St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-09-08


lain-in-chief.
The committee on pensions perfected
a very lengthy report regarding the dis
ability act of June, 1890, as follows:
This act Was accepted by the survIv-
ing soldiers and by the people in gen
eral as "a Sc, Element of the question
Under the administration of that law
the poorhouse gave Up its veterans; he
who had borne the battle was cared for,
and the most sacred trust accepted and
left as Legacy to the nation was faith
fully administered. Within a few
months we hear with profound sorrow
ami regret that all this must be changed
That tile construction of the law has
been changed, and the regulations and
rules in regard TO proof and ratings I'M
der which more than 100000 claims have
been allowed anu paid have been
rev0ked,and another construction of the
law has Ueen established, and new reg
ulations for proofs and ratings less
favorable to claimants have been adopt
ed: that board OF revision has been
orgahlzed in the pension Office charged
with Tile duty of revising ali these ad-
Judlcated claims in accordance with
thIS new construction anu such changed
regulations as To proofs and ratings.
Under these changes the
THOUSANDS OF PENSIONS
have been suspended without notice
and thousands of pensioners have been
dropped from the rClls.
10 emphasize the variOuSneSS of the
situation and accusation. we learn that
it is said, as though by authority, that
ut is expected that any or the pen
slOnerS so summarily suspended will be
able to prove that they are still entitled
deprived" thus saying in no uncertain
voice that the Duruen is not upon the
party alleging traud, but that the gov
eminent which they had preserved
should first brand with infamy by
the charge, then sentence, ana after
the stigma had been effective, then con-
cede To them, whose barriers and sup
port OF character have thus been under
mined, the pitiful privilege of moving
for new trial upon the ground of
neWly-discovereG evidence; we deny
that the secretary of the interior should
have any such power. We insist that
the adjudication divisions of the pen
sion office, acting under the direction
and supervision of the commissioner of
pensions and secretary of the interior,
are tribunals established by authority Of
law for the settlement of pension cases,
and that their decisions are entitled 70
full faith and credit, and cannot be
legally impeached when a change of
administration occurs except for fraud
upon charges preferre1 and evidence
adduced in support thereof. We insist
that when changes are made Ill the con-
struction of the law, rules of evidence
and
SCHEDULES OF RATING
unfavOrable to claimants, then they
must and should he limited in their ope-
ration to the future work of the office.
and not the past.
We demand that there shall be no
backward step in pension legislation of
the administration; that no penSionel
shall be deprived of his property with
out due process of law; that the pre-
sumption shall be In favor of honesty
and fair dealings; that the poor and
lowly shall not be put to unnecessary,
expensive or oppressive process to pre-
serve their meager pittanceS; that the
sacred trust Ill favor of those who have
borne the battle shall be sacredly Oh
served and Sacredly administered, and
we do now solemnly and deliberately
declare that every presumption should
be made in favor of record so male;
that no presumption Of fraud shall he
INDUCED i'll against them and that 10
change be made i'll the pension SO &C
corded until after charges have been
made and evidence in support thereof
has been produced, of which charges
each penSioner has had full notice and
full and complete opportunity to be
heard in support of the pension SO &C
corued him. Be it further
Resolved, That as the commissioner
of pensions, by his recent Withdrawals
of the obnoxious ruling which have
been SO generally condemned, has
virtually Acknowledged the incorrect
ness of such rulings, We deem it his
further duty to at once restore the
thousands OF pensions now standing
Illegally suspended.
The report was unanimously adopted.
This afternoon the encampment in
Structed the commander-in-chief to
carry the question of the legality OF the
suspension of pension up to the supreme
court of the United States.
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
of administration was elected as fol-
lows:
Arizona. FL. 5. Ltghthiz; Oregon, S.
r. Reeves; Tennessee, Ii. G. Norwood
Louisiana and Mississippi, r. B.Quayie;
Maryland, w. j. King; Wisconsin,
George |. Thomas; Missouri, S. NJ. Ster-
ret; Washington and Alaska, Ii. A.
Bigelow; Georgia and Carolina, Harry
Burns; Maine, j. b. Nagle; West Vir-
ginia, U. R. King; New Hampshire, NJ.
Brown; Nebraska, Charles E. Burgo-
master; OHIO, r. II. Cochran;
Michigan, q. Ii. Hopkins: New Mexico,
NJ. B. Knowles; New YORK, Nichols w.
Heudine; Arkansas, A. D. thomas;
New Jersey. George E. Martin; Ken
lucky, A. }. Thorpe; Potomac, Lyman
B. Cutler; Connecticut, q. ID. Bates;
Vermont. S. w. Parkhurst; South Da-
kota, w. l.. Farmer; Massachusetts.
William NJ. Oline; Kansas, F.P. Harris;
Texas, Alex Brown; Idaho, w "A. Dodge;
Virginia and North Carolina, Dan
Thompson; Colorado. j. @. Fleming; ;
Illinois, h. S. Dietrich; Alabama, A. n.
Ballard; Pennsylvania, A. p. Burch-
field; Indiana. Gu. Murphy; California.
j. B. Fuller; Florida, F. q. Purcell;
Utah, the d. G. Ills.
The following officers of the woman's
relief corps were elected this afternoon
and installed:
of Minnesota; seuior vice president,
Mrs. TAYLOR, of Ohio; junior vice pres
ident. Mrs. n. p. Anderson, of Cali
fornia: treasurer, Mrs. Gordon, of Kan
sas; councillor, Mrs. G.. V. Sheriff, of
Pennsylvania.
The convention adopted resolutions
deuouncing Hoke Smith for dropping
pensioners from the rolls, and demand
ing that the administration was justified
in putting every eX-federal soldier
who served this government in putting
down the rebellion should be put upon
the pension roll rather than to find some
frivolous excuse for dropping pensions.
The committee on resolutions made
many recommendations. The memorial
and resolution that the pay of soldiers
in the late ware be made up to the gold
basis by congress was laid on the table.
The resolution asking that veterans be
given preference in public service was
adopted, as was also the memorial ask
ing the grand army to hold services on
Washington's birthday.
The committee voted to not sustain
the G. S. Cole post of Illinois in the de-
partment decision that the Grand Army
cannot collect debts from members.
The new national officers were then