The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1897-05-13
rHr FxAM1s1Ne suRaEoSs.

| One OF the sore grievances OF the com
rades against the past Administration
was the composition of the Boards Of
Examining Surgeons, and the fact thai
President Cleveland did his best to give
his appointees life positions, and handi.
cap his successor, by placing these under
the Civil Service.
Under previous Administrations these
Boards, which, as rule, consist of three
members in each County, were made up
in a bipartisan way. That is, two mem
bers were of the same party as the Ad-
ministration, and the third member of
the opposition. Mr.. Cleveland changed
this, by making the Boards almost every
where consist wholly of men of his own
party, without the opposition being
represented. Worse than this, they were
largely constituted of young physicians,
who were given the places as the reward
of political services. Under the re-ex-
animation policy Of Commissioner Loeb
rem position on these Boards was a
more profitable place than good post
Office, and was consequently eagerly
sought after. The previous policy had
been to appoint very generally old army
Surgeons, who had had experience in the
field, and who consequently thoroughly
understood the nature of the ailments of
the pension applicants, and had SYM
pathy with their old comrades that the
younger fedglings of the Cleveland
regime could not possibly have, and did
not pretend to have. The veterans felt
themselves outraged at the treatment
they received by these Boards, and the
indignation was deep and general, when
it was discovered last Winter that they
had been covered into the Civil Service
by an order issued sometime after the
election. Very few knew that this was
done at the time it was, because the order
was obscurely worded, and it was weeks
before it was generally known that the
Examining Surgeons were included.
The legality of this has been very
seriously questioned. In 1878, Justice
Miller, of the Supreme Court, rendered
a decision that the Examining Surgeons
are not officers of the Government. and
in the course of the trial Speaker Reed
said:
IF party should contract with the Com
missioner of Pensions to furnish wood for
the Pension Office at 50 per cord, he would
as justly be entitled to be considered an
officer of the United States as civil Sur
geon who contracts with the Commissioner
TO make examinations of applicants for pen
sion at So per head.
The Interior Department has repeat
edly ruled that the Examining Surgeons
were not Federal officers.
In au interview with Commissioner
Evans yesterday he said to The Ma
TIoNAL TRIBUNE:
"The order placing Examining Sur
geons under Civil Service has not been
revoked, and consequently / must obey
it. 1t however does not extend those
Surgeons whose fees amount to less than
$500 a year, and these | can dismiss at
pleasure. Then, too, where | find that
some old Army Surgeon has been turned
out to make a place for some young
doctor, / can, if it is desired, restore the
veteran under Rule TX, and this / have
done in many instances, giving as my
reason, the good of the service The
young gentleman whom you just saw go
out, was a member of a Board In
Philadelphia. | removed him to give
the place back to the veteran from
whom he took it. He called to know why
he was removed. / told him that there
were no charges against him, but that
had removed him for the good of the
service"