The National tribune., 1898-04-07
PENSION DECISIONS.
Cases Disposed of by Assistant
Secretary Davis.

| Assistant Secretary OF the interior Web
| ster Davis has rendered d decision ire
| ferred to in our last issucl i'm the appe aled
/ claim OF John ". GTanlesS. late of Co. Il,
| 25d Pa. for pension by y hich he Overrules
| Order 352, recently issued by the Com
| missioner OF Pensions rei;.ting To- further
| action in claims for increase OF pension
| that have been allowed or rel ected. The
| opinion, IN full, Is as follows:
| Il have considered the appeal in behalf
Of John w Grauless late OF Co. X, sd Pa,
I from your action OF Jan g. 1S36, refusing to-
consider his claim for increase OF pension,
| flied Oct. ;. 1891, within II months from Il
! prior adjudication, Sept q; 1897. In your
action above referred TO you say:
''YOu are advised that your claim was
| adludicaied Sept. %, 1891, and that you are
! now drawing IS per month under the Act of
June -. 1890. by Il recent order Of this
| Bureau claims for increase OF pension will
| not be considered within Il months from
| The allowance OF the claim or Il prior adj
! IudiCaliOn.'
The order referred to says: Hereafter,
! claims for increase OF pension will not DO
considered within 2 months from the last
| actlon-ailowancc or rejection.
This was substituted for the rule laid
down in Walkers Treatise on the Practice
Of the Pension Bureau Up. j2). Said rule
was a. follows.
:" Claims for increase will not lie adjudi-
Gated until six months shall have elapsed
though, when declarations are filed there
for, the claimants should. Is soon as
practicable he ordered for examination for
the reason that the increase must COM
mence at the date OF the medical examina-
ton made pending such claim. except in
cases Of permanent and specific dIsablli-
ties
There is vast difference between these
two rules aside from the period mentioned
during which the claims would not be adj
Indicated. The old rule says: Claims Will
not TIC adjudicatcd within six months from
allowance OF the original claim. but that
claimant should be ordered for a medical
examination as soon as practicable while
yOtr order says such claims VIII not be
considered within one year; thus arbi-
traTily dcprlvIng u merIt0nOuS claimant OF
a medical examination for one year, at
least, and thus Gcpriving him oil one years
increase of pension.
sBv sect on 1891 r. S. the increased
rate of pension, when allowed, begins from
the date of the Examining Surgeons Ger
tificate showing an increase in claimants
| disability.
Pensioners have right 10 apply for an
! increase of pension when they believe
| themselves entitled thereto, and no dis
| elimination should be made against them
substantially affecting their rights.
cit is IL fundamental rule OF practice in
| the Bureau and the Department that claims
shall be cons dered in the order of fling;
bat it is true that this IS not always practi-
cable in the numerous individual claims
for pension, and it should be remembered
that one class OF claimants cannot be ex-
pected to willingly cOncede the right OF pre-
cCdcnce to- another class, especially when
this affects the amount of pension Il claim
ant may reeve.
- For instance: 4 person receiving 4 PEN
sion ut a low rate Tor a nervOus disease
which suddenly results IN paralysis render
f..Fx.e i 81
him. on establishing his claim, to a rate of
$72 per month. If Immediately on filing
his claim he should be ordered for an ex-
animation and appeared Tor examination,
his increase rate would begin from the
date of the Surgeons certificate OF Such
examination but under your order No.
3j5) he is deprived of the benefit OF an ex-
animation for, at least, one year from filing
his claim.
at is believed that the practical effect
of Order No. 352 will result in great in
Justice to Ii great number OF claimants for
increase. Practically the limitation ex-
tends far beyond the Il months prescribed.
Claimants are not prohibited from flIng
their claims when they choose, and it fol-
lows that ii large number will be filed and
will be filed away, and many OF them VIII
not he considered until called up Then a
medical examination will be ordered, which
still further prolongS the adjudication and
materially affects the claimants interests:
since the increase, if allowed, must COM
mence in most cases from the date of the
medical examination. 1t Will thus be OBJ
served that the adjudication OF increase
claims under this order IS indefinitely
postponed.
q am informed that you have so
arranged the business in your Bureau that
four DAYS in each week are set apart for the
adjudication of original claims and two
DAYS each week for adjudicating increase,
nd q claims.
Under this arrangement no injustice
will be done claimants Tor OrigiIaI pensions,
and no reason appears for refusing to adj
Indicate increase claims in the order IN
which fled as near as practicable.
Ia this case claimant fled claim
under the act of June -, 1890, which was
rejected Aug. 70. 1913 lie filed another
claim Sept 9, 1895, which was allowed
Sept %. 1891, at IS per month. 1t thus APP
pears that in claims to which said order
does not apply it requires from two 10 three
wears to reach them for ad Indication, and,
on this basis, if order No. 352 IS followed,
no medical examination WOlld be ordered
within three years from date of filing the
claim. Five months have now elapsed
since this claim for increase was filed, ana
no medical examination has been ordered.
after carefully considering this question,
am free to say Order No. 352, if enforced,
will result in great injustice 10 large
number of claimants, and the same is,
therefore, revoked and set aside; and here
after you will please adjudicate increase
claims in accordance with the rule found
on page - of Walkers Treatise on the
Practice in the Pension Bureau, approved
by Commissioner Of Pensions Dudley, Nov.
Is. 1882. ard followed from that time until
the PRONUNCIATION of your said order, Dec.