The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-09-07
Wealthy Claim Agent Goes His
Security for Large Sums of
Money.
|nedjately Thereafter Raum Makes an
Order That VIII Net the Shark
Nearly Million.

re Gen. Green B. Raum sits and sweats
Congressman Cooper, of Indiana, bobs
nd swears. Around a long green-cov-
table sit number of other gentlemen
take an interest in the proceedings.
he are Mr.. Morrill,, the Kansas banker
ler; Uncle John g. Sawyer, Of New
<, whose saturnine, specialized counter
, has loomed up in back seat in the
.e 10! these many years; Mr.. Goodnight,
srdant-looking Kentuckian, and Mr..
Ike Lewis, a tall, big-boned Mississippi
ler. These five constitute the committee
Speaker Reed finally named to investi-
the charges made against Pension
missioner Raum. The house elevator
|s in the corridor just at the right of the
ion committee room, where the investi-
,n is conducted, and as it is one of the
makes, it manages to pump good
/ crowd up to the daily hearings. The
|ence is never small one and often
|ches out through the doorway across
|orridor with score or more of men in
[.s and several other scores standing
fully on tiptoe craning their necks, il
" they may for the moment increase
stature by taking thought.
,hough it is three weeks since the COM
he was appointed, and with an interval
week it has been in session over hall
time, the case against the commission
|ands only partially proved. The testi-
v has been poured in cumulatively and
|orces Gen. Raum's own admissions,
b are that he borrowed $25,0OO in five
b of $1,000 each upon the endorsement
20. E. Lemon, the biggest pension at
Il ~ in the land. and has renewed the
Il from time to time, Mr.. Lemon hold
Ten. Raum's collateral for twice that
int. This is an ugly fact. Mr.. Cooper
alleges that Gen. Raum got up q pat
,frigerator company and induced pen
office employees to subscribe for stock
lsideration of promotion. Gen. Raum
is that he did take hold of patent re-
cator and get up company to push it
ays he did not sell share of it's stoch
aston clerks. Yet when asked to bring
stock books of the company he was
ling to do so, and has only produced
led copies, which would hardly be
,dered evidence in any court of law.
, borrowing charge is the one that will
a surprise to many that he needed to
w at all. He has been in public life
years on good salary, and for four
past has been the representative in
ington of large distillery interests.
whom he has enjoyed salary of sew
Thousand dollars year. He has
Fly for two years past been nursing a
ment for his election to the senate to
ed Mr.. Farwell. Among other things
Rs built a very fine house on Rhode
u avenue, near Fourteenth street, upon
e and plan which more than once in
ng with old friends from Illinois he
pronounced excellent ''for holding a
orial reception bye and bye" Besides
istillery clientele, Gen. Raum had also,
. becoming pension commissioner,
a number of claims before congress
were supposed to pay him we'll. 1t
therefore, great surprise to discover
weeks ago that he had been obliged to
" money of Capt. Lemon. Had the
)een made before Gen. Raum became
On commissioner there would have
no criticism of the fact, for Gen.
is a popular, capable man with hun
of friends who believe in him, and
n is solid individual who can loan
security for almost any amount and
to take the most. vaporous kind of
eral. But the duties of commits
of pensions are something more than
terial-they are judicial, and the man
. charged with their performance,
Judge, must be above suspicion. 1t
be suspicious ing for judge to
money of a practitioner in his court
J interested IN securing favorable
rotation of the law in favor of a
So. too, it is not in harmony with
mmonest notions of official honor for
'ad of the great pension bureau prac-
to borrow $25, 600 of pension law
40 has pending before the bureau
an amount of business that will
him $75O,0OO IN fees alone. Capt.
MS pension Office is a small pension
l in itself. He has upwards of hun
Jerks busy the year around on the
D pension cases he has on his dookets,
It is his business that he runs one OF
st weekly papers in the country, with
1lation of 100, GOO, simply az an adver-
mt of the pension claim business.
the queer thing shown BY the testi-
and by Gen. Raum's admissions, ie
ifter Capt. Lemon endorsed the five
notes, although he had several times
refused to do SO, Commissioners
issued what is known as order No.
authorizing a new procedure in the
N bureau, by which a great mass OF
!, could be put on the completed file.
completed files are managed on the
pie of the Irishman's advice to the
18th boil: IF ye can't be aisy, be as
ye can." If the claims are not CON-
the pension clerks consider them as
ate as they can be and pass them on.
had thousands of cases ready when
der was issued, and, like the reporter
led Bible to hold the wires, his grist
first at the hopper, occupied the mill
fullest capacity.
committee consists of three republi-
,ne democrat and one Farmers alli-
man. What might be done by this
ittee can only be conjectured. 1t has
over to go into all the secret history
pension bureau, and doubtless il
do great public service if it should
opportunities. The distractions of
sing weeks of this session of congress
'ubtless prot ract the sessions of the
ttee on into December. Mr.. Cooper's
lion Monday asking Mr.. Smyser to
If the committee because he
some of Gen. Raum's re-
tor stock created a ripple OF
nent and added delay to delay
he speaker could appoint another
II of the committee. Ae members
luestionably in themselves the strong.
ication of what the result of the in.
.tion will be. Mr.. Morrill, is Maine
years old. lifelong republican
sarm friend of the speaker. He bai
public life since 1866, WasSfor eight
n the Kansas senate. for four year.