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

| !. s. r., Windhdm ". Y.-If n pensioner gives
| neigh Dor who is in the habit of getting hi:
| mail for him written order to the Postmaster
| for his mail, has the Postmaster any right To
refuse to give TO such neghbor the letter from
| the U. S. Pension Agent addressed to tho pen
sioner; or can he insist that the pensioner
| shall get such letter himself. or send some
| member of his family for it2 What is tho law
| or ruling on the subject? AnSWer. The Post
master is right, as for many years it has been
| regulation Of the Postofice Department
| (which regulation has the sanction of the De-
| partment of the Interior it having been framed
solely in the interest of the pensioner TO pro-
| tect HIM that mail from U. S. Pension Agent
shall be delivered only to the pensoncr or to
some member of his family specially author
lied by him to receive it. The delivery OF
letters is not controlled by statutory provisions.
but by the rules and regulations of the Post
Office Department
Boards now make the rating and if so, will the
papers go through the Review Boards. as here
tofore? 2. Will this arrangement facilitate
the settlement of cams2 g. How shortly after
pensioner has received small increase can
he legally apply for another increaseP 4. Who
was Assistant Secretary of the Interior under
Harrison? 5. How many applicants for pen
sion have not yet received any thing? g. If an
Examining Board gives pensioner a verdict
of total disability and utter incapacity for
the performance OF any manual labor" what
should his rating be in claim under the gen.
eral law? Ansuer. /. Examining Boards now
rate, but such rate is ad visory only, and the
claim goes through the Review Boards as FORM
erly and the rate recommended may or may
not be adopted. 2. We do not see how it will,
though it will not retard settlement. 3. Any
time, but unless there has been material in
crease of the pensioned disability it will in
general be useless to apply Immediately there
after. a. Cyrus w. Bussey. 8. The report of
the Commissioner of Pensions for the fiscal
year ending June 80, 1894, (the last one issued
shows that there were then pending the claims
Of 2S7,209 claimants who had not been PEN
stoned. There were then 39l ,2S7 rejected and
abandoned claims that were not considered as
pending. 1t is not possible to state how many
persons have applied who never drew pension.
6. For such a degree of disability, under the
general law. the rate is $50 month. Whether
the pensioner wenld receive that rate would
depend upon the adoption of such report by the
Pension Bureau.
X. T., San Diego, Cal-1. When a claim for
pension is rejected by the Commissioner of
Pensions what steps are taken by the claimant
or his attorney in appealing to the Secretary of
the Interior? 2. Is all the evidence on file
examined at the Secretary's office before decis-
ion on the appeal is made2 ARsUer. /. If it
is desired to take an appeal to the Secretary
the claimant or his attorney are az liberty to
file an appeal from the action OF the Commits
sioner of Pensions, but such appeal must con-
form strictly to the rules laid down for same.
An attorney who is competent to take an ap-
peal will be informed of said rules g Yes,
all the evidence that has any bearing on tho
points in ISSUE
j. A. c., st. Louis Mo.--Plcase state the date
that has been accepted by the Interior De-
partment as the close of the war OF the rebel
lion. AHSUer. The Assistant Secretary of the
Interior has, by recent decision. accepted
Aug. 90 1866, as the date of the technical legal
termination of the war of the rebellion, but
further states in said decision that, as it is
we'll known historical fact that the war was
practically ended, so far as actual beligerency
was concerned. in July, 1865, it will be pre-
sumed that any service rendered after that
time was not rendered in, although during the
war OF the rebellion, aud the burden of proof
is upon claimants to show by direct and posi-
tive evidence that their service rendered there
after was part of the operations of said war.
BY proclamation of June H. 1866, war was
declared to be at end in the State of Tennes-
see and by proclamation of April 2, 1866, it
was declared ended in the States of Georgia,
South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Ten
nessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missis-
sippi, and Florida, and it must be presumed
that military service rendered within those
States subsequent to proclamation was not
rendered in said war unless shown to be in
connection with the war in Texas, which sub
sisted up to Aug. 20. 1866, when it was, by pro-
clamation declared at an end.