The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-10-09
TIE "CoMPLETEn rILEsn RECORD.

IJb4ibo' hbCOIkD.
Echoing the bray of that wild ass of the
Indiana prairies-Hon. George William
Cooper-a number of papers which are eager
to say anything to the damage of the Pen
sion Bureau so as to discredit the whole
pension system with The people, are making
vociferous attack upon the completed
files" order, as if that were the sum of all
denominations against the veterans and the
country. The animus of all this is soldier
hating, pure and simple. There is nothing
about the completed files" which requires
defense, or hardly even explanation. All
that there is in the system is that cases
which have been completed-in which all
the evidence required by the Pension Bureau
has been furnished-shall, as soon as fin
ished, be advanced to where they can be
acted on at once, and gotten out of the way.
This is not only great advantage to claim
ants whose cases are thus promptly allowed,
but to the Pension Bureau and all claimants.
1t helps wonderfully to clear the general
docket, and promote the transaction of oil
business Nothing could be more fair, just
and businesslike. There is not particle of
favoritism in 1t to either claimants or attor-
neys, and no one can say the contrary
with any pretense of truthfulness. It sim
ply means that claimant who can furnish
all the evidence the Bureau requires, and
complete his case according to It's rules has
his case promptly allowed 1t Is absurd to
say that it shall be placed behind some other
case, which may require years to complete,
and be kept there. In the completed files"
the cases which had been fully made up are
taken up in the order of their completion
and acted upon. The first completed are
the first allowed, and no one is permitted to
alter this arrangement. The only way in
which these cases can be taken up out of
their regular order of completion, is upon
an affidavit submitted to the Commissioner
averring that the claimant is in absolute
restitution, or sick unto death. The Com
missioner exercises his discretion then in
ordering the case to be taken up out of it's
order, and made special.
No other case is retarded in the least by
q perfected claim being placed on the
completed files. It Is rather expedited, If
anything, by the general expedition of the
business of the Bureau.
Mr.. Cooper and those who are yelping in
chorus, are simply actuated by hatred of the
whole pension system. They are eager to
find some pretext for attacking pensions In
general, and every word they can say TO
shake public confidence in the honesty and
fairness of the administration of the PEN
sion Bureau they regard as so much gained
toward the overthrow of pensions, or ct
least the restriction of the operations of the
Bureau so as to deny its benefits to large
number of deserving veterans.
The malignant and mendacious attack OF
Cooper on the Pension Commissioner, full
minating charges which he. could not sup
port with a scintilla Of evidence, was very
hurtful to every veteran. lie crippled the
operations of the Pension Bureau for months
Hundreds of veterans have died without
receiving what was rightfully theirs, simply
because this wild ass filed his belly with
the east wind of partisan malice to bray
and kick, and interfere with the regular
transaction Of business In the Pension
Bureau. This, and the making conspicu-
GUS blackguard of himself, have been the
sole fruits of his noisy investigation" of
the Pension Bureau.