Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1893-12-05
Pensions for Disabilities.

Although the law OF iS9) permits pensions for
disabilities no: related to military service. YET
IS requisite to Its benefits n disability must
exist incaIlsci;.ting applicants from the per-
fornaace of manual la..or to such "a rec rs;
to renter them unable TO earn support"
the execution of this law il its earl. sta .es does
not seem to have teen i'll accord with its true
intention: but toward the close Of the last a,,-
1ninis,rat ion an authoritative const ;:c;icn was
gwen to til statutc. a-.t. he &C since that timr
this construction has been followed. This has
had The effect Of limiting the opera. on of tie
law To its intended pdrpo>c The discovery
having been made that many names n I'd been
put upon the pension roll by means of whole
sale and gigantic frauds. the commissioner
pended payments upon a number of pensions
which seem 20 be fraudulent unauthorized
pending coinpiete examination, giving notice
TO the pensions IN urIer that they mi CHIT have
an opportunity to establish. il posi-
bic. the, justice Of their claims not
understanding the a;.pare,. invaliiity This
understand. is the Practice which Las for a
long time prev alled III the pension bureau:
but after entering upon these recent inve,ri-
cations the comm - oaer modified This rule SO
ais not to allow, until after complete examine
ton. interference with the payment Of pen
tina. authorized by law. am unable 10 un-
dsrstaad why frauds in tue pension rolls
should MT ne exposed and corrected with
thoroughness AID vicor. Every name fraudu-
Ientiy put upoa & ese rolls l. Il wicked lf.;-
POSITION upon the kindly sentiment in
which pen ions have their origin. every
fraudulent peiisioncr las become a had citizen:
every false oath in support OF a pension has
deserving pensioners roh the people not only of
their money, but Of the Patriotic sentiment
wnich the Survivors of war. fought for the
preservation OF the union ought to inspire
thousands o: nci;:hborhooi> have their welt
Known fraudulent pensioners and reccn. de-
velopments lay the bureau est; niis,, appalling
conspiracies TO accomplish pension frauds. BY
no means the least wrong zone is 10 brave ant
deserving pension, rs; WHO certainly ought
not to he conde nIned t. such assoc; ,,l,iu
These who attempt N the line OF duty 10
tity these wrong, should not be accused of
vtartE
Grams. The sum expended on account OF pen
s,ons for the year ending June ~ ls.I was
isS, si,S, m The he; 1Smmssionsr es,,nasss
sions during the yea: ending June 81, 1871.
The Nations Wards.
The condition of the Indians and their ulti-
mate fate are subjects which are related to \
strongly appeal to she Sense Of 4 ;.s...
ticc and the sympathy of our people
them are located on l6l reservations caniaiG-
ing 81 ~ acres of LAM. About llo,tp of
these Indians have To- large Ge rec adopted
ci,,,ized customs, lands in sevcralty have be, II
allotted TO them. Such ailoi mcnts have been
made to lo.tsti individuals uur,ng the last fiscal
year, embracing about 1.so.0' acres. IN,
number of Indian government schools oren
during the year was III. an increase ~ twelve
over the preceding year: of this total l.J were
boarding schaols and ninety. seven Gay schools
twenty boarding =, hools and five day schoo
supports by the government We're not located
children enrolled during the year rs attendants
of all schools WAS y. Iii. an increase of l,:sn
over the enrolment r tine previous year.
am sure that secular education and moral
and religious teaching mass be important FAC
tors in any effort to ave the Indian and lead
him to civilization ! BELIEVE. too that the re-
l}nquisllncnt If tribal relations and the hold
ing # land in sevcralty may. i'll favorable con-
ditions. aid this contamination. 1t seems
to NE. however, that !, allolments Of
land in scvcrally ought 10 be mare
with great care and circUmslscctloa.
IL hastily done. before the Indian Knows ITS
meaning while yet he has little or no idea OF
tiiing a farm and no con option IF thrift there
Is great danger that reservation life in tribal
relations may be exchanged for the pauperism
OF civilization. instead If its ind .pendcnse and
elevation. The solution Of the Indian problem
aepcnds very largely upon good ADM listration
The personal Esness oi agents and their adapt
ability to the y caiiarities Of caring for their
wards Is If the utmost Importance.
The law providing that, except IN especial
cases. army officers shall be detailed Il Indian
agents, 1t Is hoped WILL prove successful ex-
pertinent. ihesc is danger of great abuses
creeping into tie prOsss;uti, Of claims fo-
indian dcpreaations. and l recommend tncs
every possible safe guard be provided against
the enforcement unjust ;rctitious claims
OF this description. Tine appropriations on &c.
count Of the indian bureau for the year epd,
(Costinued on Third Page.)