The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-21

examiner. Several OF them had been re-
duced by the late administration, and l
aimed to right the injustice.
BUSsET WANTED TO TRADE.
received the following in reply to my
recommendation:
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, I
tWAsHISGToE, D.. c., July 10, 1889.
Hon. James Tanner, Commissioner Of PEN
sions:
mendations of clerks, class 81. 600, recommended
for special examiners, the secretary declining
to promote to that grade. also return the
recommendation of L. J. Stanton for rein
statement. Several months ago l called your
attention to my desire to have Prof. John
Grimstead of Bloomfield. Ia, appointed special
examiner. He has passed the OWL service
examination for that position, has made two
visits to Washington, and Mr.. Lacey, his mem
ber of congress. is extremely anxious for his
appointment and request that you call upon
the civil service commission, after they shall
have been notified Of the appointments which
have just approved, and which come largely
from other states. In the list of names sent
by you. Indiana and Illinois have a large
representation. 1 do not believe that
Iowa has a fair representation, and that
under the circumstances Prof. GTimstead's
name can be certified. After his appointment,
if it can be made, would offer no objection to
Mr.. Stanton's reinstatement. am under obli-
cations to Mr.. Lacey and Prof. Grimstead, and
trust you will aid me in this matter. He has
splendid record as a soldier and is in every way
worthy very respectfully,
"CYRUs BUssEY,
Assistant Secretary"
GRIMsTEAD's NAME DIDN'T COME.
Comment is unnecessary, but it remains
to be told that. having six vacancies to fill,
| filled them from the list as certified by the
civil service commission, but did not get
Prof Grimstead's name; then four more
were asked for with the same result Then
having fifteen vacancies for 81, 900 clerks, l
requested the civil service board to certify
the requisite number of names to me
from the special examiners list, which
they did, and | appointed them, but sGill
Prof. Grimstead's name did not appear
Just before l resigned 1 made another
requisition for five clerks at 1000 each
and ten at 5000. still asking that they be
certified from the special examiners list.
They did so certify, and they were
appointed. Shortly after / resigned
Prof. Grimstead's name appeared among
the $1,000 clerks This took place a little
over one month ago, and noticed in tho
daily press few days ago that Prof. Grim
stead was promoted from 81, 600 to 81, 400.
This was about two weeks after his appoint
ment. | had been under the impression
that there was six months probationary
term required by the law"
THE QUESTION OF RERATING.
Inc commissioner cdiIS dCUeuClOR 10 Cn6
fact that Secretary Noble lays great stress
upon section 4,S9S, 1 and 9, Revised
Statutes, in connection with the question of
| rerating. The commissioner takes issue
| with Secretary Noble, and quotes from the
decision of Hon. George A. jerks, assistant
| secretary of the interior under President
Clevelaud's administration, in which he
says:
"If in any case adjudicated under the act
of March 8, 1879, arrears of pensions were
| not graded according to the pensioners
disability, neither section 469S, / and 2,
| nor any other provision of the law prohibits
a readjusttnent OF the case"
JENKs' RULING.
The commissioner says Mr.. jerks ruling
was the law throughout the department
| until it was revoked. ''If Secretary Noble
sees fit to construe the statutes so as to make
them less liberal to the soldier than did his
| eminent democratic predecessor, the
responsibility must rest with him; and am
not willing that while so doing he shall un-
challenged arraign me as operating without
reason and beyond the pale of the law"
| The commissioner refers to the report of
| the committee appointed by Secretary
Noble to investigate his office, and charac-
terizes it as star chamber proceeding. He
| was not called upon to explain or defend
1
the result of the investigation until
informed by Secretary Noble, who said
| to him some days after the investigation
had been concluded that the commission
had found that he had granted more pen
sions, and paid out more money in the same
time than his predecessor had. He replied
that he hoped to God that the charge was
true on the record. for he had plastered it
| down with pensions last fall.
PowELL's CASE PRECEDENT.
| The commissioner says: "Justice to the
| gentleman in the bureau demands that [
should state that very early in my expe-
| rience as commissioner my attention was
| called to the Powell case as precedent
have not the slightest desire to embarrass
the honorable secretary, but he has the
| right, in judging officials of the pension
| bureau, to bear in mind that only four DAYS
before | took the office they saw his per-
| sonal friend who had been his candidate
| for the commissionership walk into the
| office, / am informed, with note of intro
| duction from the secretary to the commits
| sioner, asking him to do all he could for his
| friend, Col. Powell. The colonel had a gun
shot wound in the shoulder, for which he
| was drawing a quarter pension. Had he
| been a private it would have been 50 a
month; as he was a colonel, it was 81 50.
| / am informed that a medical ex-
| animation by the official board was
suggested to him. He declined to submit
! to it. He had not been examined since
| Nov. 8, 1875, but his case was rerated then
and there, and his pension increased to the
full rate, dating back to the day of dis
charge, and Commissioner Black and Sec
retary Noble signed the certificate which
gave Col. Powell little over S6,300 1t
seems as if the pace on rerating was set
after the secretary took hold, and before L
1 got in."