The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-08-04

VI A1NANNANNl - ~ AANhNNN ~
missioner Of Pensions Lochren has adj
dressed a letter to the editor OF the
National Tribune upon the subject Of
pensions, and in it he says;
~ have not complied with your re.
poatod request that l should cause a
test to DO made to show the number Of
fraudulent pensions by having 1000
cases drawn from the admitted flies
mud examined, l have not done this
for several ~reasons;,
"First-Fraudulent cases, II any exist,
cannot be discovered in that way. A
fraudulent pension must ordinarily
have been obtained upon false or forged
testimony. On the face OF the papers
such a case would probably appear to
be well established and incontestible.
second-No one whose opinion ia en-
titled to consideration has, l think,
had the hardlhood to claim that the
great mass OF adiudlcated pension cases
is permeated with fraud, open aud
plain on the papers, so that the exam
nation OF 1000 cases would disclose an
instance. And ], certainly, have far
too high an opinion OF my old com
rades to believe that q large number Of
them are s%coundrels, who have sought
and obtained pensions dishonesty.
Even among the twelve apostles there
was n who was unworthy, and among
tho bravo and true soldiers OF the
Union army 1t cannot be denied that
there were q few bounty Jumpers and
men who were of no credit to us, and
Of little deserving, and who have been,
perhaps, among the most eager for u
place or tho pension roll at u high rat.
Ing. The Investigations as to the work
Of dishonest pension attorneys at Nor
folk, New Mexico and Iowa show local
frauds OF large extent. But it would
DO far from me To conclude from such
CQsea that pension attorneys are goner.
ally INSCRIPTIONS or dishonest. /
think, on the contrary, they are ordin-
arily honest, painstaking and careful,
as other business men.
Third-The examination Of the June
81, 1890, cases is made, not because OF
any fraud oil the part Of the claimants,
but because 1t was discovered that this
bureau had by the adoption Of an er.
roneous rule for adjudication allowed
many pensions not authorized by law.
Under prior laws pensions were only
granted on account OF the disabilities of
service origin,
All pensions granted under former
laws are presumed to have been prop
erly granted, and they are not being
examined, except on information show
ing fraud in some particular case, as
has always beef the practice. But the
act Of June q, 1890, graat& pensions
to persona who had served ninety days
or more, il suffering from q mental or
physical disability OF n permanent
character, not the result Of their own
vicious habits. incapacitating them
from the performances OF manual labor
in such a degree as to render them un-
able to earn q support-such pensions
not to exceed $l2, nor less than 50 per
month, p%roportioned to the disability
to carr a support by manual labor.
Under this act the disability need
not be- Of service origin, but to be PEN
sionable at all the disability must inca
p~acitate the person from manual labor
so as to render him unable to earn a
support. Specific disabilities, as such,
we're not %pensionable at all under that
act nor entitled to consideration. ex-
Cept US they might affect tho capacity
TO perform manual labor. But by or
der 1914, issued October Is, 1890, the
commissioner, with the approval OF the
assistant secretary, directed that spe-
Citic disabilities should be rated under
this act the same as they would have
been rated under prior laws had. the
disabilities been OF q service origin, up
to SIC per month. The effect of this
order was shown in tho Bennett case,
which called attention to it.
A board OF revision was therefore
constituted, of the ablest and most ex-
perienced men OF the bureau, to rock
anime these cases and Gull such as had
no legel basis to rest upon, and with
instructions to interfere with no cases
whore, by tho most liberal construc-
ton, a right to the pension could be
made TO appear, and in other cases
where the pension could not be sus-
tanned under any law, to give tho sixty
days notice according to previous prac-
lice within which tho pensioner may
furnish additional evidence and show
himself entitled. No one disputes the
correctness OF the decision in the Benz
nett case.
My old comrades may feel sure Of re.
Cciviug everything to which the law
most literally construed entities
them. Partisan leaders may try to
arouse feeling for partisan onds. But
the execution OF a law upon tho con-
struction given to It by the heads Of the
sano department OF opposite politics,
which construction IL admitted by
everybody TO DO correct, has no political
character, and l did not heaitate to
commit the work TO a board OF revision
whose ability fitted them for IL, though
most Of thOm, with their chief, arc
Republicans. They arc able and fair
men, and from day to day examine
such cases as they deem unlawfully
allowed. II that was the class OF cases
You wished drawn and examined, tho
work Is done every day by this board
None Of the pensions IN these cases arC
suspended until aitor condemnation by
this board. II is expected that in very
many Of such cases the pensioners will
be- ablO to produce testimony showing
them entitled TO penslona under the
law in which case tho suspension vii
hn OVpnvnI =