Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-10-24

vised Statutes provides that .'the widow s, pen
SION should commence at tho date of the hus-
bands death"
An appropriation blu, passed March q dssn
provides that pension claims filed after June so,
1850, should commence only from date of filing.
This was const tued to include widows' pensions,
although, as Senator Teller says. nobody
dreamed OF any such result" To correct this
mistake, on the nth of August 10oos, 1ougress~r0-
enacted section 4,7Os, again providing that 'sthe
Widows pension should commence from the
date Of the ,hnspapd's DEATH, but General
fs'a sse. 8 81 f' tse nsos ss
money Shones3l thoussnds IL poqr ,wiaow{,
To avetoomehh hetermiasa sSpaflstdSbsY
tho law. QOD4rS14S has been DOmSeq8a DSpui
intosthe pAnsibp Appropriatiop dctHu3 poSk4d
mandatGfy claNsSt to oompel him I'd paytt dems
NodO0bt the payment of these fid61s under
this compulsory process will be claimed as q re-
suit OF the 'liberaltty' Of tho Commissioner
and his party.
Inmany cases filed in the Pension o1noo claim.
,lDts huge been unable to fnd evidence to com.
f.te their !ShsA, andf Fearied }ttA the long
waiting and destitute and sunatn9, have ap-
pealed to Congress to relieve them by special
acts. Section Z, 715 of the Revised Statutes pro-
v1des that amy pensioner who shall so elect
may Surrender Ills certificate and receive In
lieu thereof certificate to any other pen
not tho surrendered certificate been issued;"
but General Black rules that person receiving
pension by special act shall not be allowed to
prove up his case under the general law when
he finds his witnesses. md then surrender his
certificate and reeeiv the pension TO which he
would have been entitled had he not been d re-
oipient Of the favor from Congress; and this
boosted 'liberaltty" needs N mauds tory oct Of
Congress to compel HIM to obey this law.
CASES OF ''LIBERALITY."
Another decision of characteristic 'lioerality,'
is found i'll ruling No. 135 OF September 4, 1885,
in which General Black says, 1.-THE Commas
sioner holds that y man against whom the
charge OF desertion remains can not receive q
pension"
Henry I1lussman, company X, Tenth rygi-
ment, Ohio, was pensioned in 1868 and died.
His widow applied for q pension. and her up.
plicatton was rejected on the ground, that the
record showed the soldier to have been at one
time deserter, and the Adjutant- General re-
fused to amend this record under tina act of
May II, 1885,. After the charge Of" desertton
was entered upon the cOmpany's rolls the SOL
dler returned to his command. completed his
torn Of SERVICE and was honorab1y discharged.
This woman afterwards received her pension
but the ruling still remains. This ruling is in
disregard Of the G:ticial action OF the Depart
ment OF War. That department having hon
orably discharged, the soldier it Is none Of the
Commissioners business what military onenses
he may have previously committed. tits in
disregard OF the decision Of the Supreme Court
Of theaUpited States. -
Thnt court in the case Of the United states
VS.. Kelly. Is Wallace. page 81, says: THAT the
honorable discharge of the .desertsr. was form.
al final Judgment passed by the Government
upon the entire military record of the soldier,
and an authoritative declaration by it that he
had left the service In a status of ,honor.''
Hence the court says: "Such o soldier does
not need any correction of his service by the
Ad1ptant-General because ! his3 discharge
amounted Of ITSELF to the removal Of any charge
or lmpedimen$ in the way iof his receiving
bounty" and thissrQlihg IeYefses the, practice
obey the above Sdecisi6na. but the present
commissioners wiser than the Supreme Court
more powerfuHthan the Secretary Of War, and
more ''liberal" than all his predecessors
Another liberal" decision was made in de.
dance OF law and common sense in the case of
.Thonos Ferguson, company B, Min ETY. first reg
iment, Indiana volunteers. A special act Of
Congress, approved May s, 1873, directed the
Pension Bureau to restore to the pension roll
the name Of this soldier
May %, 1879, Secretary Delano decided: "Pen-
sioners under special acts are entitled to res,
toration from date Of suspension OF original
pensions" and lthe Uniform practice az the ''of
hce was in accordance With this decision be
cause the word restore" could have NO other
sense; but in this case the Commissioner re-
stores him from the date Of the approval of the
act and Still withholds seven years pension tc
which the soldier is entitled.
CHANGES BY DEMOCRATIC LIDERALrrY.
The National cemeteries the numerous battle
fields OF war, and various unknown resting
places, hold remains of dead soldiers whose
names are inscribe1.on on fame's eternal roll
They sleep in unmarked graves, their testing
place unlknQwna to- loving friends: Insmany
cases it IL impos sfbe to prove the date or cause
of the death OF the: soldier. They we're simply
of them they were.. going into battle with theil
comrades or they were languishing on hospita
beds, or they were immured In rebel PRISONS OF
they we're lost sight of in the hurried retreat
It was the pra tice Under the Republican ad
ministration, and the Pension Office, that wher
the presumptlons OF law as to the death of
soldier were fairly met the date OF death should
be fixed at the date of the disappearance n!
nearly as possible. Thus tho common-law rule
that absence for seven years without eVer: beint
hear 1eof was accepted as prima facie etidenc.
Of death, and the last date ut which the soldte,
was seen or heard of was accepted as that from
which. the widow or dependent mother Was en-
titled to receive her pension. but Democrat,
"nberaltty" changes this. ruler p ~r
In the case OF. Mary A. BeannAH, widow O
Conner Brannan. Company I, Nineteenth I'LL
nois. Commissioner Black ordered that her pen
sion should begin seven years after the disap
/, pearances OF her husband. = =.
In another case. of q dependent mother, who's
son was engaged in the battle Of Cold Harbor
and ut the end Of that engagement was missing
and has never since been heard OF; the Commits
sioner ordered that tho pension should com
hence onathe 4th Of june, 1871 seven years from
the date of the battle, and only changed thi
ruling upona d,reotprder from the Secretary o
the Interior. " 80 '~'',
A SPECIAL CASE OF LIBERALITY.
But at last we do come to q genuine specimen
of General Blacks "liberality." Section AL
OF the Revised Statutes provides that declare
lions Of pension CLAIMS shall be made before
court Of record, etc. Section Of the Mexican
Pension act provides that the pension laws nov
In force, which are not inconsistent or In con
fict with this act, arc hereby made part of thi
act SO far as they may be made applicable there
to: but, disregarding these plain provisions o
law.General Black ia issuing pension certificate
| under the Mexican Service act, without any ap
| plication whatever from the beneficiary. Hon
| William r. Morrison, OF Illinois, who was
| gallant soldier IN tho Mexican and also in tn
late war; had q pension certificate issued to him
! whiehthe refused to accept, because he ha
never made any application for . pension; al
notsHa1t it and w6uld mot receive it..ssQaI
tain G George A. Boss, soi#C Cir cihnati%% O.. als