Omaha daily bee., 1889-06-24
The Land Office Fairly Groaning
With Unfinished Work.
ENTRIES THREE YEARS BEHIND
How Sparks Board of Review" De-
Iaycd Matters-Census Snpcr-
intendent Porter Answers
Critic.
WAsnrNeToN BUREAU, The OMAHA BEE,

pretty state of things The office Is fairly
groaning from q super.imposed mass of
thousands of entries which should have re-
ceived final disposition three years ago. This
condition of affairs. as is known, was
brought about by the "fraud" cry policy Of
"Generar' William A. Sparks He organized
new division, known as the board of re-
view, whose duty it was to re-examine entries
passed upon ythe several divisions of the
Office, before allowing patents to issue for the
same. As consequence extreme delays
resulted and thousands Of poor honest settlers
who have submitted their final proofs have
vainly pleaded for their land titles,
General Stone has already directed
that no further cases be referred
to the board of review and that institution
will, after the disposal of its pending cases,
die from suspended animation. Other gen
uiue reforms will be instituted with view
to the proper dispatch of the immense ar
rearages of ontry matter accumulated under
the late NAL administration. Then will come
the application OF the official boot-toe to
Judge" William Walkers cheap John
methods as late chief clerk, and an invest-
cation will be instituted to find whether
William b. Matthews, while receiving the
salary of chief of the pre-emption division,
was at the same time secretly practicing as
an attorney in behalf of certain land claim
ants and devoting official time in coniunc-
tion with William c. Conway, a democratic
clerk in the Office to compiling digest OF
departmental decisions which they after
ward sold to the general land office as pri-
vate property. He will cast au investigative
eye toward the special service division of his
Office, where Chief Young Is in charge. Hav
ing focused that quarter, it will in all proba-
bility be interesting to investigate Young's
relation to "General' Sparks at the outset
of the Cleveland administration, when, as al
legged, he "loaded' the general with GER
tain libellous information as to several re-
publican officials of the interior department
and caused the publication of the same in a
New York journal receiving as reward the
position of assistant chief of said division
and confidential adviser to ''General'
Sparks.
CENSUS CRITIC ANSWERED..
Superintendent Porter, of the census
bureau, has sent the following letter to James
H. Manning, the editor of the Albany Argus,
In reply to certain criticisms in that journal
in relation to the census Office, and an accu-
sation that Mr.. Porter was designating rep.
resentatives of protected interests as chiefs of
divisions in the census bureau, and declaring
that in consequence of such appointments
the census would not command the conf
dence Of the people:
'My Dear Mr.. Manning: The inclosed
clipping. from tho Argus, does me great in
justice and feel your own sense of fairness
to d brother journalist will permit a correc-
ton. In consequence of that erroneous
statement that l was q free trade English
man and abandoned my belief and became
protectionist, many friendly republican news
papers throughout the country are putting
lam D. Kelly, and other famous
protectionists, who in the immature part of
tn cir career were free traders. / most posi-
lively decline this distinction, for the reason
that since l have had any opinion whatever
on the subject of the tariff have been an
earnest believer and advocate of protection.
/ was educated in the institutions of this
country, not in those Of England, beginning
my journalistic career on western protec-
tion newspaper before l was twenty-one
years of age, and l never was an advocate
of free trade in my life. The Argus has also
been misled in relation to the appointment of
experts and chiefs for the Eleventh census.
Out of the twenty experts thus far decided
upon to aid in the census work. fifteen were
employed on tho Tenth census In the same
capacity by General Walker. The collection
of the statistics of the silk industry, which
General Walker committed to the secretary
of tine American Silk association, has been
given this year to an eminent sJatistician
outside of the association OF the five new
appointments made by the present superin-
tendent of the census, not one, as
the Argus has been made to be.
lieve, represents a manufacturing as
sociation, nor has politics figured
conspicuously in these appointments. am
obliged to confess that do not know the
politics of seven out of the twenty chiefs of
this office thus far decided on although / am
informed that some of them are good demo-
Gratis and two or three are mugwumps. The
fact is. and have no doubt that you have
found it out long ago, that men who are
masters of any special subject are so scarce
that a man with an undertaking of the mag
niJude of the Eleventh census on hand, is
not likely to trouble himself much about a
mans politics or religion when he knows he
has the right man for the place."
uoUNpING TANNER.
The more the abuse daily heaped upon
Commissioner of Pensions James Tanner, by
the democratic and mugwump press, the
more convinced are many politicians here
that a conspiracy has be9n hatched by the
followers of General Black, bis predecessor,
to smirch his character. Criticisms are
alone made on endeavors TO correct the glar-
ing errors of which Black was guilty. Tan
ner has been charged with re-rating pension
ers regardless of law without filing addit-
ional testimony. None is required in the
many cases of gross injustice perpetrated
under Blacks regime During the last ad-
ministration democratic board OF medical
examiners at Boston, examined an applicant
for pension, who was wounded in the knee.
The rate of pension in the case was 81 per
month. The democratic members of the
pension board cut the allowance down TO So
per month. The case was reopened
under Commissioner Tanner, and
Ine amount OF tne pension was
increased to 81, dating back to the allowance
of the claim. Under General Black the
custom was TO cut down the recommenda-
tions Of all examining physicians at least
half. The surplus could be kept intact in
that way. IL can be stated positively and
with authority that no reratipgs have been
made except in cases OF specific disability or
permanent disability. In such instances no
additional evidence is required by law. Sen.
ator Manderson's case has been cited as a
case of the commissioners fragrant misuse
of his power. The senator was brevet ma
jor general and was shot through and
through. Since that time he has never been
able TO do any manual labor and is physi-
cal wreck. He was entitled to the pension
he now receives when he was first placed on
the rolls The medical testimony was SUM-
clenJ TO. show this. General Black was al
ways seeking opportunities TO throw tech
nicaIities in the way. An attache
of the staff of Fitz John Por-
ter was captured by confederate cavalry
men. He tried TO escape and was beaten over
the head till he was senseless. He was
placed in Belle Isle and since then he can't
read at night, suffers severe pains, has to
wear blue goggles and the sun prostrates
him. General Black refused him pension
because he couldn't prove the injuries by two
comrades who were eye witnesses. An Iowa
man applied TO Black for pension. He was
sent To carry orders to an important post,