St. Paul daily globe., 1891-05-18
NEEDS INVESTIGATION.

If any credit can lie given to state
mentS made in regard to the loose man
agement of the pension bureau under
Commissioner RAUM, there is field for
investigation there by the next con-
gress. 1t should be made quite as much
in the interest of honest veterans who
are entitled to pensions and sol
dierS who are too conscientious to make
false claims, as in the interest of the
people who are being plundered. A re-
cent writer at Washington, who has the
reputation of being moderate in his
statements, says ''that at least $40, 000.-
C00 year is paid to persons who have
no shadow of right to it; that the pen
sion bureau is hOneycombed with fraud,
that its employees get pensions, re-rat-
ingS and back moneys for themselves,
while deserving claimants wait; that
the management of the bureau is grossly
corrupt and wretchedly incompetent"
This is strong statement, but there is
abundant evidence that it has much of
truth in it. 1t is certain that hundreds of
claims that have been rejected by the
former administrations Of the bureau
are now being allowed. Commissioner
RAUM is a Servitor of the millionaire
pension operators headed by LAWSON.
A large part of the men who enlisted
late in the war for 100 days and never
left their states, or saw an enemy who
was not prisoner, are on the pension
rolls. The undeservjng and unscrupu-
lous make their way to the treasury the
soonest. As illustrative of the demoraliz-
alton, the corrupt and loose practices
eugender, this instance is cited. A
clerk i'll the pension bureau, an old SOL
der, who was regarded as honest and
faithful, with a salary of S1,S00 year,
was greatly troubled at the way he
could see the government was being
robbed: knowing that more than one
third the claims were fraudulent. He
expressed himself to this effect among
his associates, and was specially en-
phatic one day when number
of his own company was allowed a
claim to which he was not entitled. He
was jeered at for his honesty. and ban
tered to put in claim for himself. He
was at first indignant, as he had nothing
to base one Oh. He was assured that
that made no difference, and he was
foolish not to 90 as the rest did. He
was at last induced to put in an appli-
cation. He selected deafness i'll one ear
as the disability, His hearing had al
ways been perfect, but officers in his
company testified to his deafness, and
all the papers were at once filed and
sworn to by the proper parties. He was
at first shocked to find how easy it was
to work frauds, and intended to refuse
his allowance, but was persuaded that
he would be foolish to stand ont like a
crank when it was the fashion to draw
pensions. He now takes his SIG month
''for loss of hearing and disease of the
left ear" The same thing operates all
over the country. The honest soldier
who knows that he has no claims for a
pension notes that his neighbor with no
more right to it, has easily obtained one,
and claim agents are glib to persuade.
lie becomes demoralized so far as to
let others to swear him onto the pen
sion rolls. This is unjust to the old
soldier Of limited means and immoyable
integrity. Unless service pension is
given every man who wore the uniform,
it is desirable to restrict it to those who
have honest claims under the laws.