The Portland daily press., 1892-11-24

Should Be stopped-He Recommends a
Law Providing for Certain Soldiers
Widows Now Deprived of Aid.
/ WASHINGTON, November 23.-The re-
port of Gen. Cyrus lBussey, Assistant
Secretary of the Interior, deals with the
work of the board of pensions appeals
and with the purchase of Indian supplies
at New York. The report shows that
July 18th, 1891, there were 5000 appealed
pension cases on file and that this mum
Der, on June 80, 1892 had been reduced
to ,349. There were 1850 appeals filed
during the year. OF the 4,939 cases
acted upon during the year the decision
of the commissioner was sustained in
1886; action was reversed in 464 cases;
POI were dismissed and 400 cases recon
sidered by the commissioner pending
appeal.
General Bussey calls attention to
several defects in pension legislation.
He says that from an early date there
have prevailed under different admins
trations conflicting opinions as to the
power to enforce the reimbursement of
money paid in excess for pensions in
conformity with inaccurate or illegal
certificates issued through mistake in
the adjudication of claims. The gov
ernment, having no clear legal authority
to current payments of pensions has thus
been compelled to submit to serious
losses of money A memorable illustra-
ton of this fact is given in the large
number of applications for re-rating and
increase filed during the years 1887, 1888
and 1889, upon which considerable sums
were paid improperly to certain pension
ers by authority of the commissioner,
In Violation of Both Law and Practice,
but without the knowledge OF consent
of the secretary. Gen. Bussey recon-
mendes that Congress enact a law that
shall expressly authorize the department
to treat all improper. illegal and exces-
sive payments of pensions as charged
against current pensions, with a view
to readjusting or equalizing the current
pension payments under the direction OF
the secretary.
The report says that a number of ap
plications for widows pensions have,
under the law, been necessarily denied
because the soldiers, on whose deaths the
claims were based, although serving
ninety days OF more in the army or
navy" had not been ''honorably dis
charged but died while, for instance, on
furlough. The report recommends that
the law be amended to make it applicable
to such meritorious cases. 1t also sug-
gests that, in the cases of insane, idotic,
or otherwise helpless children of de-
ceased pensioners, the pensionable age
limit be abolished, SO as to admit such
children at any date to the pension ro--.
Gen. Bussey Strongly objects
to the practice of pensioning certain
classes of insane inmates of the govern
ment hospital located in the District IF
Columbia. These persons have no one
dependent on them for support, and the
pension money is paid to a guardian.
When the inmate dies, the large sum of
pension money in the hands of the
guardian goes, perhaps, to some heir for
whom the pension system was not in
tended to provide.
The report states that on June 80, 1892,
there were borne on the pension rolls the
names of S56,077 pensioners, 1862
more than were on the rolls at the END
OF the preceding fiscal year, and 457 900
more than were on the rolls January 30,
1887. Gen. Bussey recommends that the
appropriation foI Indian supplies be
made one year ahead.