St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-19
Tam ER'S BLUNDERS.
Secretary Mobiles sharp Letter
Demanding That They Be Rem
edied.

WASHINGTON, Oct. IS. - Secretary
NOble's reply to the communication
from Commissioner Tanner, received on
the 18th of last July, in which the latter
raised the question of authority between
the commissioner and the secretary in
deciding srerated pension cases, was
given to the press tonight. Secretary
NOble's letter Is dated July "a, and in
it, after quoting the law which makes
the secretary responsible for the faith
full administration of his department
throughout all its bureaus. he says:
The power claimed by the commissioner
of pensions in his letter of July I l, does not
exist to the extent claimed by him. But ii is
the law that the secretary has the power to
take direction when TO his knowledge abuses
are developed in cases of the nature of those
that have called for the inquiries have insti-
tuted, as regards tho commissioners action
in certain cases that are called ''rerating''
cases, but which seem 30 be largely mere in
creases of pensions allowed for long periods
prior to the date of the examination sur
geOn's certificate, establishing the same
under the pending claim for increase. In
your letter you acknowledge them to
be cases of increase Of pensions, for the very
ferring on you alone the power to call halt,
speaks only of the increase or reduction of
pensions, and section 69Sls distinctly says
such increase shall not extend prior to the
certificate of the surgeon under the pending
clam,
These cases referred to, and about which
we spoke together, were ten in number. In
each one of these the claimant was an en-
ploye, CLERK or other) of the pension bu-
reau, receiving a salary sufficient for his
comfortable substance, and at his work
daily. They were associated together; most
of them had been in their places under the
former administration. But they did not
then prefer their claims; they made them
soon after the advent of the present admins
tration. There was no reason under the ex-
1sting 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 many years. printed rule
in full force that no cases should be made
special except in cases of destitutlon, or
when the applicant was at the point of death.
Yet these cases were all hurried through by
your order, while hundreds of thousands of
other pensioners were awaiting, throughout
the land, the allowance for the first time Of
the bounty the government had 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, where.
by this preference in time seems to have
been secured and the subsequent allowances
obtained, is in itself fact causes suspicion
of undue means TO obtain their object and
their purpose was to impose on the commits
Sl0ller, Ihe further TACT appears Ill each
case, the increase was allowed prior to the
surgeons certificate in the pending claim.
and that the sums allowed aggregate over
SIC,
After analyZing some of these and
other similar cases, upon which the sec
retary says he proposes to call halt
long enough, at least, for inspection, he
adds:
1t may be that this government is strong
and great, and has at its command surplus
that no other nation has ever had; but if sums
of money to the amounts above mentioned
may be granted without any further consid-
Grafton of fact or law than seems to have
been given in these cases, it will depend
solely upon a single officers disposition
whether the resources of the gov
erument shall be sufficient for its mainte-
nance or not There are more than
enough Of these applications already
in the field and increasing daily, to exhaust
indeed, the surplus of which so much has
been said in connection with this matter, and
| am Informed that the applications for re-
ratings are greatly on the increase. and now
reach the amount of from 900 to 5000 q
week. | do not ask nor desire, SO far as /
am concerned, a re-examiuation of these ap-
plications but what l insist upon is that
there shall be a reconsideration of these al
lowances on the Record, and that any
further allowances for them that may be
made shall be made in due course of pro-
ceedings, upon new applications, new evil
dence, ana without any advancement of the
cases before those of others equally mer-
itoriOus