The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-10-24
TANNER TANS HIM.
Once More Does the Ex-COmmis-
siOner of Pensions Have His
Brief Little Say.

WASHINGTON, Oct 2O-Ex-C -Comm ssioner
Tanner is out tonight in a long statement
in reply to Secretary Mobiles letter of July
"a on the subject of rerating pensions of
pension office employees Mr. Tanner denies
at the outset that he defed Secretary Noble
on the suit ject of rerating or on the question
OF denominate authority in the adminlstra-
ton of the pension bureau. Il did submit"
MI Tanner says, "to him in an unofficial let
ter a question which arose in my mind az to
whether the power TO put to the test pen
sion which might be under suspicion of hav-
ing been granted in excess rests in the hands
OF the secretary or of the commissioner,
and quoted TO him the section of the Re-
vsed Statutes which had raised that question
in my mind; put in submitting that question
to the secretary for his decision, did it in
the most courteous and respectful manner
of which was capable" In this unofficial
letter, which is given ont for publication,
| and which refers to number of rerated PEN
sion cases of clerks in the pension office, the
ex-commissioner says:
Il do not propose. in any event, to have an
honorable lifetime smrched in the slightest de-
gree at this period OF my existence and where
may find well founded reasons for believing
that have been imposed upon and mislCd
shall be quick to recommend the condemnation
merttcd by the parties concerned. / simply de-
sire to add. furthermore. that since our inter
view night before last have made compariso
OF action in these cases with that taken by my
predecessor, and find that the comparison is
entirely favorable to the present administration
shall be happy 20 Law these cases before you at
anV time when it may suit YOUR convenience.
AS TO RERATING
Mr.. Tanner LheD, in commenting on the
great stress laid hy Secretary Noble upon
section 4,69S12 of the law relating to reIat-
ing, says: at is proper that 1 should state
that when took Office as commissioner 1
found that on the question of rerating the
office was, and had Lean since March 23
1886, operating in accordance with a de-
cision rendered on that date by Hon. George
A jerks, then assistant secretary of the in
terror, who in the case of Charles A. Watson
in broad terms declared:
IF. in anv case adjudicated under the act of
March 3. 1879, the arrears of pension were not
graded according to the pensioners disability,
neither section 4, 69Sl2 nor any other provision
OF the law prohibits readjudication of the
"Chc claimants contention was in part for
| pension on account of sunstroke, but he
made no claim for that disability until tf-
teen years after lis discharge Mr.. jerks
states that, while the presumption from the
| fLCt that he made no claim for pension on
| account of disa abIlity from sunstroke until
| fifteen years after his discharge is not in
favor of the view that the disability was
| great, still he holds that he should have op-
| opportunity to show the extent Of his dis
ability during that period since his discharge;
| and he adds if the evidence should show that
| for any portion of the time since his dis
| charge he has been disabled in a degree
greater than for which he was pensioned,
the pension for that period should be in
creased SO aS to correspond with the degree
of disability. The legal contention leave
| to those eminent gentlemen Secretary
Noble and the late Assistant Secretary
| jerks. Mr.. Jenks' ruling was lew through
| the department until it was revoked, and
must say that in so far as it permits man
who has been disabled in the service of the
| country to prove that ability and receive the
! compensation which the law provides am
| in hearty accord with it. Ii Secretary Noble
sees fit TO construe statutes SO as to make
| them less liberal to the soldier than did his
| eminent Democratic predecessor the re.
| sponsibliity must rest with him; and / am
not willing that while so doing he shall, IN
challenged. arrafgn me as operating without
reason and beyond the pale of the law"
| AS TO THE INVESTIGATION
| Mr.. Tanner then relates the circumstances
preceding the appointment of the committee
| 20 investigate the rer1ted cases and which
led up to it. Gen. Bussey told him that the
secrerary's suspicious were aroused as to the
correctness of action in the cases of ten en-
| ployes and he had been instructed to investi-
| gate. Mr.. Tanner eaid "All right, and placed
the papers in nine of the cases on Gen. Bus
sey's table within an hour, and those in The
remaining cases were sent over the next
morning. Il then called his attention." Mr.
| Tanner says, "to the fact that several cases
| were disease cases, and it did not seem to me
| to be the thing to have them reviewed by
non-medical man. / told him, as 1 after
wards told Secretary Mob e, that when I frs
took office there was mighty tide of hu
manity surging into the pension office, claim
| ing my personal attention, and 1T the same
| time good many cases were pressed on my
| personal attention; that / sat there thor
| ouShlv imbued with the belief of what We
| had expressed in the press and on the stump
| in the late campaign as to the restrictive
| policy of the pension office on the soldier
claims; and that l had thought that until
became familiar with the workings of the
bureau, SO long as l pursued the practict
laid down for me by men of experience in the
| office, the last thing l was in danger of doing
was of doing too much. And 10, when my
personal attention was requested to dis
ease case, was in the habit of calling fo
one or another of the medical division, ask
ing them to go through the case thoroughly
and to give me their opinion as to what
ought in justice to do. If it was q Iega
| uestion, called some examiner of long ex
perence in the office aud made the same lie
quest stated that il 1 had been misled
there was no one who
HAD AS MUCH AT sTAKE
in knowing it promptly us l had. and no ont
would go farther or move quicker than
would to rectify whatever wrong had beer
perpetrated. I urged that We select in thes,
disease cases three of the best medical U Ell
whose services we could command, and pu
the cases to the test and let them stand o.
full on that verdict Bussey agreed with m,
at the time on the advisability of pursuing
that course, hut heard nothing about it TO
so;ne time" BAR. Tanner says he at ono,
ordered the rerated cases OF the employ
reviewed in the pension office by c1fice cx
perts. OF the thirty-three cases, they re
ported that three were simply increas,
cases and not rerated cases; that the actor
,aken In two of the others was right in part
and that in one case injustice had been don,
the pensioner, and that he hal not beer
granted enough Six cases were reported al
having been wrongly favored. All the res
ere certified to the commissioner as abso
lutely correct
Il mentioned these things" Mr.. Tame
says, "to The secretary, and made Gctaile;
report TO him of the action taken in cqn
ncction with the twenty four cases, statin,
that proposed to take tie step the law pre
scribed to put the impenched cases to til,
test, and cause the refundment to the treas
ury of the money paid out il the cases dit
not stand the test prescribed by law, suppos
ing thereby, in the freshness of heart, that
was commencing myself to my superior b.
the spirit was acting in, and by TIE goal
was exhibiting.
GREAT SURPRISE FOR TANNER.
"To my surprise received a rer.y frou
him under date of Aug. /, in which h
| sta ed:
You have endeavorcd to hasten for yoGr owl
| means, 10 get board to arrive at conclusions Il
4 mn irtnn inn nf ANYTHING n might dn Tpousida