Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-16
AN IMPORTANT DECISION
No Limit to the Time of Widows Right
to Appeal.
An Interesting Pension Case Review
cd and Determined by Assist
ant Secretary Davis.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Web
ster Davis handed down several decisions
in pension cases today of great Importance
One in particular decides a very important
question, everything the decision of the
department in number of decisions rem
dersd in former years. This Is a very i'm
portant ruin g. for the reason that while the
secretary does not pass upon the claim of
the claimant, he prcmu.gates very i'm
portant ruling that there shall be no limit
to the time in which d widow may file an
appeal in completing her deceased hus-
bands claim. The case is that of the
widow of William H. Hughes late of Com
pany d, 10th Ohio Infantry. The soldier
filed an application for pension under the
act of June %, 1890. His claim was re-
jected July 81. 1894 Claimant then died
before appealing his case from the action
OF the commissioner of pensions.
After his death his widow filed an appeal
from the action rejecting her husbands
claim.
The widows claim was rejected on the
ground that she had no right to file an ap-
peal from the action taken in her hus-
bands claim prior to his DEATH on the
ground that ii was not pending claim at
the date of his death. From this action of
the department the widow has appealed.
In the decision Secretary Davis says:
THE right of the widow of a soldier who
MS clam, has never been questioned; but
she has uniformly been denied the right TO
set up a new claim in her deceased hus-
bands case after his death.
I'm a soldiers claim in process of adjud.-
cation when the claimant died. the widow
has been accorded the right to do any
thing In the claim that her deceased hus-
band could have done had he been living
In other words, under section HIS. Re
Vised Statutes, and the act of March >,
lS9'I she succeeded to his rights, not only
to receive the pension when granted. but
to prosecute the claim to a final adjudca-
ton. One of these rights is the right to
appeal to the Secretary of the Interior
from the rejection of the claim. or from
the rate allowed. The soldier, if livngsr
would have the right to appeal from the
rejection of his claim at any time In
other words there is no limitation as to
the time of filing an appeal by an appli-
cant for invalid pension. By what au-
thority then can the department fix a lim;-
tation as to the time of fling an appeal
by the widow. her right to appeal being
conceded? The law provides that if a
soldier is entitled to pension and has an
application therefor pending, on his death
the widow shall receive the pension re
would have received to the time of his
death. The question whether the soldier
was entitled to a pension is not settled
by the adverse decision of the bureau, but
the Secretary of the Interior has a right
to pass upon the question. Her right to
prosecute this case to a final adjudica-
ton and to appeal from the adverse ac-
tion of the commissioner Of pensions is
conceded. Then the question arises has
the Secretary of the Interior power to
fix limitation as to the time in which
such appeal may be filed?
Rejected claims are uniformly reopened
and readjudtcated upon application and
additional proofs submitted. Appeals by
the original claimant are entertained ten
and twenty years after rejection of the
claim, and no just reason appears for
limiting the time of filing such appeal by
the person who succeeds to the rights
of such original claimant. I am, therefore.
of the opinion that the decisions in the
cases of Jacob Wolhart, Henry Groppe and
Briggs Soper, in so far as they fix limi-
tation in filing appeals. exceeded the juris-
diction of the Secretary, and they are to
that extent overruled.'