Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-19
The Secretary of the Interior Lays Down
the Law to the Corporal.


WASHINGTON, October 1Sth.-Secretary |
Mobiles first letter TO Commissioner Tan
ner on the subject of the re-rsting of pen
sions is made public tonight 1t is dated |
July 9th. The Secretary acknowledges |
the receipt of Tanners letter of July 1lth, |
marked unofficial" but which he could |
not receive as anything but an official
paper. raising as it did the question OF
authority between the Commissioner and |
the Secretary, and asserting that of the
Commissioner to be superior as to the mat
ter discussed.
your position, in your own language"
saws the Secretary, lis that while the Sec
retary OF the Interior has power to reverse
the decision of the Commissioner of Pen
sions, on appeal by the claimant against
whom the Commissioner has decided, on
the other hand, if for any reason it be held
that the claimant has been granted too
much pension the Commissioner himself
is the only person who has power to call
halt and reduce the pension.
THE Commissioner is laboring under a
great Misrepresentation.
THE Secretary has power to correct any
abuse in the bureau OF the Treasury, or any
other bureau in the Department"
The Secretary, in support OF his position,
quotes copious!y from the Revised Statutes,
an6 adds: " 1t would not do to say that the
Secretary many not interfere and stop by
his own power the execution of any order
obviously illegal and arbitrary. The Sec
rotary is responsible for the conduct of the
Commissioner, and he is bound to see that
the law is enforced, that the public treasury
is not uulawfully invaded, and that one
citizen entitled to right, whether of PEN
sion or land or anything else, is not unduly
preferred, either in time of hearing or in
allowance, to the many
The Secretary takes up the cases which,
he saws, seem to be largely mere increases
of pension allowed for long periods prior
to the date of the examining surgeons GER
tificate, establishing him the same under
the pending claim for increase.
In fact, he says, the Commissioner himself
acknowledged them to be cases of increase
of pensions. The Secretary continues:
Der. In each the claimant was an employee
in the Pension Bureau, receiving a salary
sufficient for his comfortable substance,
and at his work daily. They were ascot
ated together and most Of them had been
in their places under former Administra-
ton, but they did not then prefer their
claims, so they made them soon after the
advent of the present Administration.
There was no reason under the existing
rules that their cases should be made
special or rushed through in advance of all
others.
"On the contrary, there was then and
had been for some years, printed rules in
full force that no cases should be made
special except in case of restitution, or
when the applicant was on the point OF
death.
''Yet these cases were all hurried through
by your order, while hundreds of thousands
of other pensions awaiting throughout the
land allowance for a just time of the
bounty the Government promised them.
These other pension claimants were, many
of them, supported by no such salaries as
these particular men were receiving. And
the association together of these men,
whereby this preference seemed to have
been secured and subsequent allow
ances obtained, is in itself fact that their
purpose was to impose upon the Commits
sioner.
"a further fact in each case is that an in
crease was allowed prior to the surgeon S
certificate in pending claim, and that
the sums allowed aggregate over SIG 600.
Neither you nor | can afford to act upon
personal considerations in a matter of this
magnitude. We are each bound by law in
all things, and it is our duty to take the
law as we find it, TO fully exercise that
power given to either of US, and to abstain
from the abuse of it to any degree what
ever
The Secretary refers to the duties of the
Board of Review and says it is an estab-
lished and well-known rule that the De.
partment will uniformly refuse to disturb
an adjudication of claims by former ad-
ministratiCn except upon the most conelus-
i've evidence that an error has been COM
mitted. When the question as to propriety
of given rating is one of Judgment merely
depending upon the weight of evidence. the
Department wall not allow the opinion of
to-day to overturn the opinion of yesterday
Furthermore, old cases will not be re-
opened to reconsider or to readjust except
upon the presentation of new and material
evidence tending to show the existence OF
palpable error or mistake.
The department does not entertain the
least objection TO the increase of pension,
or an increase to commence under the
pending claim, as the law directs, and upon
the evidence to support it.
The Secretary then reviews at consider
able length the cases OF three of the Pen
sion Office employees, whose pensions were
rerated, and concludes that the rerating
was illegal and unwarranted.
He adds: II will not go into other cases.
They are before you. have said enough.
/ think, to show that the Secretary may
well call halt until these cases can be
more carefully examined. notice you say
in your letter that you have such regard
for your official and personal reputation
that you will not permit these cases to re-
main as they are, but will order each OF
the claimants for medical examination be-
fore men whose word upon medical points
will be unchalienged when stated.
1.-THE question is not what may yet here
after be found out about these men, but the
question is what should have been done
upon their record as it stood when iudg-
ment was rendered.
ut may be that this Government is strong
and great, and has at its command sur
plus that no other nation ever had but if
the sums of money to the amounts above
mentioned may be granted without any
further consideration of fact or law than
seems to have been given in these cases, it
will depend solely upon single officers
disposition whether the resources of the
Government shall be sufficient for its
maintenance.
There are more than enough of these
applications already in the field, and in
creasing daily, to exhaust the surplus of
which SO much has been saidin connection
with this matter, and / am informed the
applications for rerating are greatly on the
increase, and now reach en- amount of
from 1000 to 5000 week"
The Secretary further says he intends to
have all these cases re. examined, and has
ordered an investigation of the Pension
Office. Pending the result of the investi-
CATION of the Board he viii issue no further
orders, but expresses his belief in his au-
thority to control the abuses in his Depart
ment by any means he deems legal and ex-
pedient.