in honor of visit of Henry Clay to Philadelphia
Supposed to have been rung with too much zeal
| more than the old bell could stand.
A. C., Clinton ILL.,. Does an officer receive a
IiSpla thp 1S a
on account of disability? 2. If said officer resigned
before the expiration of time of enlistment and the
| record does not show that he was discharged, or
his resignation accepted was he not still IN service
! although he was at home disabled? 3. Was
there act of Congress providing for the payment
! to officers discharged from service one days pay
for each 90 miles travel home? If so, when did the
! act become q law? 4. What action can be taken
| and through whOm-to obtain a discharge for an
! officer, when so long time has elapsed since his
resignation? Ans,Cer. l. No. When All officer re-
signed on account of disability, and the resignation
accepted the fact was announced In orders
| from War Department. and copy of said order
was sent to the officer That all the discharge
that he entitled to receive. .. He was IN ser
| vice until his resignation acted upon. j. 1t
! was a General Order of the War Department that
authorized such allowance, but it was not due to
officers who left the service by resignation. 4. On
| application 10 War Department we presume a copy
of the order accepting the officer resignation VIII
/ be furnished.
| J. r. H., Trou Tl--Ts the parent of a son who
! enlisted i'll regiment, deserted and enlisted IN
another, and died while in the service entitled to
: a pension? IylStC6T. YES, II dependent upon Stiil
! son for support at the date of his death.
4. c. ", Patton, Iotcd.-Will you please tell me
/ how many foreign born men and women there are
! in this country? AnsUer. Certainly. We do not
! know nor do we believe that anybody does know.
l.. !. f., RidgerHe Corners, O.-fhe act OF April
/ %, 1872 provides bounty of 500 to such soldiers
enlisted prior to July -, 1861, and were actually
mustered prior to Aug. 6, 1861. Now, Is there time
1 from which said enlistmeDts must commence
/ Does it go back TO Jan l, 1861? Insurer 1t does
not embrace enlistments prior to May 3 1861, the
date of the first proclamation of the President cali
ing for volunteers for three years.
| Geo. McC.-l. When was L. ;. Grant made Cen
eraI? . What General commanded the Army at
the close of the war? AnSiUer l. July p, 1866. 2.
/ Gen. Grant. He was commissioned Lieutenant
General March . 1864, and General July p, 1866,
! and was in command of the Army at close OF the
war and up to March T. 1869, when he was inaugu-
of the Army by Gen Sherman.
! r. 4. C., Nei0 Philadelphia, o.. How long does
it take to get decision on an application for re-
movaI of charge of desertion under act of July ),
| 1864? . Have there been any cases decided under
said act? 4nSlrer. l. From one to three years. =.
over 800 cases have been acted upon to date I'M
| der said act. In Il where the evidence pre-
| scented is clear decision would be given IN about
| two months. There over 5000 cases pending.
! b. b, Grant City, Mo.-How State change
its without the consent of Congress and still
retain its Representatives III Congress, as we learn
| that Arkansas has changed its name by an act of
the Legislature. ARStUer You in error in re-
gard TO object of the legislation referred to- 1t
| WAS not to change the name of the State, but TO
decide how it should be pronounced, and by the
act referred to it officially announced that 1t
should be called the same if spelled ar-kan-Sdtc,
accent the last syllable. We OF opinion that
a State can change its name without the consent of
Congress. The Constitution OF the United States Is
| silent on the subject, and the tenth amendment to
the Constitution provides that the powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution
prohibited by it to the States are reSeTred TO the
States or The people" 1t is not likely that such an
event changing the name OF State Will ever
! occur.
s. f. Fremont Iosra-l. In applying for pension,
| if claimant was detached and commissioned over
/ colored troops, would an affidavit from a Captain
of his old regiment be good, II he has personal
| knowledge of the disability? ,. Would 1t be better
than two privates of bis company? ). II a private
serves % months and Is then mustered as Captain,
had the Paymaster any right to take out OF his first
! pay the instament of SO bounty advanced when
| he enlisted? 4. What was the last number of the
! arrears, or the highest number? AnSwer. 1. Yes
| . Yes. 3. Yes The bounty was given you under
your enlistment, which was virtually contract to
| serve out your term enlisted man. If you did
not so serve, you were not entitled thereto and 1t
had to be refunded The same action was taken
in all cases where soldier was discharged Tor DIS
case. 4. We presume you mean the last claim HE'D
prior to July l. 1880 and entitled to arrears, which
was No. 4G6.129 INVALID.
| J. b. B. Rochester, " IA young man, native
of Holland, came to this country i'll 1851. enlisted
| in a New York regiment i'll 1862, and was wounded
at the battle of Gettysburg and died two or three
days thereafter. His parents at the time of his
death were, and for eight or ten years prior to his
coming to- this country had been, dependent upon
his earnings for their support, and he had, up to
the time of his DEATH sent them all his earnings.
The parents came to this country in 1864. |. Does
the fact of parents alienage bar their claim to
| pension? .. Would naturalization subsequent to
| sons death remove the bar? Insurer. /. No. ..
There is nothing in the pension laws to prevent a
! pension being allowed to the dependent parent in
such II case, providing the question of dependence
! can be shown.
" b. Fast Barnard T.-The report is here that
there is law passed that a soldier has only got to
stay on his Government land one year and he can
/ hold il. Has any such law been passed? AnStCer.
! The law is that if Il soldier served four years or
more years residence is all that is required If
/ lie served less than four years he would have to
live upon his land period equal to the difference
between the time he served and five years.
" s. f., BdIui0n, Mjnn-One of my neighbors
filed claim for pension but before receiving 1t he
died His widow completed the claim and drew
| the pension but did not make application for her.
| self and child for some years after his death. She
finally applied, and drew S. for herself and s. for
the child The said pension did not date back to
| date of her husbands death Is she not entitled
from that date? 4nStcer. If she filed her own
! claim prior to July |, 1850. she was entitled to
pension from date of soldiers death; but if she
filed Der claim after June 50 1850. she could only
be pensoned from the date herapplication reached
| the Pension Office. The Arrears Act expired on
| the latter date.
| f. r. Patriot, Ind.-Please state whether an
! applicant for pension, after being examined by
| Board of Special Medical Examiners, who failed
| to find the disability claimed, has right to an
| appeal from such decision to another Board of
! Examiners. Insurer. He appeal to the Com
missioner but whether the request Will be granted
or not cannot say, as 1T depends upon the medic
| cal history of the case.
| s. {. H., FRANKFORT. Ind am receiving pension
| of S2i month as First Lieutenant, and am en-
| titled to muster Captain prior To date of my
wound May 10, 1863 under act of June 8, 1854
! l. When so mustered, how much Of any will it
| increase my pension? =. VIII such increase date