Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-21

OF THE RERATED OFFICIALS WILL BE DIS
MISSED.
Now that Secretary Noble has about COM
pleted his annual report he is devoting some
time TO the consideration of other matters of
department business. Perhaps the most i'm
pOrtant item which engages his attention is the
disposition OF what are known as the rerated
pension cases. The Secretary is making
Q careful examination of these cases and has
consulted with Assistant Attorney General
Shields, the law officer of the department, in
regard to the legal questions involved. The
Secretary has come to the conclusion to de-
mand in all cases where q violation Of law is
shown the
RETURN OF THE MONEY ILLEGALLY PAID.
A demand Of this kind will not be made in
all these cases. for some of them were decided
in accordance with law, the only irregularity
being that they were taken out of their
regular order and given the prefer
ence in the final adjudication. There
il a class Of cases Of which that Of Hiram Smith,
the first deputy commissioner, is an example,
it is said, the back pension amounted to some
$4,000 This case was one OF nine
or ten similar ones based upon
DECISION MADE BY COMMISSIONER TANNER.
The report of the commission which investi-
gated the rerated cases pronounced this de-
cision as without precedent and not justi-
fed by the law. The point to be
determined by the Secretary is whether
this Judgment of the commission is
correct. The Secretary has about reached a
conclusion in regard to these cases well as
the others, and in short time his decision will
be made known. He proposes to act directly in
this matter instead Of through the commissioner
nf p1arox tan l;vrv ho,~
the latter assumed the duties Of the Office that
he would be relieved from all connection with
the controversy which had resulted in the
resignation Of Mr.. Tanner. The decision of
tive mainly through the machinery of the PEN
| sion office.
IN THE CASES OF RERATED EMPLOYEES,
where there is q chance of recovering the
money, a demand will be made for its return.
In many Of the cases the money has been spent
and the only recourse for the Secretary is to
dismiss the pensioners from Office. which he
will do at once. A beginning will be made
probably tomorrow by disInissing two en-
ployes in the pension, office whose pensions
have been rerated. They were asked some
time ago to restore the money, but they replied
that
THEY HAD ALREADY SPENT IT.
The amount received by them is compare
lively small-about $1,000 each. While they
could be retained in the service and their PEN
sons and probably also their salaries could be
retained, yet the Secretary does not wish to
pursue that course in these particular cases.
He msy 90 dn.;add in Others but that
thing definitely determined and that is the
action which will be taken soon in the dis
position Of these cases is only the beginning.
1t will be rapidly followed up until the entire
matter is disposed of. 1t is stated that there is
"a nf faki
action in some cases which he finds can only
be reached in this way.
The City Post Office Commission.
Col Whitfield, the second assistant postmas-
| ter general, who prepared the report of the
city post Office commission, which was pub
lished in yesterdays STAR, was formerly post
master at Cincinnati. 1t was during his term
that Congress decided to replace the old and
antiquated building in that city with a new
| structure. The situation in this city is very
| similar to that Of Cincinnati several years ago
| IN respect to post Office accommodations. Col
| Whitfield, in common with other members of
the commission, had no difficulty in reaching
the conclusion that the only solution of the
| post Office problem in this city was the erec-
ton OF a new building.
Tnx BALrIMoRE's EIeHr-1NcH GuNs-Com-
modore Meade, commandant of the Washing
| ton navy yard, where the new eight-inch guns
for the Baltimore are being assembled" says
that il the forgings are delivered promptly the
guns will be ready by the time the ship is pre-
pared TO receive them. At present work is sus-
pended because Of the inability to get the forg-
| ings delivered at the yard.
PETITION numerously signed by the resi-
dents Of Anacostia, Dc, will be presented to
the Postmaster General tomorrow asking that
Anacostia post Office be made branch Office of
the Washington city post Office and that the