Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1889-06-28
Will Tanner Be Bounced?

Corporal Tanner got his appoint
ment as Commissioner of Pensions be-
cause he had been stumping the coun-
try for years. holding that the coun-
try wasn't doing half enough for the
old soldiers, and he is doing all he
can now to relieve the country Of the
reproach that it is not doing enough
for the Corporal Tanner family. BY
the time few more members of his
family get their names on the public
pay rolls he will probably be willing
to let somebody else have something.
Public attention has just been called
to the appointment of the Corporars
daughter? Ada, to a Iwell-paid place
in her fathers Office, but another
daughter, Nettie, is clerk in the Of
flee of the Pension Agent in this city.
There is young man named Tanner
in the Commissioners office as private
secretary or confidential clerk, which
ever one of these two offices Miss Ada
Tanner does not hold, but he says
he isn't any relation to the Commits
sioner. The Commissioner gets $1,000
salary and 1864 pension, and one
daughter gets 1900 year from the
Government and the other gets $40.
This makes total for the Corporal
Tanner family of So, 1884. The two
daughters hold places that might
have been given to manned veterans,
but Corporal Tanner is not a man to
let any other veteran get anything
until all his family are well taken
care Of. 1t was the practice under
the Cleveland Administration not to
let more than two members OF one
family draw salaries from the public
Treasury, but the Republicans are
not so moderate. Corporal Tanner
is not the only subordinate of Ben
jamin Harrison who initiates his chief
in providing salaries for his relations.
Col. Elliott F. Shepard says that the
President has as much right to give
offices under the Government to his
relations as Mr. Pulitzer, for example,
has to give his relations placesion the
New York World. This idea that the
officials own the government and the
country appears to be the accepted
maxim of the Republican party.
Assistant and Acting Land Commits
sioner Stone has just appointed his
son to be his private secretary at
$1,000 a year. Gov. Stone will make
stump speeches demanding that pref
erence be given the old soldiers in
making appointments, but when he
finds a comfortable little $500 place
at his disposal, he finds a member Of
the Stone family to give it to. Hehas
the example of Senator Ingalls,, who
used to excoriate the Cleveland Adj
ministration on the false charge that
it neglected old soldiers, but when he
had a $4,000 private secretaryship to
dispose of he gave it to his son.
If the administration does not I'M
load Tanner promptly there will be
Congressional investigation Of the
Pension Office next fall, in spite ofthe
fact that both branches Of Congress
are Republican. 1t is not unlikely
that the administration will save it
self this scandal by unloading the
Corporal.
The clerks are demoralized. The
Boards of Review don't dare reject
an application if there is any pretence
whatever of evidence in support of
it, lest Tanner should bounce them.
More than 500 cases in which George
E. Lemon is attorney are said to have
been made special by Tanner, besides
what Squires made special. a man
whose brother is Republican politi-
clan in Indiana came down here and
got his pension rerated with $4,000
arrearages on the higher rate, with
out one word of additional evidence.
Another man got his pension in
creased and $1,000 of arrearages
without the most formal compliance
with the law regarding evidence. A
pension attorney from New York came
here and got fifteen or sixteen of his
clients rerated at an advance without
any examination or testimony addi-
tionaI to that on which the original
pension was granted. Tanner has es-
tab.ished the principle in the office of
the maximum pensions on the mini
mum evidence, and particularly for
favored claim agents.-Ne,c York Sun.