The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1893-09-27
THE PENSION BUREAU.
Commissioner Lochren's Report on Its
Dealings With Old Soldie.s.

Dealings With Old soldie,s.
Pension Commissioner Lochren submit
ted his annual report to the secretary uf the
interior Vt Washington. l he number OF
pensioners on the rolls of the bureau Is
@6,0l2, with net increase of s09i4 during
The past year. During the year ~, 7l5 claims
for increase of pension and 81 800 for addi-
tional pension under the act of June 81 1880
were allowed. In the same time 1l5 22l
claims for pensions and for increase were
rejected. The claims pending consideration
on July numbered III, l50, The amount
of money paid for pensions during the year
was sl5G 40 l67 and he aiance at the close
of the year was 80, i37 81. The arpropria-
tiuns Tor the next fiscal year, Commissioner
lochren states, will he ample and the es,i-
mates for the fiscal year 1895 amount to
SlG2, ,63l, $40.
The commissioner devotes considerable
space to eases under the act of June q, ls9J,
III which he says: Under this act, aside
from he requisite service and honorable
discharge there is one cond ton that can
gave any right to pension-viz., a mental or
physical disability Ut permanent charact-
or, not the result of their own vicious
habits, which mcapaCitates them from the
performance OF manual labor In such de-
gree as to render them unable to earn n
SUPPORT But by order lGi issued October
10, 1880, tie commissioner, with the ap.
proval of the assistant secretary, directed
that specific disabilities should be rated in
applications under this act, as they would
have been rated under the schedules then in
force, II ofservice origin, up TO Sl2 per
month IL is perfectly clear that under this
order l6i in granting pensions under this
act of Jnne p, lS.U the act itself was set
aside and disregarded, with the result of
granting pensions not authorized by any
law. This was shown in the Bennett case
which called your attention to this order
and TO the practice under 1t. There the
claimant applying under this act of June ~,
1880, was pensioned at sl2 per month for
slight deafness. not Of service origin. This
slight deafness. could not therefore interfere
with his capacity to perform manual labor.
And such "a pension has no warrant TO
sustain 1t in any law II is absolutely void.
The statement of the medical referee
made itappear probable that under order 16l
many pensions were eillegallygranted and per
suent to your order Of May %, 1893, a board
of revision was formed, Of the ablest and
most experienced men of the bureau. TO
examine the cases allowed under that act,
but with instructions TO disturb no case
where by the most liberal construction of
the evidence the tight to the pension could
be sustained under any law. In cases where
II was believed that the pension could not
be sustained and another medical eXamina-
ton was thought necessary the payment of
the pension was ordered To be suspended
tending investigation. according to the rrac-
tice OF the bureau Fl ON the beginning. Upon
your suggestion that even this temporary
with holding might work hardship where,
upon the face OF the papers. it appears the
pensioner is entitled to some less pension
the practice has been modified and changed
MS To the cases under this act so far that sus
pension of payment pending the sixty days
are only ordered when on the fface of the
papers 1t appears prlma facis that the pen
sioner is not entitled TO any pension. IL is
certain that there are many cases like the
Bennett case, where persons are not entitled
10 any pension will he removed from the
rolls but the work has not yet proceeded
far enough to enable me to forecast the re-
result. Undoubtedly under the system of
adjudication which followed the promul-
CATION OF order lGi many persons perfectly
able to perform manual larbor under the
persuasion OF claim agents familiar with the
effect of that order applied for and received
pensions for specific disabilities not of serv-
ice origin and not proper reasonable under
the act of June, 1890, This also accounts for
the large proportion of late claims under
that act, comprising the aftermath in the
work Of claim agents which are now being
properly re ected. The siXty-dav notice in
suspcncing pensioners, the report says, was
not Withdrawing the pension, tbut tempor'
arily withho ding 1t, where 1t appeared to
be unlawful, pending inquiry.
The commissioner recommends codif
cation of pension laws, with few changes,
that promotions be made with regard to
m rit alone and in utter disregard of in
iluence, and rep al of the act of congress
providing that no pension shall be paid TO
NONRESIDENT who is not citizen of the
United states except for actual disabilities
incurred in he service. He concludes as
follows: 81 recognize to the fullest extent
that my sole duty is to execute and admins
ter the laws as they are enucted-fairly and
honestly interpreted.