The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-01-31
THE PENSION LIST.
Rea.ons, Again.tths. Proposition TO Fab.
Ii,li It--The Intent should be Considered.
Eaarce rated and Iil.Considtio ChnrGel

sir:--I have read with great interest
the suggestion OF Commissioner H. Clay
Evans to print, for public Information,
q list OF the names OF the persons draw
Ing pensions. Corporal" Tanner, an
commissioned OF pensions, insists that
the publication of such q list would be
"damnable outrage" Corporal"
Tanner is a pensloner himself, but no
one can question the proprlety Of his
pension.
Whether or not such q list would be
an outrage would depend wholly upon
the Intent with which 1t was published
and the purposes for which 1t should
be used. If tho list were published in
good faith and circulated and used as
q roll of honor, It would be a very hand
some thing, indeed, to do. but II 1t is
intended, as intlmated by Commission
er Evans, that q list be circulated by
the government that the people may
scrutinize It, and discuss It on the
streets, In the groceries and at the cross
roads-the merits and dement's Of every
pensloner-then no good would come
from such a publication. And IL 1t be
intended that the list shall be a kind
Of general search warrant, to aid tho
pension bureau In ascertaining who are
on the rolls improperly. then Cor
poral" Tanner was quite right when he
said 1t would be "damnable outrage"
Why should every honest soldier in the
land who draws q pension authorized by
the laws OF his country be subjected to
this indlgnity? II you please. why
should Corporal" Tanner, who left
both his feet on the battle field at Bull
Run, stand up and be searched, because
forsooth, some one else claimed what
he was not entitled to have and sue
cedeed In deceivlng the pension bureau?
Has the pension bureau. with Its army
of clerks and agents, been SO badly
managed that 1t cannot tell whether the
people who got the money were entitled
to It or not? Iflso. different business
methods would seem to be the better
remedy. II Commissioner Evans. or
anyone, knows OF any person who is on
the pension roll fraudulently why not
point out the criminal and have him
punished? The courts are open for such
purposes, and the laws are ample. II
tICl lIllllFs "lUlIb Will ttlC pCll-
sion rolls, correct them.
But why should the pension bureau
feel so sensitive even II few pensions
have been Improperly allowed? It
should be borne in mind that more than
a million cases have been acted upon.
1t would be almost miracle II. in act
Ing on SO many cases. no mistakes have
been made. No doubt many mistakes
have been made, both in favor of and
against applicants. Mistakes are almost
unavoidable. but mistakes are not
frauds. Before anyone can secure PEN
sion he must file his, application and
prove by record evidence that he was
4 federal soldier. honorably discharged,
and also that he has some disability
which brings him within some of the
acts Of Congress providing for PEN
sions.. These are all matters of fact
to be proven to the satisfaction OF the
commissioner of pensions, and why
should not the commissioner misappre-
bend these facts just as judges and
juries mistake facts proven in open
court? 1t Is OF common occurrence for
judges and juries to make mistakes In
the trial Of causes. Notwithstanding the
witnesses are before them, and undergo
rigid examinations and cross-eXamina-
tons, and their demeanor may be OBJ
served by the court. But the judge who
makes an honest mistake Is not GRIM
lnal. nor Is the sultor who IS benefited
by 1t. II these courts make mistakes,
and are imposed upon under such favor
able circumstances, why should not the
officers Of tho pension bureau make
r1,ictnIsaa nd ha ip,rncod whom
they can only have before them the
written descriptions OF the disabilities
presented in atiidavits, often imper-
fectly and unskilfully drawn.
I think know personally majority
of the old soldiers now residing In the
counties Of Preston. Taylor. Barbour.
Marion and Monongalin. who are on the
pension roll, and I defy any man to
show that one OF these men Is fraudu-
lently on the roll. In addition to this.
/ am quite sure that II all these men
could be taken before n board of expert
pension examiners. and every one given
Just what he Is entitled to under the
law, the aggregate sum paid these men
would be increased atleast 20 per cent.
For. every Densiorcr whoca be shown
to he drawing moro than he Is entitled
TO receive under the law, I will show you
five OF his nelghbors who receive less
than they should receive could their dis
abilities be traced back to their origin.
This arises from the fact that many Of
the men who.were excellent soldiers in
Cured disabilities in the army, but have
no hospital record. and cannot trnce the
origin of their diseases to the time they
were In the army.
This cry Of pension frauds Is confined
to few people In few instances
It emanatcs from malice, but usually
from ignorance. tits not true that any
considerable number OF our people
grudEe the old soldier tho plttanccj re-
celvcd by him for the services rendered
his country In time OF need. The truth