St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-17
Secretary Mobiles Assistant
States That Tanner Made
q Bad Break.
No Warrant of Law for Re-
rating All Four-Dollar
Pensioners.
Corporal JaWsmith Pours a
Volley Of Hot Shot Into
Gen. Bussey.

ing Commissioner Tanners order ad-
vancing pensions from 50 to 81 per
month, in certain cases, was given to
the press tonight: ''In view Of the re-
cent decision by the department of the
interior, relating to the authority of the
commissioner of pensions to arbitrarily,
on his motion, re-rate some 10000 men
by advancing their pension on his order
from 50 to S4 per month, it is worthy of
attention that section 4.69S1l of the re-
vised statutes of the United States pro-
vides:
''That except IN cases Of permanent speci-
fic disabilities no increase of pension shall
be allowed to commence prior to the date of
the examining surgeons certificate estab-
fishing the same made under the pending
claim for increase"
Also, that rating made by the COM
missioner of pensions, except in certain
cases where by law a specific amount
is attached by statute to the disability
named, is determined by the degree of
disability found by medical eXamina-
ton of the claimant. Thus, where a
claimants disability is total, he is given
under the statute fixed amount. This
was formerly IS, and is now fixed at diff
among others s1S total, and the
amount that would be SIS ITO
tai disability" is subdivided in
to fractions, that is less than total for
the lesser degrees of disability. Thus,
If Que man is found to be very little dis
abled by the medical board, he is given
1-1s, or 81; or he is still more disabled,
2-1S, or 81; and if still more disabled,
3-1S or AS, and so on. If a man, for
instance, has lost portion of his finger,
and is thus to be an
APPRECIABLE DEGREE DISABLED,
he may have been rated by some exam
lining board at 81 for that; and so in
some other case for some other slight
disability. If, however, he has suf-
tered from chills or malaria, or some
other disability contracted by him by
exposure in the swamps during his SER
vice as soldier, and which may
not prove permanent, or may in
slightly disabled, if at all, and
entitled, at the beginning and almost to
a small fraction of total, say 81; which
is the amount fixed in many of the dis
abilities allowed. In this latter case it
might possibly have been question
with the board whether he was to get
anything, or was disabled at all; but
from lenient construction of his case
they have given him 81. If now, by an
order of the commissioner, without re-
gard to this medical examination, the
man who has thus been receiving 81 is
advanced to 81, without the man who
was more disabled and who had been
rated at 81 being himself advanced, it is
obvious that injustice is done to the
higher graded man. because he is put
upon par with man evidently less dis
abled. And so between soldier and sol
dier, there is an unfair preference for the
less injured. If these cases. however,
are all referred to the examining sur
geons, and they find the disability to be
equal to four dollars, and it is then
allowed, everything has been done in
due order and according to law, and
upon basis that any man can under
stand, and which will have limits fixed
by medical knowledge, experience and
professional reputation. On the con-
trary, if arbitrary orders of the commits
siOner are the basis. it must result that
A FEW ARE MADE FAvORITES
and given a particular amount, ana the
great mass of the men who have to de-
pend upon medical examinations are
put at a great disadvantage. Therefore
it was decided that there is no author
ity in law for an order arbitrarily in
creasing a great mass of mems pensions
in the face of the statute already cited
and which order is not extended to all
the pensioners cases. The commits
sioner whose order has given rise to this
decision, in his recent letter to Mr..
Dalzell did not claim that his order was
to be construed according to its terms,
for he said:
hi 7 fvr-0
which thought and still think were mighty
good ones First, that the SO 600 men on
the pension rolls at less than 81 per month
should all, unless they had a medical exam
ination within year, be ordered for exam
ination before their home board. with a view
to putting them up to at least 81 per month
pension, or drop them off the rolls for II was
and is my opinion that for man who is
worthy Of any pension at all dollar a week
is small enough to consider pension.
The order itself read:
April %, 1SS9--In all cases where pen
sionable disability is found the rate allowed
shall not be less than 81 per month, to date
from and including March q, 1889.
The decision that was made by the
assistant secretary is in accordance
with these two propositions. The COM
missioner announced one before he re-
signed his Office, the other after, to MIR.
Dalzell. The assistant secretary takes
them together and not separately. The
order as made was arbitrary, unquali-
fed, and required an advance without
examination to the amount specified at
"a per month. 1t did not propose to drop
any one. as the letter pretended it did,
and it did not order any one for eX-
animation before their home board, as
the letter pretended it did. 1t was an
unauthorized, unqualified and illegal
order for every pensiOner to be ad-
vanced to q who was rece living less.
1t was made April 25. and it was pro-
posed to have it take effect March ~.
A slight consideration Of this matter
will show that to give away $4,000 a
month of the public money on such an
order as this would be but the begin
ming of system by which
MILLIONS COULD BE EXPENDED,
uncontrolled by law, as it was unau-
thOriZed by precedent. There would be
no more harm in giving to Senator
Nanderson $1,000 or more than there
would be in giving TO $4,000 men $685.
600. In either case it would be an un-
authorized distribution of the public
moneys. and the door of the treasuesg9
might as well be open to actual invasion
as to have such warrants drawn upon it
TO be cashed without questioning. 1t is
also obvious that such a course as this
would not be of benefit to the soldiers
ultimately, as it is intended only to
benefit those who are the least disabled:
in other words. those who have the
least claim for disability. If one may
Judge that these men are to be