Omaha daily bee., 1889-10-17
NOBLE LAYS DOWN THE Law
Why He Rescinded Tanners Inc
creased Pension Order.
1T WAS uNwlse AND ILLEGAL.
The Commissioners Action Charac.
tcrized as Wholly Unwarranted,
without Precedent, and Disas-
trous in Its Tendency.


WASHINGTON, Oct l6.-The statement PREF
pared NJ the interior department in support
of the action of Secretary Noble in rcscind.
ing Commissioner Tanners order advancing
pensions from s! to 81 per month in certain
cases was given out tonight.
II calls attention to section 1905 of the re.
vscd statutes providing that except in cases
OF permanent specific disabilities no increase
of pensions shall be allowed prior TO the date
Of the examining surgeons certificate, etc,
and enters NJ length into the consideration
of various degrees of disability and The
reason for having allowed the 80 pension.
'If now, by order of the commissioners"
says the statement, "without regard to
medical examination man who has been re-
cciving 81 is advanced to S4, without the man
who was more disabled and has been rated
at 81 being himself advanced, it is obvious
that injustice is done to the higher graded
man. IT. however, the allowance Is made
after examination by a surgeon, everything
has been done in due order and according TO
law. If the arbitrary orders of the couimis.
soner are the basis IL must result that n few
are made favorites and the great mnss, who
have to depend upon medical examinations,
are put ut great disadvantage; therefore it
was decided that there Is no authority in law
for an order arbitrarily increasing greau
mass of pensions IN the face of the statute,
anu WnlCn OfuCf is not eNUSnuSu 10 all cases.
Quotations are then made from Tanners
recent letter to Dalzell in which Tanner says
he issued the order with n view to putting
these 81 men up to at least 81 or TO drop
them off the rolls, and in which he said he
ordered them for examination before their
home board The statement says: s.,
"rhe order as made was arbitrary. un-
qualified and required an advance without
examination, to the amount specified, 81 per
month. 1t did not propose TO drop anyone,
81, l,tt N,.atnp lnl and a ,At
anyone for examination, us the letter pre-
tends it did. 1t was an unauthorized uh-
qualified and illegal order for every pen
sloner TO be advanced to 81 who was receiv-
ing less 1t was made on April 25, and II
was proposed TO have it take effect en- March
81.
"a slight consideration of this matter will
show that TO give away S66.O 900 u month OK
the pubic money on such an order rs TINS
would be but the beginning OF system by
which millions could be expended as uncoh-
trolled by law as it was unauthorized by
precedent
"There would be no more harm in giving
to Senator Manderson 81, ,0u0 or more than
there would be in giving $4,000 1856, 900. In
either case it would be an unauthorized dis
tribution of public moneys, and the door of
the treasury might as well be open t) actual
invasion as to have Such warrants trlWn
upon it TO be cashcd without que itlonlnS. 1t
is also obvious that such course as tins
would not benefit the soldiers ultimately, as
it is intended only to benefit those who arc
least disabled
There is no expression, no dlspositionto
prevent any deserving soldier from acquir-
ing the pension his disability entities him 10
either by the original application or tho
application for increase. All that is being
done is to maintain that the law is to be lib.
orally construed but by no means disre-
gardcd, and 10 allow each in his turn, with.
out partaity, all he is entitled to-"
Pension Commissioner Tanner was seen
this evening regarding the above statements
and made lengthy reply, In which he
sharply critics Assistant Secretary Bus
sey and alleges that the judicial reasons Of
the latter are eminatlons from sthe mind OF u
member of the pension board OF appeals who
was appointed under the Cleveland admins.
traton after having failed to pass the CIVIL
service examination Tanner arraigns BUS
sey for undertaking to put him in false pcS
sition before the public. The order
in question he says refers 10 cases allowed
on and after the date on which he took
Office March -. He had determined ha
would not issue certificate for less than S4
per month If he had the power to prevent it.s
He looked into the law and found he had
power, as it is broadly stated that ratings
fixed by medical boards are subject to revls-i
amount OF time and trouble by is-
sung that order. "Ihen," said he,
~ had verbal orders that those pensionc d
at less than 81 who had applications on file
for an increase, accompanied by certificate
of medical examination held within yeaH
should have their claims adiudcated on that
examination and go up TO 81 or off the roll.
also ordered verbally that all others should
be sent an order for medical examination
and abide the result on like basis
Tanner contends that there Is plenty Of
law for his action.