The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1895-06-13
OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

Correspondents should write eaeh question on
| separate sheet OF paper, give full name and adj
| dress nnd mark 10 'Correspondonts' Column" No
attention will be paid to communications not
! compnnied with name and address Of writer. IL IS
requested that n stamp be Enclosed for reply by
letter. Postal cards will he replied to by mail
only. Replies by mail will ordinarily be made
within q week. ami II III this column within three
weeks.l
". j., independence, ". Ta.-Is there ruling
Of the Pension Bureau granting a pension of
| $40 month for hernia on one side; and il so,
whea did it take effect? AHsWer. Ruling No.
245, of Dec. 4, 1901. provides the rate OF $40
per month for inguiDal hernia of one side
which passes through external ring where of
! conceded service origin. This ruling has
| application to claims under the act of June 81,
| 1890.
N o.. StilesriHe Ind-Do the Examining
! Boards Of Surgeons rate, or is the rating done
| by the officials ut Washington? AnsUcr. The
act of Congress approved March 2, 1895, obliges
! Boards Of Surgeons to rate, bat such ratings
are subject to review in the Pension Bureau.
and arc not inIrequently disregarded, being
merely advisory.
| G. C. NJ, LqtarOp Pal. If pensiouer has,
| on file application for increase of pension
| can his admin strator draw il for the W idow of
| the pensioner? 2. Can the widow draw more
| pension month than the pensioner was recov-
! ing at date Of his death? 3. Is the widow of
deceased soldier entitled to pay for care of him
| during his last illness? ARsUer /. No; an
/ administrator has standing where the
widow survives; the pension, if any, is hers. 2.
/ The rate OF pension that the soldier drew has
| nothing to do with the rate of the widows
/ pension. We have repeatedly stated in this
| column the rate Of pension for widow under
| the new Law and under the old law. and have set
| forth in detail the conditions under which
| title could be established under same g. No:
but she is entitled to the pension accruing from
| date Of last payment to the soldier to date of
| his death whether she did or did not bear the
! expenses OF the last illness. claim for reim-
| bursemeut expenses does not lie where the
soldiers widow survives.
| Inquirer Boston Mass.-1. Is the widow of
| Abraham Lincoln alive, and is sine pensoner?
| .. Has the Commissioner of Pensions power
to reject claim where the local Examining
! Board recommend a rating, and where the
| Board at WashiH gton coincide with said local
/ Board? 8. Why is there such difference in
| the time that it takes TO arrive at an adverse
decision and that which it takes to arrive at q
| favorable one? 4. What was the date, cause.
| aud place OF the Burr Hamilton duel? AnsWer.
/. No p He has the power subject to review
| by the Secretary of the Interior 10 determine
! what shall constitute due proof of any given
| fact in issue in q pension claim. 3. We do not
! know; efforts constantly directed to
the prompt settlement of all meritorio claims.
| q.
| 1904 ut point in New Jersey opposite New
| York City; the causes were the active per-
! sonal exertions of Hamilton against Burr, who
! had been nominated for Governor of New
| York.
| H. p. b., Pine Island, Minn.-To settle dis
! putc please state what regiment lost. during
| the late war. the largest per cent. of men in
any one battle. / claim that it was the 1st
/ Mimi, at Gettysburg. AHSWer. Fox's Regi-
mental Losses bear you out, as it is there
stated:
"Iu proportion to the number engaged. the
greatest loss sustained by any regiment during
the war was the 1st Mimi. at Gettysburg"
This regiment ont of 262 men engaged lost
so killed and la wounded, or total of 22i
| out of 262.
f. C. H., ChristianSbHrg. GA comrade died
| Nov. 10. 1894, having accrued pension due him
from Sept. A, 1891, to Nov. 49, 1894. Is not that
| amount due his estate, and under law at that
| time can it be collected by bis administrators?
| The Commissioner of Pensions says no; be-
cause there was an act passed March, 1895,
| preventing tine collection OF claims OF this
| kind, (0nly on certain conditions, and upon the
application of widow, minor children under 10
yeaIs3 of age etc. Now this comrade died
] prior to the passage of this act of March, 1895,
| and was therefore, subject to the law in force
| at date Of death. / do not know what the law
was at that time relative to claims of this kind.
| Ia this case there was widow, neither chill
| dren but brothers and sisters, who are his heirs
| But if pensioner Of this kind dies few days
| prior to the date on which he should execute
his voucher for payment, his estate accord
| ing TO the COMMISSIONER loses il. As | I'M
! derstand il, peBsoner commences to draw from
| tho date specified in his certificate and he is
entitled to this proportionate amount to the day
| Of his death. unless rerated, dropped, some
| act of God or the Commissioner of Pensions.
| Please answer through your valuable paper
and Oblige hasWer. Your conclusions are not
| correct in this particular case. il no widow,
| or minor child under Ii years of age survives,
| no collection can he made except in the event
| of the pensioner leaving insufficient assets to
defray the expenses of his last illness, and then
| only by the person who bore such expenses,
| and only for actual expenses not to exceed the
amount Of pension due on the certificate. The
| act of March 2, 1895, is retroactive and covers
| the period from aud after Sept. 2S, 1892" and
| therefore this case clearly falls within its pro-
visions; the Interpretation which you say the
| missioner places upon it appears TO be
correct. Ii Ter has a claim allowed COW
| ering, say, 10 years. and dies before executing
| first voucher, and leaves surviving no widow.
aud minor child under tho age of 1G
| years. no part Of the pension could be collected,
| except by way of reimbursement of expenses
| of last illness, and then only in the event of
| soldier leaving insufficient property to meet
| such expenses. The heirs cannot claim. as you
| contend. the amount Of pension accruug from
| date of its commencement to date of death such
| a claim might be equitable hut il is not legal,
! and cannot be collected till new legislation
| shall have been enacted.