The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1892-08-11
Mr.. FITCH 10 MR. RAuM.
A Sharp Letter From the Congressman to
the Pension Commissioner.
From the New York World.

From the New York World.
WASHINGTON, ID. c., July 25.
HON. GREENE. RAUM, Commissioner
of Pensions-Sir:-As you are aware, |
receive daily, in common with all Con-
gressmen, many letters of inquiry as to
the reasons of the delay in the decision
of pension claims pending in your
bureau. These letters come from all
classes of people in the district which |
represent, but the larger part of them
are written by persons who are in need
of the money to which they consider
themselves entitled and who are i'm
patient because they are in need. No
Congressman invites or solicits this
correspondence. To attend to and
answer 1t is a heavy burden. 1t can
not, however, be left unanswered. No
man, even If he were opposed to the
whole system of pension legislation,
could read these letters and not sin
cerely wish to help many of the people
who write them.
Since 1886 until few months ago it
was possible for me by addressing to
the Commissioner of Pensions q conrte
GUS letter to procure from your bureau
an answer in each of these cases,
giving the reason why action had
not been had thereon and the status of
the claim. l could then advise these
claimants, many of whom are women,
many of them helpless invalids, and
almost all of them persons of limited
knowledge of the law and of the evi.
dence required under it, whether or not
their claims were hopeless and what
they ought to do in order to present
their evidence properly.
lot p,,I -
letters to you on these subjects. Your
assistant, Mr.. Davidson, a most efficient
and valuable officer of the Government,
ls KIND enough sometimes to send me
the facts for which my letters call, bat
generally, instead of a reply, you send
TO me printed circular contained in
an envelope addressed to the claimant,
saying that the Information cannot be
given, l am informed that l am ex-
pected to forward your circular to my
correspondents and thus be rid of them,
That Is not at all what wish to do. [
want to give them what they ask.
namely, the governments reason for
the ualay, and to that end desire you
to give my letters such attention as
they have had for years and such an
swers as every gentleman IN or out of
office & ives to the correspondence which
he receives.
do not know that l can compel you
to do this. You have q monopoly of
the information which my people want
and you can give it if you please to the
pension agents in Washington, who
have accumulated great fortunes in the
last few years, aud you can refuse it to
me.
But you have not as yet acquired any
monopoly of circular printing. | can
do that as readily as you can.
If, therefore, you continue to send
me your printed circulars in reply to
my personal letters Of inGuiry
as to your failure to decide adversely or
favorably cases from that Thirteenth
Congressional District in which there
has been unusual delay, shall send to
each claimant, with your circular, a
printed copy of this letter and copy
of the evidence lately taken concerning
your administration Of the high office
of trust which is temporarily in your
hands. Yours truly,
ASHBEL Z FITCH.