The morning times., 1895-12-01

OUT knowing what the claimant had sworn
To long previously, So nearly correspOnd"d
with the declarat tiun Is Ia leay. no room for
doubt as to origin and collateral tcsti-
mony supplied the missing links.
Some claimants believe III the efficacy
OF letter writing. and besides keeping the
| mails hot ny their own effusive efforts.
they make regular drafts upon their Con
grcssmen FOR "a letter to call up the case.
In this way the examiner becomes cog
infant OF Some very patent inconsistencies.
for, somehow or other. IL crops out that the
political barometer OF the applicant Ia
strongly Influenced by the swinging OF
the pendulum recently adverted 10 IN
party circles. The Congressman and Com
missioner being in accord on The issues
Of the day, The applicant soon has his gate
] swinging from that same post. even II lie
has TO make another transfer OF allegiance
after the November electinn," or when
the inauguration is over"
CALLING UP THE CLAIMS.
The versatility of Thenardier, rs depicted
in LES Miserablcs.' finds its counterpart
in hundreds Of instances that the world
at large knows nothing about.
In one instance, coming within the
| knowledge of the special examiner from
whom many of these quotations are made,
| the would-be pensiOncr has had each of
ten Representatives and the two Senators
| from his State, 10 say nothing of those
outside, whom, by hook or by crook. he
| has drafted into service. To- alternately
| call up his claim with positive regularity
| for a year. He is meanwhile quite as
| prompt In filing his own demands. The
letters are. OF course. placed with the
| papers. and that serves 10 give away the
| scheme.
Speaking OF frauds upon the Government
| by the Pension Office route, another IN
n
| his monthly allotment for disability
which he did not incur III the service, while
suffering from worse injury that was
| directly traceable 10 Zine of duty"
The pensioner, like many another, had
| fallen into the hands Of an unprincipied
| shyster who had obtained footing in the
department as an attorney, and he had been
made to believe that the ante-war inflic'
| tion would entitle him to higher rating.
| 1t was visible to the eye, and therefore
more easily distinguished, hence more
readily proved, seems Ia have been the
argument of the attorney, who happened
| to be the claimants bruther-in-law. The
result of an Investigation was that the
| man lost the pension he was then drawing
| and his chance as well for establishing his
rightful claim.
ONE CASE OF FRAUD.
The disability proved up by witnesses
| tained and accepted claimants version
| of the particulars, consisted OF the loss oil
three toes, whereas the actual pensiunaDle
disa bility was an almost useless ankle
| Joint. The man was found who severed
| the toes with razor prior to the enlist
nIent of the soldier after they were nearly
| cut off by himself accidentally.
man lived years IN discomfort from
actual deafness which he claimed was due
to ci,ncussion from an explosion OF gun
| powder in front of Petersburg The ap'
| pIicant was really present when the explo-
| sion occurred and easily established the
| fact. IncurrenCe at that time was alleged.
and subsequent and continuous deafness
was proved by cunlrades and neighbors,
| straight enough; but when he came before
| the examining surgeons he was directed
| to have the hardened wax removed from
his ears-a duty he had willfully neglected
| since he first conceived the idea of obtain
| ing pension.
| Seven separate disabilities" and not
| one Of them inflicted by bullet or saber,
| were alleged by q claimant whose home
was then in Ohio, but who served in an
| Illinois regiment. He was partially deaf,
| had chronic dia rrhea, hemorrhoids and rhe u
| matism, was blind of an eye and returned
| home middle-aged and gray, without a
| tooth in his head. While awaiting the
| determination of his claim he eked out a
4
| by mending shoes. He had remained at
| ndersonville for the last twelve months
| of his term of enlistment. The unfortunate
] man died before he could complete his chain
| OF testimony.
Eleven years after an application was
| forwarded to the Pension OFFICE the claim
| ant was found by an examiner in field
| on crutches, hoeing corn. His claim, which
| was one those that had failed through lack
| of proof, had been twice rejected, and re-
| opened each time for further investigation.
| When Gen. Burnside crossed the Rapidan
| and then marched back again, making
| what was then denominated as his mud
| march, this soldier was detailed as a
| teamster. One of the mules he was driving
| through the darkness fell upon him and
dislocated his hip.
DEPENDED ON ONE WITNESS.
| He was helped to his place in the saddle.
and painfully maintained his perch unit
daybreak, when farrier unskillfuly at
tended to the injury. his good intentions
exceeding his surgical ability. The result
| Of the botched job. combined with subse
quent neglect caused the dislocation to be-
| come permanent. The cavity filled up and