St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-08
The Pension Commissioner Is
Being "Jaeketed" With
out Mercy.
Attorney Lemons Private
Snap Likely to Be Thor
oughly Ventilated.
Raum Meets a Sensational
Lead by the Findings of
LineaWeaver.
An Inside Way to Ascertain
the Status Of Claims for
Pensions.

JHG SLdGuS OIL CIdIIuS LUZ
Pensions.
WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE first
questions asked Commissioner Raum
today by Mr. Enloe in the pension Of
flee investigation related to matters con-
nected with the Endorsement Of note
OF MIR. Raum's by Mr.. George f. Lemon.
The commissioner refused 10 answer
the questions, and MIR. EnlOe, then,
over the objection of Counsel Payson,
put in evidence part of the testimony of
last year ON this subject. MIR. Enloe
asked if the completed files order has
not resulted in the adjudication of 10000
of MIR. Lemons cases, and in that way
put $250,000 of fees in Mr.. Lemons
pockets within eight months. Mr.. Enloe
also asked if Mr.. Lemon had not left
Washington for Europe Immediately
after this investigation was ordered.
Mr.. Raum said he had no personal
knowledge as to when Mr.. Lemon went
abroad, but had heard since the inyesti-
cation he and a party had gone to Eu-
rope. Mr.. Enloe asked if Mr.. Lemon
had not gone without any other notice
to his employees than note announcing
that he was going to Europe. Mr.. Raum
replied that he knew nothing about the
matter. Mr.. Enloe next asked if Raum
had yet paid the note Endorsed by Mr..
Lemon. The commissioner said that
was private business and declined to
answer.
A Decided Sensation
was sprung when Mr.. Enloe asked if the
secretaries of congressman ever sold in
formation of the status of claims to pen
sion attorneys. Mr.. Raum had a big
bundle of papers and was evidently pre-
pared for just this sort Of thing, for he
produced them and read letters in which
the charge was made that Samuel K.
HerSey, private secretary of Represent
alive Cooper, of Indiana, had. through
Raglan Il Co., of Kenton, o., and III. G.
Peet, of Columbus, Ind, Carried on quite
"a business of this sort, charging So TO
each claimant for status. 1t was then
shown that HerSey had called up these
cases on congressional slips signed by
Representative Cooper, one of the pros
ecutors in the Raum case. Hersey also
worked for Mr. BrookShire, of Indiana,
and Mr. CAN'T. of Ohio, but it was not
shown that Hersey'S connection with
them had been the same as with Cooper,
the investigation (as developed by MIR.
Enloe) directed by the commissioner
having related solely to Mr.. Cooper.
There were, the commissioner, said,
a thousand pension cases all over the
Northwest in which Hersey was in
volved. 1t was OH this matter that Mr..
Lineaweaver, whose absence has been
frequently inquired about, had been en-
gagged. The papers relating to the
affair were offered in evidence by Mr.
Raum, out have not yet been admitted,
the committee desiring to examine
them and pass upon the matter. The
substance of them is covered in letter
from the commissioner to the secretary
of the interior, dated April 5, recon-
mending
Mersey's Disloarment.
The letter shows that on Feb. 25 last
a report was received from j. e. Green
walt, supervising special examiner of
the pension office, with reference to a
complaint received from John B. Wit
tinghill, of CrotherSville, Ind, and for
merly in the Ninth Kentucky volun-
teers. In this complaint Wittinghill
said that he had received letter from
Raglan Il Co., of Kenton, O., saying that
for IS he would furnish Wittinghili the
exact status of his claim and the testi-
mOny necessary to prove 1t. Wittinghill
asked if it were fraud. and if Raglan
could furnish the information why
could not he (WIttinghllD get it from
the pension Office without expense.
The papers show that on Sept l6 of
last year the commissioner wrote Whit
tinghll, saying that he was not advised
upon what method Ragen Il Co. were
working the pension Office and asked
him to forward So to the firm, for which
the pension office would reimburse him
and request 4 status. This was done,
and OH Nov. 10 Whittinghill received a
reply, giving him as full and accurate a
statement of his claim as if the man
had had the papers before him. Mean
while the case had been put aside to as
certain what would come of it, aud it
turned out that On Nov. ] L the papers in
the case were called for by Hersey
upon
a Congressional Slip
of Representative Cooper, of Indiana.
The commissioners letter said that he
did not know that this was any more
than coincidence, and could not de-
termine whether there was any connec-
ton between Raglan and the Coopsr
slip. SO Oil Nov. % Whittinghill was
requested to correspond with Raglan IL
Co. relative to the claim Of Henry
Behrcns, of the Ninth Ohio infantry,
the claim having been selected at ran
dom. On Dec. Is the claim was called
up by Hersey OH congressional slip of
Mr.. Cooper, and was carefully exam
ined Feb. IS, 1892. Raglan, writing from
Chicago, forwarded status" of the
claim.
In the meantime, the commissioner
had received Il letter dated Dec. %, 1891,
from eX-Represen;ative Williams. OF
Ohio, calling attention to the fact that
certain Ohio pension attorneys were
having their cases called up for status
and reported upon by HerSey on Mr..
Cooper'S congressional slips, The mat
ter was placed in Greenwalt's hands.
and he obtained from the Office, in which
Raglan had formerly worked, letter
press book. containing thirteen copies
OF letters relating to claims. One letter
gave complete status of the claims of
Mrs. Elizabeth Moffatt. of Elizabeth
town, Ind, called up Oct7, 1891, on Mr.
Cooper'S congressional slip. At Green
request, Lineaweayer was assigned to
assist him. In Ohio he took the deposi-
tons of +. 2. Cunningham, George c.
Garfield, John +. Armstrong and ID. +.
Darst. He also took those OF John L.
Morgan, of Bloomington, Ind. These
papers, the commissioners letter said,
showed that Hersey secured
Information on Claims
through a Mr.. Peet. and that Peet and
Her5ey were brought together by
Cooper, Peet having been a clerk under
Mr.. Cooper when the latter was post
master of Columbus. Peet was related
to Cooper by marriage, and was the con-