The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-12-17
Pension Attorneys.

a Washington dispatch says that Secre-
tary Noble has been paying considerable at
tentiou lately to the subject of attorneys in
pension cases, and is formulating plan by
which claimants for pensions who are not
represented 10y attorneys may be placed and
maintained upon the same footing az those
WHO are. " look over the lists of attor-
neys," continues the secretary, and find
that very many of them are men who upon
their knowledge of law could not build up
even petty practice before country JUS
tlCe OF the peace, but here in Washington
they manage in few years to accumulate
million dollars and more acting as So
called attorneys for pension claimants"
Whether Secretary Noble refers to ex-
Commissioner of Pensions Tanner, who is
reported to have made over 500 900 in his
hrst years practice, is not stated, but the
admission, unwittingly made by the secre-
tary, that the advocating of claims in the
pension Office is below the dignity of a back
woods Justice court is undoubtedly true.
An illiterae, from any walk of life. who
eau practice before the pension office with
success, would utterly fail before an or
binary justice court The boast of the pen
sion office that every claim is considered in
It's turn, and that applicants can prosecute
their own cases as we'll as to employ an at
torney, is shown to be untrue by the state
mont of the secretary.
The secretary adds: And then it would
be some comfort if the attorney would leave
the old soldiers with one fee, but some of
them work them AS | saw people work cot
ton seed IN my trip to the South. They gin
them once for an original pension, and
then gin them over again for an increase,
anu THIS process OF ginning is kept up so
long as anything remaius."
The claimant and his attorney represent
the same interest, and fling at one is
hing ar the other. The reflection that the
old soldiers are fools and imposed upon by
attorneys is not new II the pension Office
would give the Old soldier what he is en-
Titled To al first H. would save the process of
ginning the pension office again and again.
But in its wild rush to beat the record in
granting pensions and discussing large
sums of government money it pays more
regard To quantity than to the quality of its
work. When it pays a claimant less than
he Is entitled TO the attorney knows 1t and
gins the pension Office again with success
But why should Secretary Noble complain
OF the chardc er Of the attorneys practicing
i'll his department when the law authorizes
him To prescribe the rules aud regulations
governing the recognition of agents, alto
neyS or other persons representing claim
ants before his department, and may re-
quire of such persons agents and attorneys,
before being recognized aS representatives
OF claimants, that they shall show that they
are OF good moral charac er and in good re-
pu =, possessed of the necessary qualitica-
tiOns to enable them to render such claim
ant valuable service, and otherwise com
prtent to advise and assist such claimants
i'll the pro ,ecutiOn of their claims?
Why not enforce that law, and not per-
NIT Incompetent agents to practice in the
pension office? If the successful Attorney
Tanner is the cause Of this remarkable con-
fe"siOn OF Secretary Noble that the pension
office is in bad way flor that is what his
dispatch amounts tO) We would refer him 10
section 1870 of the REVISED Statutes, which
has neither been amended nor repealed,
and which declares that 10 officer, enpoye.
or clerk whose appointment is subsequent
to june LIST, 1872, and who has not been out
OF office two years or more, is permitted to
appear az attorney in the prosecution of any
claim against the United States which was
pending while lie was in office This law
authorizes the secretary TO exclude Tanner
from appearing in any but new cases for
two years, Secretary Lamar enforced that
law against eX Commissioner Of Pensions o.
p. G Clarke, who had To wait two years
before appearing as attorney in such cases.
IL il the secreta:ys duty TO see that this law
is enforced in all cases. The commissioner
OF pensions recently notified democratic
postmaster in Vermont that he could not be
recognized az attorney in the seventeen
claims he had filed in that bureau on ac-
count of holding an office. A la ge percent
age of the Washington claim agents that
Secretary Noble cOmplai OF are ex- Off
Gals from the pension and other govern
ment offices, and should be excluded from
practice in all old cases