The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1886-04-10
The reno SAs --A-a a. AN
o+,awa.-- What s one Every Week in
this City for Pensioners 1.-The
Granting of Pensions.


Granting of Pensions.
There IS more goin4 on IN Ottawa from
business point OF view every week than
the majority of the p"opl" OF TINS envy
imagine. Few OF our ciiTrss ever tnink
of business being done out,ioe Of the lac
tories, the stores and the shops of the city
but every week ueW impetus Is here
sivcp f. the greatest single branch ot the
national government and new business
created for IT,
If on any Wednesday mornin-, het"e' n
the hours of 10 tnt f. So lngt, one of ott,
was citizens shoul go into DR. X. +.
Overs office he would find there gathered
from ten TO fifteen persons ordered by the
Pension Department 1T Washin ton 10 be
and appear before Drs. Floyd C,end"nin
Burke aud Dyer, the Board OF Examining
SurgeJrs for pension claimants Tor tie
counties round about La sale They come
from an area of fifty miles 10 submit them
selves for examination anu to be reported
upon by the eXaIA!ntrs AS u theiT ""fthi-
ness 10 draw "A pension FOR injuries sus
.ained ia the late rebellion. Most OF them
are now men we'll advanced in age, "ho
n age comes on, have gown more senNl'
tive 10 the diseases and wounds incurred
while on the field, bur some are just in the
prime of life til )ugb brnhen in health
The number of cases Tor eXamlniti' MS
constantly increasing. This number is
made up of many who for years have held
aloof from applying for pension from a
false pride, the result of an unwillingness
20 appear as "A pensioner upon the govern
ment's bounty, and many who believe they
have not been rated high enough In the
majority of the cases the examining sur
icons report favorably, but occasionally a
case comes up where the most rigid exam
nation fails to show any disease or wound,
and in such case the report made by the
doctors ends the matter. There Is seldom
a case, the doctors report, OF bare faced
attempt at fraud though frequently the pa
tient complains more than his ailments
warrant.
notable case was one that occurred n
few weeks since, when the applicant for
examination stated that he was and had
leeD for many years an intense sufferer
RON asthma. In fact, he felt so badly |
from !; that he could scarcely get about |
Although his breathing was labored acare-
fll examination showed no signs OF the !
disease. His heart action was good and /
ais respr tory organs In healthy and nor /
NAL con itioD Two hours after the exam
nation was made one of the examining
surgeons happened TO be at the Rock Is
land depot when, u his utter establishment,
. ne man who but shoIt while before had
heen complaining so strongly of asthma
.4me tearing down 10 the train at rate of
speed that would have done credit TO Il
quarter horse. If the examination had not
revealed the absence Of disease this slight
Il the applicant.
The examining surgeons, under instruc.
lions from the Pension Department at
Washington, base heir ratings of disaDili-
3ies upon what is known in pension par
lance as a total" A total" was an ex-
preston in vogue prior to the war and in.
Heated that the disability from which the
applicant suffered was equal to that which
%0Ult result from stiffened wrist or
ankle aud ought TO entitle the person 50
offering to a pension of eight dollars per
month From the basis of total all tie
other grades Of pensioning are reckoned,
and stated by fractions as Il, i, 70, =, %,
= or "a of total"
Based upon this, and taken in connec,
ZION with specified allowances fixed by
law, claimants can receive from the gov
eminent pension of from one dollar per
month 70 seyenty.two. To enable "A pen.
fi0Der % receive seventy two dollars each
auouth he mnst be totally disabled or in
such u condition as to require constant care
aud attention To receive dollar
month the ailment need not be of very
serious character, but it must have resulted
either from wound received while in the
line Of duty as a soldier or from disease
contracted while in the countrys service
Upon this point the department requires
lbe most careful and we'll sustained proof
There is no room for guess work, and none
So allowed
However, with the certainty Of the proof
presented the Board Of Examiners have
,cthing 10 do. Their whole duty Is dis |
nnarged when they have made the exam
ins.ion under orders from Washington.
In each case an order is sent 10 Messrs.
Clendenin, Burke and Dyer, and copy of
che same is transmitted 10 the person to be
examined. Without this order the exam
ination cannot be made by the board, and
vnless the person making application for
the pension aYails himself of II within