Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1890-12-25
Abolish the Pension Ring.

meht has withheld from the veterans
and paid over to the Washington
pension agents ring over S3,000,-
600 of the funds appropriated for
pensions in the fiscal year 1890 has
excited general surprise and indig-
nation. The public, unfamiliar
with the methods of the ring, could
hardly credit the facts if it were not
known that in the pension laws them
selves, provisions have been inserted
for the special benefit of the ring
sters. Under these provisions they
are not left as other attorneys are to
collect their fees from clients. The
law takes it for granted that the
pension agent must be protected by
the power of the governments from
the veteran who, under the law, is
presumed to have a desire to de-
fraud. When pension is due q
veteran, the law, therefore, deducts
from il the attorneys fee, and only
pays over balance remaining after
the claim of the pension agent had
been satisfied. In this way the ring
has succeeded in using the govern
ment as collecting agency, from
which the veteran has no appeal.
Under this system men like George
E. Lemon are accumulating enor-
NOUS fortunes at the expense of both
veteran and taxpayer, and this
money can be used 10 corrupt offic-
ials of the pension bureau to make
such rulings as completed Files
decision, giving the ring a great
advantage over all veterans, and
virtually forcing to the foot of the
calendar all claims except those
urged by members of the ring.
Congressman Dockery and other
prominent public men are moving
for reform of the abuses. The
only practical reform in sucl case
lies In complete abolition of the ring
and of the enforced fee system on
which it depends for all of its op-
portunities of pluuder. As long as
a pension agent is left under such
system the veteran will be swindled
and the treasury robbed.
1t is as useless as it is unjust for
the administration to force the pay
ment of fees for the ring from the
veterans money. For half the
amount that Is paid out in fees the
government itself can do all the nec-
essary work of completing the
cases" under the completed Files"
ruling made by Mr. Raum for Lem
on's benefit. Moved by the protest
against that outrageous transaction
the secretary of the interior has al
ready taken some steps In the di.
rection of government aid fer claim
ants in preparing cases. The work
should be systematized and made
permanent as a substitute for the
pension agents ring.
Whatever else is to be done in the
preparation of claims can be done
done by the states, some of which
have already devised plan under
which the work of putting claims in
lproper shape for the bureau at
Washington to pass on can be done
in the office of the atterney-general
of the state in which the claimant re-
sides without the payment of any
fee.
There will be no troubie in getting
rid of the Washington ring, if con-
gress really wishes to do SO, but the
rings influence with the present
congress has been marked, and the
success of the reform will demand
determined effort. The magnitude
of the abuse, however, makes reform
a certainty of the immediate future.
When the rings share of the pen-
sions of the veterans runs up into
the millions, and when this money IS
used to procure rulings In the rings
favor, the system under which the
| ring exists must be and it will be
abolished. The administration must
be forbidden by law TO withhold
claim agents fees from the money
due the veterans, and better
method of preparing claims must be
devised than the ring method under
which half a dozen or SO OF Wash
!. ington claim agents became suddenly
millionaires at the expense Of the
:. veterans and ReDxblie