Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19
THE PENSION OFFICE INQUIRY.
Gen. Raum 10 Again EHaninsd BY re Aouss
Special Comsnsesoo.

Gen. Raum 10 Again k..m,n.a by ne asoss
Special Comm1eses.
| HE rELIs WHAT aH coSsrpxRs cArsrs or nx-
HovAI, AND RELATIs TIE SUBSTANCE OF 4
coNvERsArIos he had WIFE Tn pnxNpxxf
IN REGARD TO HIS son.
The examination Of Commissioner Raum OF
| the pension bureau was resumed today by the
special pension ONCE investigating committee
Of the House. The commissioner said that
Secretary Noble had yesterday disapprovsd
his Recommendation for the appointment
Of his daughter, Mrs Walters, % his
! private secretary and had ordered her
to return to her work in the census Office
Pending the action Of the Secretary On the
recommendation his daughter had been
sworn In on March II witness secretary.
| under custom OF the Office. Approval Of the
| recommendations Of the commissioner were
almost uniform, and when there was delay in
action persons were sometimes sworn in pend
| ing approval OF the recommendati
His daughter had not resigned or been dropped
from the census rolls and would return TO duty
| In that Office on Monday.
Mr.. Enloe asked the commissioner II his SON
when acting AZ appointment clerk had not
charged notary fee Of IS cent? for swearing
men into Office.
He replied that his son was q notary before
be (the SOM went into Office and charged fee.
The matter was not stopped by the Secretary
plant because the chief clerk Of the
War Department had charged such a
fee for swearing in great number
of persons. Witness suggested and penned an
amendment which Representative Cannon in
serted in an appropriation bill stopping the
practice and making it the duty of officers of
the departments to do this work without
charge. Did this while his son was in Office
Mr.: Enloe asked the commissioner how much
time he had been absent from his office since his
he did not know. Mr.. Enlce asked II II were
year. Mr.. Raum said it was preHosterous to
say that he had been absent that long. There
was record Of his absences and he would fur
nish 1t. He had observed the civil service Law
with the same fidelity that he observed other
statutes. Never made removal except for
cause.
The causes Of removal were various. He did
not think the law defined these causes. In
| competency and drunkenness were causes.
Asked for other ca uses, he said:
III man enters upon an intrigue 70 injure
the office or to injure the commissioner, and
has engaged in giving out information and
giving aid and comfort to those who are trying to
destroy the commissioner or throw odium on the
ONCE regard that q cause and As . good one
| with emphasis], and have acted on 1t in sew
eral instances" Had never removed any per-
son because Of difference in politics. very
few persons had been removed for offensive
| craftsmanship. Had never said he removed
| man because he WAS democrat.
| Mr. EnlOe asked about q female clerk who
was said to have offered $50 to his son. Green
b. Raum, jr., soon after being reinstated. The
commissioner said his son had called his at
| tention to the matter Immediately afterward.
! The clerk said she did it out OF gratitude and
/ dld not intend anything corrupt Upon this
explanation and in view OF the fact
| that the tender was made in q public
place when several persons we're present and
| ihe extreme old age OF the woman and her
good reputation he passed the matter over and
decided he would not discharge her.
HIS TALK WITH THE PRESIDENT.
After going over the history Of the cfrcum-
stances connected with the demand for the
resignation Of Green B. Raum, IT,, Mr.. Enloe
| asked II witness, when he returned to Washing
ton, had seen the President in regard TO it.
The commissioner said he would like to consult
his counsel, Mr.. Payson, a. to whether
1t was proper for him to repeat conversation
with the President before responding. Mr..
Payson saw nothing improper in it, and the
| commissioner said that his son had an applics-
| ton pending before the Interior Department
to be admitted to the bar of the department
lie spoke OF this to the President and took
occasion to speak of the services his son had
rendered in the pension Office, saying be had dis
| charged his duties with energy and intelligence.
| Witness told the President that he satisfied
the charge that bis son had made the office a
nest of corruption and fraud was false in every
detail and told the President he would be per-
fectly willing to have the 500 persons
| examined as to the correctness OF the
manner in which they came into the service
| Witness also spoke to the President
Of the charge that his son had attempted to de-
fraud the government Of So which came into
his banda. told the President tho ms fa
and said that in his opinion NO greater outrage
| had ever been perpetrated than to charge
his son with undertaking to with
hold that money from the gov
eminent. Witness then spoke of
his sons desire to practice before the Interior
Department. Did not speak with reference 70
reinstating his son in Office and did not desire
| that. His son was not admitted to practice.
Assistant Secretary Chandler acted on the ap
| plication.
Witness had never talked with the Attorney
General or any one else with q view to the
| prevention OF the criminal prosecution Of his
son. Had never told his son or any one else to
| endeavor to stop the prosecution.
Mr.. Enloe asked that II, in the interview with
the President, the witness told him there Was
conspiracy in the pension Office to break down
the witness administration.
Commissioner Rautn replied that he did not
remember that in that interview he had made
such statement to the President, but he had
told the President so at some time.
MIR. Enloe-Did he stste that you could re-
move anyone hostile to your administration re-
CARELESS of the views OF the secretary?
Mr.. Haunt cannot, under the laws and the
Constitution. remove any one, and Of course
the President did not tell me any such thing.
can only recommend
Mr.. Enloe-Did he say he would have the
Secretary approve your recommendations?
MIR. Raum-I don't think our conversation
led to that. don't recall such statement
Army Orders
First Lieut.. Joseph s. Oyster, first artillery.
is detailed as professor Of military science and
tactics at the Leland Stanford, Junior, Univer-
sity, California, and will report in person
Eos 1,,<x