New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-10-23
TANNER TANS HIM.
Once More Does the Ex-COmmis-
-siOner of Pensions Have His
Brief Little Say.

Brief Little Say.
WASHINGTON. Oct 2O.-Ex-C Commissions
Tanner is out tonight in long statement
I'm reply to Secretary Mobiles letter Of July
"a on the subject of reratng pensions of
pension office employees. Mr.. Tanner denies
lat the outset that he defied Secretary Noble
son the sui ject Of rerating or on the question
of denominate authority in the administra-
ton of the pension bureau. 81 did submit. :"
ME-. Tanner says, sto him in an unofficial let
Ter a question which arose in my mind as to
whether the power to put to the test pen
.stoa which might be under suspicion of hav-
Hng been granted in excess rests in the hands
cot the secretary or of the commissioner,
ana Iguoted to him the section of the Re-
,wised Statutes which had raised that question
lin my mind; put in submitting that question
to the secretary for his decision, I did it in
the most courteous and respectful manner
of which was capable" In this unofficial
Aetter, which ia given out for publication,
and which refers to number of rerated pen
sion cases of clerks in the pension office, the
'ex-commissioner says:
I do not propose. in any event, to have an
honorable lifetime smirched in the slightest de-
may find well founded reasons for believing
Tfha5 / have been imposed upon and misled I
shall be quick to recommend the condemnation
'Encrlted by the parties concerned. simply de-
:ssare to add, furthermore. that since our inter-
view night before last have made comparison
4of action in these cases with that taken by my
predecessor, and fin I'd that the comparison is
entirely favorable to the present administration.
Ishaii be happy 10 lay these cases before you at
ANY time when it NAV suit your convenience
AS TO RERATING.
Mr. Tanner .hen, in commenting on the
great stress laid by Secretary Noble upon
section 4. 69S12 OF the law relating to rerat-
ding. says: 3IU is proper that should state
that when took office as commissioner
found that on the question OF rerating the
office was, aud had been since March %,
1886, operating in accordance with de-
cislou rendered on that date by Hon. George
a. jerks, then assistant secretary of the in
terror, who in the case of Charles A. Watson
in broad terms declared: ~s ..'- g.
If in any case adjudicated under the act of
March 3, 1879. the arrears of pension were not
graded according to the pensioners disability
neither section q, G9S q nor any other provision
sof the law prohibits REHABILITATION of the case
IS Tho claimants contention was in part for
penslon on account OF sunstroke, but he
made no claim for that disability until if
teen years after lis discharge Mr. jerks
ssta6es that, while the presumption from the
Nact that he made no claim for pension on
account of disability from sunstroke until
fifteen years after his discharge is not in
Favor of the view that the disability was
great, still he holds that he should have op-
opportunity to show the extent of his dis
:sta,la6y during that period since his discharge;
and he adds it the evidence should show that
for any portion of the time since his dis
charge be has been disabled in degree
greater than for which he was pensioned,
Che pension for that periou should he in
creased so as to correspond with the degree
OF disability. The legal contention leave
rio these eminent gentlemen, Secretary
Noble and the late Assistant Secretary
sIenks. Mr.. jerks ruling was law through
the department until it was revoked, and
must say that in SO far as it permits man
Ssho las been disabled in the service of the
country to prove that ability and receive the
compensation which the law provides am
In hearty accord with it. Ii Secretary Noble
sees fit to construe statutes so as to make
chem less liberal to the soldier than did his
eminent Democratic predecessor the re-
sponslbll1ty must rest with him; and I am
not Wiling that while 80 doing he shall, IN
challenged. arragn me as operating without
reason and beyond the pale of the law"
AS TO THE INVESTIGATION
IiMr Tanner then relates the circumstances
sSpFecening the appointment of the committee
, 10 dnw estigate the rer2ted cases and which
) aed'up to it. Gen. Bussey told him that the
secre5ary's suspicious were aroused as to the
: correctness of action in the cases OF ten en-
ployes and he had been instructed to investi-
gate. Mr.. Tanner said Gall right" and placed
f.the papers in nine of the cases on Gen. Bus
gey's table within an hour, and those in the
remaining cases were sent over the next
morning. Il then called his attention" Mr..
Tanner says, sto the fact that sew eral cases
Were disease cases, and it did not seem to me
SOB be the thing to have them reviewed by
aa2on-medical man. I told him, as I after
'wards told Secretary Noble, that when first
took Office there wasa mighty tide of hu-
y tnanity surging into the pension Office, claim
fing my personal attention. and 1T the same
time good many cases were pressed on my
personal attention; that sat there thor
oughly imbued with the belief Of what we
H7ad expressed in the press and on the stump
an the late campaign to the restrictive
ys,olicy of the pension office on the soldier
claims; and that had thought that until
became familiar with the workings of the
bureau, SO long as pursued the practice
laid down for me by men of experience in the
office, the last thing was in danger OF doing
agas of doing too much. And SO, when my
personal attention was requested to a dis
case case ! was in the habit of calling for
one or another of the medical division, ask
ing them to go through the case thoroughly,
and TO give me their opinion as to what
ought in Justice to do. If it was legal
question, called some examiner of long ex-
s1erience in the office and made the same 1e-
quest stated that -if / had been lnisled,
ahere was no one who
HAD AS MUCH AT STAKE
In knowing it promptly as l had. and no one
would go farther or move quicker than ]
would to rectify whatever wrong had been
perpetrated. urged that we select In these
disease cases three of the best medical men
whose services we could command, and put
the cases to the test, and let them stand or
fall on that verdict Bussey agreed with me-