Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-15
GREATLY TO HIS CREDIT.
That Judge Long Can Earn q Living
Says Judge Bradley.

As stated in Saturdays Star, Judge
Bradley on that day delivered his long
awaited opinion in the matter of the petit
ton Of Judge Chas. ID. Long of Michigan,
for a mandamus compelling the commission
er Of pensions to vacate his order of Sep
TENDER last, suspending the pension Of
Judge Long, sustaining the contention of
the petitioner that the order of suspension
was not authorized by law.
The order of suspension. said Judge Brad
ley, was made in September last without
any notice to Judge Long and without CIV
ing him any opportunity to defend himself
against the implied charge against him.
Since the case had been argued and SUBJ
mitted the commissioner of pensions had
filed a supplementary answer, in which he
seemed to intimate that no further proceed
ings were necessary, because of a clause in
a deficiency bill approved last month, which
applied to such cases. The proper method
however. Judge Bradley stated. would have
been for the commissioner to have answered
that he had vacated the complained of
order.
He had failed to SO show, continued Judge
Bradley. and there was nothing left for the
court to do but to decide the case as IL no
such supplementary answer had been made
One of the contentious of the respondent
planned was that the mandamus was not
the proper remedy. but that point Judge
Bradley thought, was not well taken. 1t
was true that the authorities held that a
mandamus would not lie where the matter
at issue was a question Of the judicial dis
erection of the party against whom IL was
directed. But. said Judge Bradley that was
not the question at issue in the present
case. The law regulated the granting of
pensions. and IT appeared that Judge Long
had secured his rating according to law
The respondent had contended that the in
juries of Judge Long were not such as to
entitle him to the pension he enjoyed; that
he was not fncapacitated from earning a
good living. But, remarked Judge Bradley
where pensioner by reason of his energy
and brains was enabled to earn an indepen-
dent living IL was greatly to his credit and
II anorded no ground for a suspension of his
pension. Provided. of course that pension
was legally obtained and legally granted
There could be, decided Judge Bradley no
batting the case subsequently from one
commissioner back to another and in that
way subsequently questioning the legality
of the rating after ii had been finally law
fully passed on.
1t was true. said Judge Bradley. that
there were cases where the commissioner of
pensions was authorized to make me<aica 4
biennial or more frequent examinations OF
the disabilities of the pensioners but the
law clearly failed to authorize such exami-
nations in those cases where the disabilities
had been previously determined to be ner-
manent ones; for Congress neither Intended
or authorized useless, foolish or unnecessary
examinations
In conclusion, Judge Bradley stated that
he was clearly of the opinion that the order
or suspension made by the commissioner OF
pensions was authorized neither by the law
or facts in the case. and that the petition OF
the relator. Judge Long, should be granted
But, explained Judge Bradley fnasmuch as
the commissioner of pensions in his supple
mentary answer had stated that he has re-
voked the order of suspension and directed
the payment no demurrer would issue pro-
vided the commissioner filed with the clerk
OF the court certifcation of that fact
the costs. however would have to be paid
by the respondent, the commissioner of pen-
sions.