The Red Cloud chief., 1889-10-25
ALL O PENSIONS.

49,
An Authoritative Statement From the Inxl
terror Department I'm Regard 4" th2
| sesnding Of Corporal Tanners Ceiebra!ea
| Order.
| WASHINGTON. Oct. 1S-The fol owing
authoritative statement prepared at the
! Interior Department in support of the
action Of Secretary Noble in resembling
! Commissioner Tanners order advancing
! pensions from s. to IA per month in GER
tain cases has been given to the press:
| In view OF the recent decision be- the Depart
ment Of the Interior relating 10 the authority o.
the Commissioner OF Pensions To arbitrarily OF
his own Will rerate some 81. men by atyanc-
ing their pensions on his order from 81 To ~ PEI
month. II Is worthy OF attenti II that section
S.t9Srs OF the revised statutes OF the United
provides that: Except in case ., permanent
specific d'sab: it,es no increase Of pension shall
tie allowed 10 prominence PRIOR to the date OF he
| examining Surgeons certiti ate establishing the
same made under the pending claim :or increase
and also that u rating made BY the ComlnIs-
sioner OF Pensions except IN CERTAIN case, where
by law q specified amount Is attached by statute
to the disability named is determined by the
degree Of dis ability found by a medical ex-
animation OF the Claimant" THUS where a
claimants disability Is total Re i, gwen under
the statute a rxcd amount. This was formerly
q and Is now hxed At different amounts for dit
vases. duutuE Vtht'S 10 80. d. ia
amount that would be SIS for 4 total disabI-
ity" is subdIyided IN o ~fraciions that II less
than total for lesser degrees OF disability Thus
II one man Is found To be very little disabled ~
the medical board ne Is given one cIrhiresth
or II, OF If he Is still more disabled twoet%ht-
eeuths or 8, and II still more disabled three
| eightcenths or ~ and so on.
A man. for instance. has lost n portion of hrs.
finger and Is thus To an apprecIao.c degree dis
ahled. he may have been rated by some exam
lining board al q for that: and ST. IN some orh.r
case for some other slight disability. ~. how
ever. he has suffered from oh;!ls or malaria on
some other disease contracted by HIM in the
swamps during his services, ~, IA soliier ami
which may not prove permanent or may IL
crease. he may have been though, slightly dis
ablcd, " at all. and entitled NJ the beginning
and almost TO u small fraction Of the total. say
O., which is the amount fixed in many of the
disabilities allowed. In this latter case II m Sht
have possibly been a question with the board
whether he was To get any thIng OK WAS d.
abled 1T all, but from lenieEt construction O:
his case they have given him T.. H. ROW. by az
order Of the Commissioner. without r. Saru tr
this medical examination. the n;sn who has
thus been receiving ~ is advanced To - " ;h"u-
the man who was more disabled and who has
been rated ut - being himself advanced. i; i
obvious that injustice is done the hIgher era!rt
man. because he IL put upon a par with Il mac
evidently less disabled. And 81 between sol
dier and soldier there is an unfair pref renee Of
the less injured II these Gases. kowe:"r. ar
all referred to the examining surgeons andtaey
find the disability TO be equal To :, and II 3
then allowed. every thing has been Done in due
order and according to law.
On the contrary. II arbitrary orders o' the
Commissioned are the basis. II must result ina:
a few are made favOritcs and given Il particular
amount and greas masses OF men VINO have L.
depend upon medical examinations ar, put at a.
----e -
that there was no authority in law for an order
arbitrarily increasing a grea. MAS, Of meas
pensions in the face Of the stature clrea l.
cited and which order is not extcadr. 70 all the
pensioners cases. The Commissioned. Whose
order has given rise to this decision. n his re
cent letter to Mr.. Dalzeil did not claim that his
order was TO be construed according 10 ia
terms, for he said: while Commissioner l
issued two orders which I thought and still
think were mighty good ones: First. that the
5000 men on the pension roll at less than 81 a
month should all. unless they hal ! medical
examination within n year. be ordered for ex-
animation before their home board wIth a view
to putting them up 10 1T least 81 per month pen
sion or drop them of the rolls. FOR j; WAS and -
my opinion that for n man who is worthy OF any
pension at all a dollar a week j, small enough
to consider a pension" The order Itself read
april 81. 1859 In all cases where Il pcnsionabIe
disability IS fOun the rate allowed shall! not be
less man ~ per month, 10 uItc sEoD Anu incluI-
ing March -. 1889"
The decision that was made by the Assistant
Secretary is in accordance with tn - two prop
Ositions. The Commissioner announced one b.
lore he resigned his office; the other. after. to
Mr.. Dalzeil. The Assistant Secretary states
them together and not separately. The order
as made was arbitrary unqualified and required
an advance without examination to the amount
specified ut ~ per month. IL did not propose
TO drop any one. as the letter pretended il DID.
and u did not order any one for examination be-
fore the home board, as the letter pretended il;
did. II VS. an unauthorized. unqualified and
Illegal order for every pcnsIoner t. be advanced
to ~ who Was receiving less. IL was made
Apr ] - and it was proposed to have it take ef-
feet March q.
A slight consideration OF this matter VIII
show that to give away a66.OOD q moath of g
public money on such an order As this would b.
but the b ginning of a system by which "a illions
could be expended, uncontrolled by law. as il
was unauthorized by precedent Their would
be no more harm in giving to Senator Mander-
son 81 o. or more than there would be in givin.
to :aGOD men t16.OO0. In either case il would be
an unauthorized distribution OF the public
moneys and the door OF the treasury might a.
we'll be open to actual invasion as 10 have such
warrants drawn upon it to be cashed without
II is nj o obvious that such "A
course as this would not be of benefit TO the
soldiers ultimately. as it is intended only to
benefit those WHO are the least disabled liz
other words, those who have the least claim for
disability. II one may judge that these men
are TO be advanced upon 4 mere opinion as TO
what should be the least amount of pension,
the others might justly claim that their more
severe wounds and disabilities were quite as
uBcOmpensated as those of less degree. IN
other wor !. whenever the opinion OF 4 Comms-
siOner without investigation is substituted for
examination rs to disability every mans
pension is put at risk. either TO be so exayge--
ated as that the Government or people wouII
not allow il or to be so disparaged !, That moth
ing could be obtained.
II you can drop a man who is receiving 81 per
month from the pension rolls on a mere opinion
Of \ Commissioner you can drop OF = grra.
many others receiving more on the same pgia-
ciple. II is a mere question OF within aattcaprlre.
Il is upon this that il has been irsi,te,. that the
law should be adhered to and the precc,!en:s
should have weight. IL mus. a.sp
be obvious in all this that there Is no expression
as there is no disposition TO preveat aay deserv-
nS soldier from acquiring al the pension his
entities him to. either by original au-
plicafiOn or application for increase. All That
5 being done Is To maintain the law. 20 b. liz