The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-12-15
REPORT OF q. A. r. COMMITTEE
ON PENSIONS.

G. A. r. at Indianapolis last SeL tenn
Der, the committee on pensions sub
mitted a report upon the pension
policy of the administration from
which we clip the following para
graphs:
ITO bind up the nations wounds;
to care for him who shall have borne
the battle, and for his widow and or
phan." Thus spoke Lincoln the great,
Lincoln the just, standing reverently,
with uncovered head, in the immedi-
ate presence of cruel and devastat-
ing war, that had already lasted four
years, the end of which, although so
near, his prophetic vision was not able
to see: spea king to, for and by the
authority of the American people,
concerning one of the supreme duties
of the hour and the future, when en-
tering for the second time upon the
discharge Of trust committed to him
by that people
Within a few short weeks that
end so long hoped for had come;
but his dying eyes were not privileged
to see the full fruition of his labors,
and the work SO we'll begun and car
ried on by him fell into other hands
charged with all the trusts that the
condition implied and required. and
those who had "borne the battle"
after so many days turned their hap
py feet toward their long deserted
homes"
A grateful nation met and received
them, and gladly showered upon them
the plaudits and the honor they had
so we'll and hardly earned.
A quarter of century had elapsed.
The young had become old, the mid
dle-aged had become feeble, and the
old had crossed the river. Time with
it's ruthless fingers, had joined hands
with the ravages of war, and the two
combined had proved burden upon
the aging soldier greater than he could
bear; and the cry went abroad that in
too many instances for the credit,
honor or good name Of the nation,
many who had followed the flag and
faced the fiery furnace of battle, had
in want fallen by the wayside, and in
the poor houses were looking longing
ly for the comfort of the grave.
1t was under such circumstances
and dealing with these conflicting
disability pension law of June, 1890.
This act was accepted by the surviv-
ing soldiers and by the people in gen
eral as settlement of the question.
Unnder the administration of that
law, the poor house gave up it's veter-
ans: he who had borne the battle was
cared for; and thus the sacred trust
accepted and left as legacy to the
nation was faithfully administered.
Within few months we hear with
profound sorrow and regret that all
this must be changed; that the con-
struction of the law has been changed
and the regulations and rules in re-
gard to proof and ratings, under which
more than three hundred thousand
claims have been allowed and paid,
have been revoked, and another con-
struction of the law has been estab
lished, and new regulations for proof
and ratings, less favorable to claim
ants, have been adopted; that board
of revision has been organized in the
pension office, charged with the duty
ofrevising all these adjudicated claims
in accordance with this new construc-
tion, and such changed regulations as
to proof and ratings; that under these
changes, thousands of pensions have
been suspended without notice and
thousands of pensioners have been
been dropped from the rolls. 1t is
claimed that an. adjudication of pen
sion settles nothing; that the Secre-
tary of the Interior and the commits
sioner of Pensions are invested by law
with absolute power over the pension
roll, and that it is within their legal
authority to reopen and revise pen
sions allowed by their predecessors
under regulations adopted by them,
whenever they see fit to change the
rules of evidence and the scale Of rat
ings under which the allowance was
made: and this is country OF law,
where from the very infancy Of the
government of the United States, by
it's organic law, is in terms denied the
right to deprive any person of proper
ty without due process of law, notice
and an opportunity to be heard, and
where every other relation and condi-
tion of life fraud is never presumed,
but must be clearly proved, and every
person shall have right to face his
accusers.
We deny that the Secretary of the
Interior and Commissioner of PEN
sions have any such power. We in
sist that where changes are made in
the construction Of the law, rules of
evidence and schedule of ratings, un-
favorable to claimants, they must and