St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-09-13
THE PENSION OFFICE.
Gen. Blacks Able administration of
"A Department That Was Rum as a

Gen. Blacks Able Administration 4
IA Department That Was Run as a
Republican Machine.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON. Sept. 12.-The attempt
of the Pioneer Press to justify past admin
istrations Of the pension office, and to at
tack the present excellent and honest COM
missioner will be futile. 1t cannot be
doubted that the commissioners OF pensions
for the past quarter of century have been
using their great and powerful office as a
political machine, instead of making it the
instrument of the government for extend
/ ing federal aid to the worthy defenders of
the republic. A gentleman who served a
term of two years in that Office, says that
the Democratic members OF congress and
! the Democratic senators were unable to
secure any special attention from the Re-
publican commissioner, beyond the cold
courtesy of letter acknowledging the re-
ceipt OF an inquiry and promising to give
the matter early attention. That was the
end of it. But men like Congressman Hen
derson, of Iowa; Cannon, of Illinois; Dun
nell, Of Minnesota; Casweli, of Wisconsin;
or Hiscock, of New York. could always
| have their cases made special. Senators
Sherman, Hawley and Cameron were es-
pecial favorites; while Logan's cases were
/ ordered to be made special always" by
| Commissioner Dudley" He further states
/ that there were always means used to as
certain the
POLITICS OF THE APPLICANT.
| Of course the clerks were Republicans,
| all, and did not consider it anything out Of
the proper order to do as they were hidden
! in, oil Inf anf On
Cured to- them that they were doing any
thing but patriotic duty when they ig-
nored or sat upon a Democratic congress
man or senator. But now, that the whole
question is being discussed, the honest
clerks do not hesitate to say that they were
used as cogs in political wheel, and that
the immense machinery OF the pension
Office was Republican vote-maker. The
Republican party, you know, has always
| posed as the soldiers friend. That thuii-
der being taken away from them by the
wise and proper disclosures made by Com
missioner Black, it is quite natural that the
strikers and partisan workers and CORE
spondentS should rush to the front to de-
fends the grand old party from the deserved
charge of corruption of
THE SOLDIERS BUREAU
for political ends. But it will not do.
Facts are especially stubborn in this case.
The records are on file, and cannot be gain
said Commissioner Black has merely
used the records as he has found them. to
show the baseness of the Republican manip-
ulators of that vast machine, the pension
office. 1t is the biggest machine, to-day,
under the government Its abuse should
be shown up, and continuously kept before
the people. The canards which have been
promulgated about the unfriendly relations
of Secretary Lamar and the commissioner,
are without shadow of foundation out
side of the fertile imaginations of partisan
correspondents. There is not bureau Of
fcer in the interior department who has so
much the confidence and admiration of
| Secretary Lamar as tine commissioner of
pensions. Moreover, they who attack
Commissioner Black are attacking one of
the best, bravest, and most disabled of I'M
| ion veterans Gen. Back is crippled be-
yond recovery. He was a gallant union
soldier. 1t is useless to undertake to con-
vince the veterans of the country that their
MANNED comrade is anything but their best
of friends. 1t will not help the Republi-
can party to the soldier vote to abuse Gen.
Black.