The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-10-22
MIR. TANNERS TURN.
He Don't Propose to Have His
Name Smirched.
A DEFENSE Or VINDICATION ?
He THINKS Noble is Inclined to be Less Liberal
Than His Predecessor-The Investigat-
ing Committees Report.

WASHINGTON Oct. 20.-Ex- Commissioner
Tanner is out in long statement replying
to Secretary Mobiles letter of July a, the
gist of which was given in these dispatches
Friday night. Tanner denies at the outset
that he defied the secretary on the subject
of re-rating or authority in administration
of the bureau. He gives cut the letter to
which the secretary replied. Tanner, in part,
says: az don't propose to have an honor
able name smirched in the slightest degree
in this period of my existence, and where
may find well founded reasons that l have
been imposed on, shall be quick to recon-
mend the condemnation merited by the
parties concerned. desire to add further
more, that I've made a comparison of the
action in these cases (meaning cases of the
pension office employees) with that taken
by my predecessors in several cases, and
find it entirely favorable to the present ad-
minlstratlon." Tanner, commenting on the
stress laid by Secretary Noble on the law
OF re-ratlng, says that when he
took Office he found that on the
question of re-rating, the office had
been, since March, 1855, operating
IN accordance with decision rendered by
Assistant Secretary jerks, who, in the case
case adiudicated under the act of March 3
1879, arrears of pension were not granted
according to pensioners disability, neither
section 1881 nor any ether provision of
law prohibits readiudication.
Watson's contention was in part for a
pension on account of sunstroke, but he
made no claim for that disability until fif-
teen years after his discharge.
Mr.. jerks states that while the presump-
ton from the fact that he made no claim
until fifteen years after his discharge is not
in favor of the view that his disability was
great, still he holds that the claimant
should have chance to show his disability
during the period since his discharge, and
adds that If the evidence showed that for
any portion of the time since his discharge
he has been disabled in that period, his
pension should be increased so as to cor
respond with the degree of disability.
IF Secretary Noble sees fit to construe
the statutes so as TO make them less liberal
TO the soldier than did his eminent Demo
cratic predecessor, the responsibility must
rest with him, and am not unwilling that
he, while doing so, shall arraign me IN
challenged as rating beyond reason and the
pale of the law.
Various statements have been published
over the country about the vast number of
claims Of employees of the pension office
which have been acted on during my incum-
thirty three of them, all told. There were
nearly seven hundred soldiers employed in
the pension Office, so the public can Judge as
well as | can as to numbers. AS for the
criticism passed on that Office in that re-
spect, suffice it to say that four gentlemen,
men of long experience in office and of ac-
knowledged character and capacity in their
report TO me on the twenty-four cases
broadly impeached the correctness of the
action in one case, whereupon / immedi-
ately called for the papers in that case. and
finding a certificate and notice had been
issued, cancelled ali the proceedings taken
in the case.
"Of the thirty-three cases, theyreported
that three were simply increase cases and
not re-rated cases; that the action taken in
two of the others was rightin part and that
in one case an injustice had been done the
pensioner and that he had not been granted
enough. Six cases were reported as hav-
ing wrongly been proved AL the rest were
certified to as absolutely correct.
ION the 10th of June came notice to me
of the fact that committee of investiga-
ton had been constituted. When they ap-
peared day or so afterwards, instructed |
the chief clerk to place the office and all it |
contained at their disposal, if they desired |
That terminated my association with the |
committee of investigation right at the |
commencement of its existence. never !
saw the report OF the committee on invests |
cation until the afternoon of the day |
resigned, when found Secretary Noble at /
the White House and there was told by the |
President and Secretary Noble that the |
report contained nothing that in the slight
est degree reflected upon my integrity or
impeached the honesty of my actions as
commissioner
In regard to the secretary's assumption
of his characterization, Tanner presents a
letter which he sent to the secretary on
August s. and in which he expresses regret
that they had fallen apart, and attributes
the trouble to too little personal communi-
cation. The letter goes on to say: 81 rec
ognize that l sit in position where l have
the opportunity of my life to serve my COM
rades and our country. l desire to serve
them and it to the full extent the law per-
mits and not one iota beyond. l desire to
help you make this branch of the admins
tration so popular with the veterans and
patriotic people over the country at large,
that in the future there can be no question
where support for the men who served and
and suffered will be given" Tanner said
the letter was never answered and it closed
communication between him and Secretary
Noble.
Report of the investigating Committee.