The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-20


N. V, whose investigation brought w. Bowen
Moore TO conviction and the pcnitentiary, was,
upon a false charge OF malicious prosecution OF
ono OF Moore's employees, found guilty by tho
Jury and damages were assessed against him ut
$4,000. although IL appeared that the plaintiff
had been prosecuted upon tho advice Of the
United States Attorney after n full and fair
statement OF the facts TO him by Ayres, which
prosecution had been abandoned not because
the plaintiff was not guilty, for the guilt was
fully shown, but through some misguided sym
pNthy. Tho verdict against Ayros wAs promptly
sot aside by the court.
Dishonest attorneys who find themselves
being investigated by special examiners OF tho
Pension Bureau usually strive to protect them
selves by making charges against the special
examiners, and asking to have them removed
or otherwise discreditcd. e~nlisting the influence
OF prominent citizens. so far as they can impose
upon persons OF that class, and when they fail
In that attempt they have not infrequently
s'ught to annoy and drive away such special
examiners by having some person bring suits
or prosecutions against them in the local
courts
THE "wIpows."
Communities lost to shame. such as Mr..
Lochren describes In this page OF hie report, are
not rare. officials of tho Pension Bureau to-day
say. Here. then. are three shameless abuses.
through the agency Of which the Government is
annually robbed Of millions OF dollars, and the
pension rolls are padded with thousands of
fraudulent names. There is another abuse moro
vicious even than the first two Of these three
that have been told about. This ono is the pen
sioning of widows" Of veterans. 1t 10 q ma
tional scandal that soldiers homes are the
camping ground for females who seek pensions.
They Turk about these homes as wild animals
lurk about tho foot of a tree where their
intended victim has taken refuge. This
is no overdrawn picture, either. These
females catch a veteran and run him away 10 a
minister, who marries them. He Is landed then
back at the homo and the female departs in
triumph. She need never see the man again,
She has only to wait for him to die, when she
assumes a widows weeds and takes her place
among the worthy widows of soldiers who lost
their lives fighting for their country, though
the veriest harlot she may be. She is not PEN
stoned under the act OF June 81. 1890, but under
the Genera! Pension law. The act OF 1890 pro-
vides that widows shall benefit who married tho
pensioners previous to the date Of the passage Of
the act. Tho General Pension law does not set
any date for the marriage OF a couple to enable
q surviving widow to get her husbands pension.
1t is sufficient that she was married to him and
is his widow. So notorious has this business Of
marrying veterans become that scarcely a month
passes but something about IL gets into the
papers. Recently H SUN printed a despatch
from a town in the interior Of Maine where the
race for veterans was hot. Women secured the
woods for them and hunted them as a hunter
pursues wild game. In Washington THE SUN
reporter was informed by an official OF the
Pension Bureau. who knew. that matters were
almosta as bad. These women" said the official
to THE Sun reporter. hover about the home rs
hawks hover over a Hsh pond or a chicken yard,
and they pounce upon the veterans on sight"
ROBBERY UNDER THE LAW.
When these women claim the pensions of their
deceased husbands and the Government con
sents to pay those pensions the Government
consents to plain. unvarnished robbery made
possible by an omission In the law. The letting
down Of the bars to enable "widows' to feed al
the public crib has been ~ scandalous as hai
been the letting down of the bars to enable the
letting In Of fakirs and swindlers. 1t has come
to that pass that a marriage certificate is nc
longer necessary to prove a marriage. The Law
says that q sufficient proof Of marriage is the
assertion Of q woman that she was mar
ried and the testimony Of neighbors that
she had lived with the man as hi
wife. Was ever the common law mar
rage idea carried so fart The case with
which persons can DO got to testify about events
that happened and conditions that existed
years ago is we'll known. The statement is madt
without fear of contradiction that IL the ordi
nary rules of evidence were enforced in pension
cases as they are enforced in courts OF RECORD
the pension rolls would contain fewer names O
survivors" and widows" by more than
hundred thousand than they do now. So mucl
for the pensions that are granted by genera
laws and by the Dependent act of juno OF. 1890
PENSIONS By SPECIAL ACT.
1t is Q common phrase In Washington that 1
a man or a woman cannot get on the pension
rolls under any OF the existing laws, he gets
special act passed putting him on.
Such acts are very often worthy, but Their
are very many of them That are unworthy
They are brought in by Congressman from
everywhere and by Senators. Hardly q Con
gresham who has not constituents ambition
to get on the pension rolls, who, having faile,
10 get on In the manner provided by law. appeal
as q last resort. to him to get. by special ACT
what they have failed to get regularly. In tn
hurry and rush In Congress many of these ur
worthy acts slip through with the worthy ones
The record showed two years ago a total O
5000 pensions by special act. Statistics of tn
special act pensions to-day are not obtainable a
the Pension ONCE. Once the pensioners get Of
the roll they arc classified, and then the
become merely a part Of the great tota
, army. They arc so reported in the annuH
statement. Special pension bills, as a rule
give no reason why the applicant shout
, have a pension. Here is a sample. 1t was Ser
ate bill 654 at the extra session OF the presen
> Congress:
Be It enacted by the Senate and House Of Repre-
| s~entatiyes Of the United States OF America In Con
, gress assemblies That the Secretary OF the Interio
, be. and he is hereby, authorized and directed to plac
on the pension roll. subject to the provisions and lin
: stations of the pension laws. the name OF Caleb y
Wright. Captain, COMPANY @. Fourth Regiment, Ne,
Jersey Volunteers. and grant him q pension at tn
. rate OF tab par month from aud after the passage {
I this act.
. STILL PENSION soHRMEs MULTIPLY.
Liberal as are tho pension laws. the cry II
make them still more liberal. Liberal as Is tn
9 nj ion to tho benehciaries OF Its bounty. the or
10 still for more. Not a session OF Congress
t passes but schemes innumorable In addition I
t the special pension laws are proposed. The
r are to increase the pension fund. TO let in NOR