The times., 1897-12-30
ANGER LEVLLED All EVANS
Pension Attorneys VIII Make Him
Trouble.
Congress May Probably Be Asked to
Investigate His Offfce-Old
Soldier as d Cas- Paw.

Commissioner OF Pensions Evans has
| called dewn upon his heii the wrath #
every pension attorney and claim agent
| in the United states. He will be marked
as victim for the slaughter.
Commission er Evans is not the first
| man in this place who has made war
| upon the pension attorneys. II he escapes
| their wrath he will be the first to sur
vive their attack. for these men appear
to have influence sufficient to drag down
| every mar V he has ever raised his hali
| against them. The criticisms of the con
! missioner, which have been published fuliY
| III these columns, have attracted the ut
tention of the country and lave wdrAgd
! the pension attorneys that they hav. Il
man at the hcad OF the pension depart
Inent who has his eye on them anil wio
| will not permit practices which are said
| t. have eTUwn up that lead to viola
| ton OF the spirit, II not tue strict letter,
| OF the law.
Ii is said that thus early have these
pension attorneys organized, and that %
| soon as they can get their matters in
|!
gress for an investigation or the Pension
Office.
That the desire fer this investigation =
du- to 2 hope 10 even things up with the
| commissioned viii not appear Ontne surface.
suClI an admission would b. fatal 10 tie
| Cause. Il viii he made ON behalf OF the
| old soldier. ana the veterans VIII be used a.
| the cats paws to pull the chestnuts from
| the nse. Every Investigation OF this office
hitherto made has been based upon these
| grUuI Dis, and the veterans, by signing petit
| tiols, the purport of which tfey know not,
have aided these pension attorneys in
their designs.
1t is a safe guess, therefore, that before
| many days a resolution will be offered iii
| one House OF the other, calling for an
inve>tiga tion of the operations OF me
Pension Office, and the cause for the
delay in granting pensions.
The discussion of pension frauds has
led to several suggestions as TO the hes.
means OF preventing them in the future
and of detecting those that now exist
Among the suggestions made is one that n
complete list of the pensioners be pub
lisled, thereby giving the world the name
and status Of every pensioner- IL Is
haIdly thought that this would lead 70
results commensurate with the cost Jf the
publication. This scheme was tried Ill
1858, and proved failure in many re-
speCts.
What is needed to purge the pension list
of the frauds that are known to exist is
an amendment to the laws that viii
prevent some OF the practices that are now
engaged i'll through the sanction Of the
law, but which were never intended and
never dreamed OF when the law was pa SSed.
The limit OF legitimate pensions has been
So nearI! res ched that in order to keep
up any sort of business the pension at
torney OF today is compelled To resort to
detective work and ferret out cases where
pensions are allowable, but where the
benefitiaties never intended to apply for
the benefits accruing to sem These
cases almost invariably carry with them
a large lump sum, nj i'll nine eases out
of ten the promise of this lump SUN is a
suffi. il mt inducement to weaken the pa
triotisn. OF the beneficiary and cause
him to put the whole matter in the hanhs
of an attorney. Tie money received is
simplg gift from the Government never
expected, and never intended by the franz
ers of the law to be paid in this manner.
Thess are the ca ases where pension officials
say pension attorneys cease TO be at-
torneys, but become legal sIeuths, smell
ing for leaks leading to the Treasury OF
the United States.
Commissioner Evans has stirred up a
hornets nest and he will he stdug. Every
honest person believes that there should
be n hottest nj economical administer. lion
of the Pens ion Office, and while there
ma be a difference of opinion as to the
propriety OF TIE methods pursued by pen
sion attorneys, il is self:evident hat they
form a powerful nd a close corporation
and have never yet failed to strike back
when tHey have been attacked.
Mr. Evans will he nu exception to the
rule.