New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-04
PENSION OFFICE MATTERS
THE LITTLE FIRE THERE Is BEHIND a
GREAT SMOKE.
OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE CASES MADE
SPECIAL. BY COMM ssIoNER TANNER-AN
ANSWER TO MALICIOUS ATTACKS.
my TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUSE.l


Washington. Aug. 3-Onc count in the Mug
wump and Democratic indictment of Commissioner
Tanner is that in the short space of three months
he made nearly ten thousand cases special for
tho benefit of certain favored claim agents, and
that nearly onc-half of these were cases in
which George f. Lemon and w. w. Dudley were
interested. That accusation is grave one, and
II Tanner had done such O thing he would have
bscn unfaithfui to his trust. But the charge IS
false or else the official records of the Pension
Rureau are Enthusiastically. Commissioner Tan
aer assumed the duties of his office March 20,
1850 Between that time and July 49, 1852
a period of about four months instead OF three
months, the number of cases made speclal" py
him. according to the official records. was exactly
e5s. instead of 10000; examination OF the
napcrs in 952 of these cases shows that George
f. Lemon was an attorney in ninety-elght cases.
and that W. w. Dudley attorney IN hVe
cases / 03 for both together, instead OF four OF
five thousand cases. AS 10 the other SAY cases
the official record make the following showing
NJ b. Stevens d Co., attorneys in 20; r. H. fltz-
GERALD & Co. and Fitzgerald e. Powell, attorneys
in %; j. w. Norris attorney in 20; L. W. lali'
madge, attorney in 16; King Brothers, attorneys
N 16. p J. Lockwood attorney in 16 A. W.
Mccormick d Son. attorneys in IL ; p. o. Farrell'
attorney in 8: Allan Rutherford, attorney IN 8;
r Cralle attorney in 8. The balance oil uhe
cases are distributed among the various other
attorneys no one of whom is the attorney IN as
many as eight cases. About 81 attorneys arc
represented altogether
So much for that " black crow story on "ilicn
the changes have been often rung during te laSC
two months, with ever-increaslng numOer Vi
crows A second count in the indictment of CON-
missioner Tanner is that he favors service
,enson. for veterans of the Union. Within the
mast fortnight it has even been asserted, ana
nver and over again reasserted, IN washington
DISPATCHES to Democratic and Mugwump news
papers that because of fear that Tanner HiehV
"take advantage of the occasion to say something
in favor of service pensions which wouiu ein-
barrass if not commit the Administration TO
that policy he. Tanner has received mht iron
Secretary Noble or Assistant Secretary Bussey. or
both. that he would better remain
away from the National Encampment OF
the Grand Army of the Republic ths
year: and recently indignant paragraphs have been
written and published stating that Tanner VIII
attend the encampment despite the eXpresSeu
desire of his superiors to the contrary. In order
that there should be no mistake about Mr tanner
attitude toward proposed service pensions leg
jslation the following words were inserted IN
leading editorial published in The New-fork
Times OF Yesterday:
Commissioner Tanner is avowedly In favor OF ser
vice PENSION and his polcy7 has received no little en-
,ouragemsnt from politicians Of his party. Pension
agents who grow rich by getting claims acted upon
and pocleiing fees for their services are constantly
active and persistent I'm promoting IT, More and moro
fhe Grand Army organization has been wrought up
ly the agents and by political demagogueS toward the
POINT of demanding pension for every man VINO
served IN the war for the Union. and it is anticipated
tina, az the coming Grand Encampment at MILWAUKEE,
he demand may possibly be made.
Now for the facts: First, Commissioner Tanner,
WHO was for years. and until recently, an active
member of the Pension Committee of the Grand
Army of the Republic, has steadily opposed ser
vice pensions" on the ground that the time has
not arrived for such legislation His public ut
teranccs since he became Commissioner show that
his views have undergone no change on that sub
jcct lie privately reiterated those views in con-
vcrsation with The Tribune correspondent today
Moreover his views are those of large majority
OF the Grand Army, officially expressed time
and again Second The Tribune correspondent
states on the best authority, that Commissioners
Tanner has never received hlnt, mtlmatOn or
suggestion Of any Sort oral or written, dlrecu or
indirect, from any Official quarter that MS attend
ance upon the National Encampment Woum DE
regarded as improper, rs an embarrassment, as
an indiscrction, an act which would De ID
any wise regarded dspleasng to Secretary
H. is difficult TO say whether ignorance or malice
preponderates in the two counts Of the Tanner In
dimme1t above noticed.
As TO the matter OF reratlng OF pen
,sions. which is now under investigation,
The clamor is raised that the, com
miINo. was appointed TO wb1tewash IAN.
ner- Everybody ought to have the decency: TO
wait and see The commission NAV probably ma
that some cases were rerated which should not
have been. and il may quite as probably discover
where the responsibility for violations of law, II
any, rests - n.
or course the attacks upon Commissioner Tan
ner made as they are by newspaper writers VINO
mattox. and who are consumed with devotion and
zeal in behalf of the needy, dependent and Grip
pied Union veteran-Of course the attacks are all
free from malice prejudice or anything when
does not SAVIOR Of disntereSted patriotism But
il seems pity, nevertheless, that indictments
should he married by so many and such gross 1ahe-
hoods as have been herein exposed.
For other Washington Ne,cs See Ninth Page