Omaha daily bee., 1889-10-19
MOBILES EPISTLE TO TANNER
The Corporal Had an Exaggerated
Idea of His Official Size.
THE FIRST POINT SETTLED.
Then He Had Little or No Notion That
the Law OF the Land and Not
Caprice OF the Commits
sioner Ruled.
Noble Rates Tanner.

secretary acknowledges tho receipt of Tan
ner's letter of July IL, marked ''unoflicial," !"
but which he coulu not receive as anything
put an official paper, raising as 1t did tho
question of authority between the commits
sioner and the secretary ana asserting that
the commissioner is TO be the superior as to
the matter discussed.
''Your position in your own language
says the secretary, us that while the secre-
tary of the interior has power to reverse the
decision of the commissioner of pensions on
appeal by claimant against whom the CON-
missioner has decided, on the other hand,
IL for any reason it should be held that
the claimant has been granted too
much pension the commissioner himself is
the only person who has the power
TO call a halt and reduce the pension Tho
commissioner Is laboring under great mis-
apprehension. The secretary has power to
correct any abuses in the bureau of pensions,
or any other bureau in his department"
The secretary in support of his position
quotes copiously from the revised statutes
and adds:
ut will not do to say that the secretary
may not interfere and stop by his own power
the execution of any orders obviously Illegal
and arbitrary. The secretary IS reponsble
for the conduct of the commissioner, is bound
to see that tho law is enforced, that the pub
lie treasury is not unlawfully invaded, and
that one citizen entitled to a right, whether
of a pension land or anything else, is not un-
duly preferred either in the time of hearing
or in the allowance of money"
The secretary takes up the rerating cases,
which, he says, seem to be largely mere in
creases of pension allowed for long periods
prior to the date of the examining surgeons
certificate establishing the same under the
,Atn adj F,.11t IN, yn, tn, IN foot hn
says, "the commissioner himself acknowl-
edged them to be cases of increase OF pen
slons"
The secretary continues: "The cases re-
ferred 10 were ten in number. In each one
of these the claimant was an employe in the
pension bureau, receiving salary sufficient
for his comfortable subsistence and was ut his
work daily They were associated together;
most of them had been in their places under
former administrations, but they did
not then prefer their claims. They
made them soon after the advent
of the present administration. There
was no reason under the existing rules that
their cases should be made special or rushed
through in advance of all others. On the
contrary, there was then, and had been for
some years, a printed rule in full force that
no cases should be made special except IN
case of destitutlon, or when the applicant
was at the point of DEATH Yet these cases
were all hurried through by your order,
while hundreds of thousands of other appl
cants were awaiting throughout the
land the allowance for the first time
of the bounty the government had
promised them. These other pension claim
ants were, many OF them, supported by no
such salaries as these particular men were
receiving, and the association together of
these men, where by this preference seems to
have been secured, and the subsequent al
lowances obtained is IN itself fact that
shows that their purpose was to impose
upon the commissioner A further fact in
each case is that the increase was allowed
prior to the surgeons certificate in the pend
ing claim, and that the sums allowed aggre-
gate over $4,000
"Neither you nor I can afford to act upon
personal considerations in a matter of this
magnitude. We are each bound by the law
in all things and it is our duty to take the
law as we find it. We are to fully exercise
that power given to either of us and to alb
stain from its abuse to any degree what
ever.o
The secretary refers to the duties Of the
board of review and says 1t Is an established
and well known rule that the department
will uniformly refuse to disturb an
adjudication Of claims by a former
administration except upon the most
conclusive evidence that error has been
committed. "When question as to the pro.
priety of given rating is one of judgment
merely, depending upon the weight of evil
dence, the department Will not allow the
opinion of to-day to overturn the opinion of
not be reopened, reconsidered nor readjusted,
except upon the presentation of new and ma
terial evidence tending to show the existence
of a papable error or mistake. The depart
ment does not entertain the least objection to
the Increase of q pension, the increase to
commence under the pending claim rs the
law directs and upon evidence 10 support it,
The secretary then reviews at consldera-
BILE length the cases OF three of the pension
office employees whose pensions were rerated,
and concludes that the rerating was illegal
and unwarranted. He adds
81 will not go into the other cases. They
are before you. | have said enough, think,
TO show that the secretary may well call n
halt until these cases can be more carefully
examined. / notice you say in your letter
| that you have such regard for your official
and personal reputation that YOU will
| not permit these cases to remain
| as they are, but will order
each claimant for medical examination
before men whose word upon medical points
| cannot be challenged. The question is not
what may hereafter De found out about these
| men. The question is what should have been
| done upon their record rs it stood when
judgment was rendered. IL may be that this
government is strong and great and has at
| its command surplus that no other nation
| ever had, but if sums OF money to the
amounts above mentioned may be granted
| without any further consideration of fact or
law than seems to have been given In these
| cases it will depend solely upon single of.
hcer'S disposition whether the resources oil
| the government shall be sufficient for its
maintenance or not. There are more than
| enough of these applications already on
| file and increasing daily TO exhaust the sur
| plus of which so much has been said in con-
| necton with this matter, and / am informed
| the applications for reratlngs are greatly on
| the increase, and now reach the amount OF
| from seven TO eight thousand n week."
| The secretary further says that he Intends
| TO have all these cases re-eXamned and has
| ordered an investigation of the pension
office. Pending the report of the Investigate
| ing committee he will issue no further order,
| but expresses his belief in his authority 70
control the abuses la his department by any
| means he deems legal and eSpedient.
| A Pastor Falls From Grace.
| CHICAGO, Oct. lS.-ISpecial Telegram to
| The BEE. Rev. S. j. Blackwell is Meth
odist minister who resides at Fort Sheridan,
and who up to this morning has enjoyed the
highest esteem of his flock. For some years
the reverend gentleman has also been the
| proprietor Of a fourishlng little grocery
| store. To-day mis- congregation was aston
| shed and hOrrified TO learn that their pastor
| had been arrairned by the city officials and
| fined on the charge of selling Intoxicating
! liquor in the guise OF healing tonic.
| The Weather Forecast.