Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-17
BUSSEY ON TANNER.
Another Whack at the Re-
Rating OF Pensions.
THE LAW AND ITS APPLICATION.

and Declaration that He was Right
all the Same.
WASHINGTON CITY. Oct. lI-An authori-
tative statement, prepared at the interior
department, ia support OF the action of Sec
rotary Noble in resembling Commissioner
Tanners order advancing p,'nsions from 81
TO g. per month In certain cases, was given
to the press last night 1t begins by stating
that Commis sioner Tanner arbitrarily and
upon his own motion proposed to re-rate
some ~, 900 men by advancing their pensions
from 8. to a. per month, and then quotes
the law On the subject-section 4 6go re-
vised statutes. The statemsnt then goes on
TO comment on the law as follows; "Thus
where a claimants disability is total, he is
given under the statute fixed amount This
was former ly IS, and is now fixed at differ
ent amounts for different CASES, among 9TH
ers els total, and the amount that would be
sls for total disability is subiivided into
fractions-that is, less than total for the lesser
degree OF disability.
Method OF Rating Pensions.
Thus II one man is found to DO very little
disabled by the medical board he lie given
2-1sths, or 81; and IL still more disabled,
S-lsths. or 4-lsths. and so ON. II man,
for instance, has lost portion OF his finger,
and Is thus TO an appre cisble degree dis
abled, he may have been rated by some ex-
aiming board at 81 for that, and so IN some
other case for some slight disability. IT,
however, he has suffered from chills or mall
aria, or some other disability contracted by
h..
service as a soldier, and which may not prove
permanent, or may increase, he may have
been thought slightly disabled, II at all. and
untitled at the beginning and at most TO a
small fraction OF total say two dollars,
which is the amount fixed in many OF the
disabilities allowed In this latter case It
might possibly have been a question with
the board whether he was To get anything,
or was disabled at all; but from a lenient
construction Of his case they have given
him e.
Injustice to High Graded Men.
If now, 10y an order OF the commissioner
without regard to this medical examination,
the man who has thus bsen receiving g. Is
advanced 10 81 without the man who was
more disabled and who has been rated at
-, being himself advanced, il Is obvious
that injustice is done TO the higher graded
man, because he is put upon par with a
man evidently less disabled And so. be-
tween soldier and soldier, there is an unfair
preference OF the less IN jured II these
cases, however, are all referred to the ex-
aiming surgeons, and they fiud the dsa-
bility 20 be equal TO "a, and il is then al
lowed, everything has been done in due or
der and according TO law, and upon u basis
that any man can understand, and which
will have limits fix II by medical knowledge,
experience and professional reputation.
Tanners Letter and Order.
The commissioner. whose order has given
rise to this decision, in his recent letter TO
Mr. DslZsll did not claim that his order was
to be construed according to its terms, for
he sail:
While commissioner issued two orders,
which thought and still think were mighty
good ones-tirst, that the 3S coo men on the
pension roll at less than "a a month should
I'll, unless they had had medical examina
ton within year, be ordered for examina-
ton before their home board, with view
TO putting them up To at least 81 per month
pension, or drop them of the rolls for it was
and Is my opinion that, for a man who is
worthy OF any pension at all dollar week
is small enough to consider a pension
The order itself reads: In all cases where
oensiouable disability is found the rate al
lowed shall not be less than "a per month, TO
date from and including March ~ 1882
Tho Two Not I'm Hsr mouy.
"The decision that was made by the assist
ant secretary is In sccor lance with these
two propositions The Commissioner an.
nonnced one Def ore he resigned his Office;
the other after, to Mr.. DalzelL The assist
ant secretary takes them together, and not
The order mads was arbitra-
~, unqualified, and required an advance
without examination, To the amount speci-
fed at 81 per month II did not propose to
drop any one, as the letter pretended it did,
and 1t did not order any ono for examina-
ton before the home board, as the letter pre-
tended it did 1t was an unauthorized, I'M
qualified and illegal order for every pen
sloner TO be advanced TO "a who was receiv-
ing less
Beginning of Bad System.
"A slight consideration OF this matter will
show that to give away SD, 900 a month OF
the public money on such an order as this
would be but the beginning OF a system by
which millions could be expended, uncon-
trolled by law, as IL was unauthorized by
precedent There would be no more harm
nan there would be in giving 20 30 OO0 men
es.. 900. In either. case IL would bs an un-
authorized distribution OF the public moneys
and the door OF the treasury might Ms well
be opened to actual invasion rs to have such
warrants drawn upon II 10 be cashed with
out questioning.
Eject on the Pensioners
ut is also obvious that such a courss as
this wo uld not be Of benefit to the soldiers
ultimately, as IL is intended only to benefit
those who are the least disabled; in other
words, those who have the least claim for
disability. II one may judge that these men
are to be advanced upon a mere opinion as to
what should lie the least amount OF pension,
the others might justly claim that their
more severe wounds and disabilities were
quite as uncompensated as those OF less de-
gree In other words, whenever the opinion
of a commissioner without investigation is
substituted for actual examination as to dis
ability, every mans pension is put at risk,
either to bs so exaggerated as that the gov
ernment or people would not allow IL, or to
be so dsregardsd as that nothing could be
obtained
The Law Must be Maintained,
at must also be obvious in all this that
there is no expression, as there is no DISPOSE
tion, to prevent any deserving soldier from
acquiring all the pension his disability en-
titles him to--either by original application,
or application for increase. All that is being
done Is to maintain the law, to be literally
construed, but by no means disregarded, and
70 allow each In his turn without partiality
all hs Is entitlssi to. II the Law is abandon
ii the weak, the distant aud those without
powerful friends will suffer while favotites