New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-10-23

was commenting myself to my superior by
the spirit I was acting In, and by tie zealI
was exhibiting.
GREAT SURPRISE FOR TANNER
10 my surprise received reply from
him under date Of Aug. 1, in which he
stated:
You have endeavorcd to hasten. for your own
means. to get q board to arrive at conclusions In
th'e lot only as disrespectful but insubordinate
last degree, and hereby direct you to
w., law any cases have under consideration,
and IN regard to which I have heretofore told
you that intended TO act, from the considera-
tlon Of any persons whom you have selected to
antedate my action; ana you will report your
Immediate obedience of this order 10 me. And
You will disband any board that you have mn
derSaken to form for the purpose of investigat-
ing business still in my hands, and upon which
am officially engaged.
Il replied at once, signifying, Of course
my obedience to his peremptory order, and
totally repudiated all thought of insubordi-
nation, dlsobeGience, or the slightest dispo-
sition to proceed in any insidious manner
People who are not extremely nerv-
GUS will be able to judge whether, il
/ had desired so to proceed, would
rotary what I was doing" Ofthe work and
report of the committee which Mr.. Tanner
makes public tonight MIR Tanner says: aOn
the Goth of July came notice to me of the
fact that the committee of Investigation had
been constituted. When they appeared day
or two afterward, I instructed the chief
clerk to place the office and ali it contained
at Their disposal if they desired it. That ter
minated my association with the committee
ct investigation right at the commencement
OF it's existence had no word from them;
l was not asked to explain anything; I was
not offered the slightest opportunity to de-
fend any action had taken. Itwas
AsTAR CHAMBER PROCEEDING
to the uttermost degree. In fact, the only
information had about the result of their
operations was when the honorable score
tary himself one day, when I was in his
Office. asked me if knew what the COM
mission said about the operations of the pen
sion bureau. I told him I had not been
favored in that respect in the slightest de-
gree. He replied that they said that I had
granted more pensions and paid out more
money in the same time than my distin-
gulshed predecessor did replied that
hoped to God that charge was true on the
record, for I had plastered Indiana with
PROMISES las! fall that that should be the
fact it Gen. Harrison came into power as
president. l never saw the report of the
com mittee OF investigation until the
afternoon of the day I resigned, when
1 found it on the table in the White
House and was there told by the president
and the secretary that the report contained
nothing which in the slightest degree re-
Elected upon my integrity or impeached the
honesty OF my action as commissioner
THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
appointed by Secretary Noble and which Mr..
Tanner gives to the press tonight is signed
by Messrs Ewing, Campbell and Bruce, the
special board of examiners" It presents
tabulated staten ent, showing the total num-
Der of pension cases rera,e from and includ-
ing December, 1888. to July, 1889 The
number of reratings for each of these
IN onths was as follows:
December 81, January 1873, February 237,
March 135. April ITO, MAY 2l5. June 2l5. univ
1854 substantial increase" the reporJ saws.
from month to month. indicative of what is APP
parently an established policy of the bureau,
The result OF which if continued, will be to read
judicare and rerate a large Fer cent of the cases
in the admitted files"
After explaining the mode of procedure
generally in rerated cases during this period
the board il their report say:
It becomes apparent that. 80 far as any rule of
action prevailed, there was not. generally speak
lng wide difference between the principles
which governed rerating in December 1883, and
those which governed in May. 1889.
number OF cases are quoted to show that
the practice of rerating on mere opinion, on
the weight OF the evidence rather than upon
clear evidence of manifest and palpable
error, is contrary to decisions of the depart
ment while Schurz, Teller and Lamar were
secretaries
"FoRTY-EIGHT HOUR" CASES.
A large number of cases cited in the re-
port are shown to have been Endorsed either
by the commissioner or his former secretary
TO the secretaries as "forJy-e1ght-h cases.
That this term may be fully understood the
report states that they are cases in which an
order was made requiring in each case to
which it applied final adjudication within
forUv-eighJ hours from the issuance of the
order aF
This. the report says. Seems to have been
understood not only to be an order for final ac-
ton within forty-eight hours, but an order for
final favorable action. The board is unable to
state. however. where the practice of issuing
such orders originated, but it has, they say,
existence covering the entire period OF the
Investigation. The employee cases the board
finds generally like many others referred to in
the report, in this respect, that in the adj
publication for re-ating the rule 'palpable error
or manifest injustice in former rating, seems
TO have been utterly ignored and lost sight Of
They were. almost without exception, read
jus ed on mere opinion. the Judgment of to-day
annulling and setting aside that deliberately
rendered years ago. and against which.
made by the pensioners. Some cases were
referred by the commissioner or his private
Secretary Squires to an examiner in the medical
division for an opinion, which proving favorable
the cases were taken up. briefed and rerating
allowed. Why referred to a medical examiner,
subordinate in the medical division. rather
than to the medical referee, the official directly
in charge Of the medical branch of the Office. does
not appear and is LETT to be inferred"
The board in summarizing its conclusions