The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-10-19

act upon personal considerations IN matters OF
this magnitude. We are each bound by the
law in all things great and small, and it is our
duty TO take the law as we nnd II; 10 Luhy eAer-
else that power given TO either OF US, anu
abstain from all abuse OF it TO any degree
whatever. Our loyalty is due alone TO the gov
ernment of these United States, and the people
who support it.
Lest the commissioner may deem the sec
retary is Influenced by desire to magnify
his office, Secretary Noble says that he has
brought to his assistance the services or
others in the department, and that the opin-
ion of the assistant attorney general of the
department agrees in the conclusions
reached by the secretary.
THREE CASES CONSIDERED.
The secretary, in view of the law and es-
tablished precedent, considers the cases of
Butts. Doan and James E. Smith upon their
record in the pension Office. or Butts he
says:
The whole proceeding in the matter in behalf
of this man looks like arbitrary increase Of
his pension to take effect from long anterior
date, and to have been against the repeated
testimony of men not only competent but
selected TO determine his case.
In Smiths case the medical examiners
had not been able to find any physical evil
dence Of disability, but they had rated his
! disability upon ''the claimants statements"
AS to Doan the secretary says:
The report or the medical examiner WOulu
entitle the claimant TO only S24 instead of $50
| per month, and the reratinR made In June last
| seems wholly illegal and unwarranted by the
evidence.
The sscretary's letter then continues:
| will not go into other cases. They are be-
| fore you. I have said enough think, to show
that the secretary may well call halt until
| these cases can be more carefully examined
1 notice that you say in your letter
to me that you have such regard Tor
1 afaI md
| and the reputation of your bureau, that you
| will not permit these cases to remain as they
| are at present, but will order each one of the
| claimants for medical erdndtTldtiOT before men
| whose word on medical points will be unchal-
| lenged when stated and will stop at nothing
which shall keep all taint of suspicion from the
action of your office.
DON'T AFFECT THE QUESTION.
| This certainly would be a proper proceeding
| if it affected the question in hand, and l
| appreciate your desire to maintain the in
| tegrity of your character and the legality of
| your proceedings. But IL is not question what
| may vet and hereafter be found out about
| these men The question is, what should have
| been done upon the record as it stood when
| Judgment was rendered? and the materiality
| and importance Of this question arises, not
| only from the effect it may have upon
| the particular individuals named in these
| several papers, but upon the course of pro-
| cedure that will affect, If it goes on unchal-
| lenged and unremedie1, vast sums of money at
| the command of the government, which might
| be distributed illegally and summarily to those
| who are not as much entitled to it tens of
thousands whose cases have not yet been heard
1t may be that this government is strong and
| great, and has at its command a surplus that
| no other nation has ever had, but if sums of
| money to the amounts above mentioned may
| of the fact or law than seems to
| have been given in these cases. it will
| depend solely upon a single officers dis
| position whether the resources of the govern
1 Topn IA Qnfa ar
| not. There are more than enough of these ap-
| plications already in the field, and increasing
| daily, to exhaust the surplus OF which so much
| has been said IN connectlon with TINS matter,
| and am informed that applications for re-
| ratings are greatly on the increase. and now
| reach from 900 to 1000 weskly
| l do not ask nor desire, so far as am con-
| cerned, re-examination of these applicants but
what insist upon is thet there shall be recon
sideration of these allowances on the record,
and that any further allowances for them that
may be made shall be made in the due course
| of proceedings upon new application, new evi-
dence, and without any advancement of the
| cases before those of others equally as meritori
GUS.
NEED OF GREATER CIRcUMsPEcTIoN.
Your statement that tne pension board of
revision reported that out of twenty -four cases
| rerated one was broadly, and two reasonably
open to suspicion in connection with what l
| have already pointed out in these other cases,
indicates that there is need Of far greater Cir
! cumspection and rigid enforcement of the law
l III LueSe ulaDV6rS Uuan mas De6n Recently prdc-
| ticed for the public safety. But when it
| becomes a question of official authority and
| official responsibility and the good of the peo-
| pie, the preservation Of the treasury and the
melting out of exact justice to all alike, and give
| the pensioner who is abroad and unprotected
| the same right and the same sums of money as
| to him who, by official influence attempts to
| get his claim preferred, shall act, as am now
doing in the present instance, regardless OF per-
sonal considerations, and intent upon strict and
| exact enforcement Of the law.
| ALL TO BE RE-ExAMINED.
| The secretary further says that he intends
to have all these cases re-examined, and
has ordered an investigation of the prac-
tices of the pension Office, and that he will
defer any further orders until the investi-
CATION board reports. The letter closes as
| follows:
write this that you may be fully advised of
| my views and purposes, and my belief in my
| authority to control all abuses in this depart
| ment by whatever means deem legal and eff
| cent.
This letter is all of the correspo ndence
that is made public tonight.
|
| SILVER ORES.