Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-13
MIR. COOPER UNLOADS
His Burden of Complaint Against
Commissioner Raum's Methods.
THE PUBLIC SERVICE DEBAUCHED
To Bank Up ALI the Business in the Hands
of the Favored Few.
HERSEY'S ACTIONS WITHOUT EXCUSE

WASHINGTON, April l12-Representative
Cooper of Indiana, to-day made a state
ment before the House Pension Office In
vestigating Committee in denial and ex-
PLANTATION of the charges made against him
by Commissioner Raum. Mr.. Cooper said
he would neither excuse nor Justify Hersey s
conduct, but from the facts it would be seen
that he Cooper had infinitely more cause
to complain than any one else, and that
he had not the slightest responsibility
Witness needing assistance employed
Hersey at $40 permonth, after learning that
he was considered competent and reliable,
and gave him the necessary authority to
use his name on Congressional call slips.
During most of the time Hersey worked for
him attorneys could examine their cases
Out-of-town attorneys, however, had no
method of learning the status OF their
cases except by calling to their aid a men,
Der of Congress or corresponding with the
bureau. Thousands of complaints had been
rece we'd that the letters of claimants and
attorneys were wholly ignored by the Pen
sion Office and he submitted letters COM
planning that the whole system was being
worked for the benefit of Washington at
torneys
Harmful Debauchery of the Public Service.
He had no excuse to make for anyone
who abused the confidence of Congress
man to supply for pay the demand for in
formation about cases, but the policy
pursued by Commissioner Raum to bank up
all this business in the hands of Washing
ton attorneys, among whom are his son and
the 1ndorsers of his notes, is as much of
crime and more harmful debauchery of
the public service. Whatever Mr.. Hersey
had done in the way of selling Information
had been done without Mr.. Cooper's knowl-
edge or consent as had already been tes-
titled.
The Commissioner knew as early as Sep
tember last that Hersey was abusing wit
ness confidence and in January the Com
missioner had asked witness If Hersey WAS
authorized to sign witness name, thing
he already knew, so instead of telling wit
ness of his suspension he did everything in
his power TO have Hersey bribed, and IN the
hope that he might entrap witness had
spread a net over two or three States and
called his spies and informers into reQuisi-
tion. The first information witness had
that Mr.. Hersey was receiving pay for work
done over his signature was when he re-
ceived the letter from Morgan enclosing s25.
which witness returned in a letter telling
Morgan that Hersev could not take pay for
work done as a part of witness Congress
sional duties.
A Relation Somewhat Distant
1t was untrue that he had told Mr.. Morgan
that Hersey would work for him for pay;
and witness desired to make the declaration
that he had never directly or indirectly
asked or accepted a cent for any service
growing out of his connection with public
affairs.
Mir. .Raum had introduced great deal OF cor
respondence between Hersey and Mr.. Peet,
and charged that Peet was related to wit
ness. Mr.. Cooper said Peet was brother
in-law of his brother and an employe of
MarinT & Slusher, pension attorneys. Mr..
Peet had told him that he intended to go
into business in Kansas and wanted part
ner At Peet's request witness recon-
mended Peet to Hersey. He believed an |
honorable partnership was contemplated, |
and never afterward thought or heard of the |
matter
that he had authorized Maring & Slusher to /
print his signature thousands of imfta- /
tion Congressional call slips, which had been
thrown in the waste basket by Commission
ers Black and Tanner. Mr. Cooper said Mar
ing had been mentioned the Republican
nomination in his (Cooper's) district. and
when witness became member of Congress
in 1889, Mr.. Maring. who had an extensive
pension business, came to him and said he
desired to use witness name in calling up
c;lses of "the boys"
Caught When a Green Hand
Witness knew nothing of pension laws at
tions that it was usual thing, and the ex-
hibiton Of a call signed by Senator Turpie,
gave Maring his consent, but with the under
standing that the privilege was to be used
only for soldiers in witness district
Witness afuerward learned that Maring |
was calling up claims all over the country |
and then wrote to Commissioner Tanner
and told him thst, while he had authorized
the use of his name he had expressly
limited that privilege to soldiers of his dis
trict. missioner Raum, for purposes |
which would be perfectly plain, had either
destroyed or in some manner suppressed |
the whole of this correspondence. II that
letter and witness other correspondence |
with Commissioner Tanner were produced
Raum's criticism would be answered in ad-
vance.
The recklessness OF General Raum, Mr..
Cooper said, was shown in his submitting an
affidavit of David /. Gitt, that Commissioner |
Black mad thrown 900 of witness Congress |
siOnal call slips in the waste basket, when |
the record showed witness did not become q |
Congressman until General Black went out. |
Raum Was Hot After Cooper
In his desire to injure witness, Commits
sioner Raum had been guilty of deliberate
fasehood for he had called attention to Her
sey's having used witness name on call |
slips and said he had made no discovery
that Hersey had used any other members
name than that of witness, when the very |
papers he filed as exhibits showed five cases
in which other members names were used. |
1t had been stated Mr.. Cooper said, that
10000 call slips had been prin led in his name, |
whereas the printer testified that only 5000
ha been printed.
The witness produced letters between
himself and eN-Commissioner Tanner. They |
showed that he himself had enclosed sam
pie Congressional call slip printed in |
Indiana to Commissioner Tanner, called at
tention to it and asked if it were proper or
improper for him to give. permission to
Maring Slusher to use them. Commits |
sioner Tanners reply said most assuredly
the slips cannot CO." and that the office
could not permit the printing presses all |
over the country to send out these slips. Mr.. |
Cooper next put in a letter directing Maring |
q Slusher to discontinue using the slips.
Lord & Thomas.