Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-08-14
PENSION CLAIMS.

When democratic speakers during
the campaign last fall portrayed the
evils existing in the pension depart
ment of the government partisan re-
publicans laughed them to scorn,
and said that the only hope for the
soldiers lay in continuance in pow
er Of the republican party. Hawaii
ed nothing to show to them that the
head of the bureau, commissioner
Dudley, was totally neglecting the
work of the department. Many sol
diers who had waited long and pat
iently for their applications for
pensions to be passed upon were
made to believe that it was right and
necessary for Dudley to neglect his
duties as commissioner in order that
he might assist in securing repub-
lican national victory. But change
came over the spirit Of their dreams.
The pension bureau has been taken
out of the hands Of offensive parts
ans, and mark the result: Nearly
every newspaper we pick up con-
tains the announcement that so and
SO has received his long expected
pension, or that the pension bureau
has ut last settled down to business,
this being followed by the names of
two, .hree or four soldiers whose
pension claims have recently been
acted upon; and right here at home
we find soldiers, republicans as well
az democrats, who are unstinted in
their praise of Commissioner Black
and his work. The department has
indeed settled down to business, and
instead of being used for political
purposes it is being conducted IN
the interest of those for whose bene-
fit it was established. Within the
past few months large number OF
soldiers in this county have had
their pension claims acted upon some
of which had been on file in the de-
partment for four and five years:
The Chicago Daily News a short
time ago contained an article upon
the workings of the pension bureau
under Gen. Black, from which we
quote the following, which sets forth
the difference between the old and
the new order of things:
fthe character OF Gen. b lacks record
for the first two and Il half months OF
his service as commissioner of pen
sons be maintained through his term,
honest claimants will have cause to
bless the day that replaced the polltI-
elan Dudley with Il democrat soldier.
In the four months interregnum be-
tween the resignation OF w. w. Dudley
aa the head OF the pension bureau and
The appointment of General Black, dur
ing which time o. L. q. Clark was com
missioner, there was no noticeable inn
provement in the manner III which
the Office was conducted. Claims con-
timed to accumulate, and claimants
grew sick and Disguised over indlifer-
ence and delay. Gen. Black entered
the Office March II, and almost Instant
ly, says The National Tribune. 4 high
or spirit of activity and efficiency was
infused into the employees of the bu-
reau. The result is that now, for the
first time in the history of the bureau,
claims are being disposed of faster than
they come in, and the work of re-
duction has begun upon the mountain
of the accumulation of years" For
the wear 1882 the number of certificates
issued was Is, 100; for 1888, 6l,S53; for
1884, 5S.0iS, and for two and half
months under General Black, 2o,637.
70 appreciate the difference of the
work under the present commissioner
it is only necessary TO state that the
monthly average for 1854 was 1888, and
for this year it is S,25I. This is the
kind of reform in the conduct of the
peoples business that The Daily News
was looking for last November.
Among those in this vicinity who
have lately received pensions, or IN
crease of pensions, we would name
Peter Thies, VIM. Trevillian, John
Grace, George Nicholson, 5. L. Shep
ard, Henry Tyack and John Reeves