Evening star., 1899-09-14
LAWS ARE AT FAULT
Correspondents Take Issue With W. A.
Bartlett's Statement,
Disability Originating In or Out of
the Service PensiOnable-In-
Justice to Veterans.

| lett, recently published both taking issue
| with him in his statement that 1.-The law
OF 1880 provides that where an honorably
| discharged so der suffers from a disability
| which might have originated in the service.
| which incapacitates him from labor, he
| may receive pension
Pensioner writes: The law of 1890
| makes no such provision 1t does provide
| that where a soldier served not less than
| ninety days in the war of the rebellion and
! received an honorable discharge. and is
| SO disabled-no matter by what cause or
| causes. nor when nor where incurred. pro-
| vided vicious habits do not enler IN as fac
| tors-as to b. incapacitated for earning a
| support by manual labor. he shall be pen
| s.oned at rate not less than ST per mon h
! and not exceeding ST. per month.
1T is not, therefore, a question of senti
| ment or sympathy bat of law and fact, as
| to who shall be pens oned and 10 the
| rate of pension, but sympathy in the indI-
! Vidua 1mmed .ateiy concerned invarlab V
! blinds the judgment. The pension bureau
! is not respons bic for he pension laws.
! but it is responsible for their construction
and execution In this respect the Amer
! can people are too enlightened to believe
! that the politics complexion of an admins
tra;ion IS perml ted 20 influence the acto
! of The pens. bureau. Eacn commissioner
of pensions has his own methods OF pro-
ceduIe and conSti ues The pens. on laws n
the light of his own 1udgment and the ac-
tons of his predecessors as they appear OF
record and when the administration OF the
various comm issioners are compared II VIII
| be seen that here has been no variation in
the fundamen al pr r-ncipies of the pens on
SyS, EN-. rather in the Interpretation of
these prime pies.
THE act of June u 1880. was an effort
to meet the vague der,ands of the old SOL
der. and at he sarne time appease he
ciamors of the taxpayers. but 1t satisfied
neither. In the course of three months
after the passage of the act the claims
hereunder were filed literally by the hun
dreds of thousands, and the force n the bu-
reau was increased by 400 clerks. Adjud'-
cations were made rap diy, but on the ines
of prior laws. which was erroneous. Mr.
Eussey perceived he defect in construction
of the law and endeavored TO reredy II by
order 1854, but 1t not unit the advent
of Mr. Lochren commiss oner of pen
SONS that a serious effor' was made to
rectify the wrong done by the previous ad-
mnistration Mr.. Lochren was sincere in
his action. bu was censured for it, and
yet not more than 10000 or 30,GOn pension
ers in five or SIX hundred thousand had
their pensions reduced in consequence of
his revision.
The pension bureau is the eternal butt
of The old soldier and of the people. The
one because he thinks he is not fairly
treated and the other because they ,hnk
the old soldier Is peited. Both should com
plain of Congress, and not of the pension
bureau. Were the pension laws construed
as literally the Old so diers would IKE
to have them construed $3O0O0 GOO year
would not begin to satisfy their demands.
LAS you state. the appea proper is to
Congress- the source of all law. and when
made it should be clothed in terms which
shall leave nothing to be inferred or
guessed at
Injustice of the Law.
A. r. Hausmann writes:
ALLOW me to slightly correct the state
ment of Mr.. w. A. Rar'le't your pa ner
Of the 11th instant, wherein he says that
the law of 1890 provides that when an h n
orably discharged soldier suffers from
disability which night have orig nateA
the service which incapac a es him from
labor he may receive q pension.
1.-The clause (might have o. ginated In the
service) is erroneD US. for SAID law mas n
such proviso. AS ng as .ne di ease is OF
perma nent character and n t the result OF
the sold er's vicious habits, ami incapaci
tates him from the performances of manual
slabor to such degree a, to render m IN,
able to earn support he shall be ent tie
to from ST. to S12 per m nth, ace 1d-n ng to
his physical cond ton. Tie sa i'll ne i
not be of army service origin AID rgnt
here IS where Congress ma a mistake
So long as the dis;.b Ii y is not c ntiac
in the service, the physical condition sh
not have been made the bas!- of the ght
to d pension, for the reason that this la .,
as it now stands works a .-reat wrong Oh
many deserving veterans, ID he foll'"ing
case will show
Two men apply for a pension under the
act of June 81, $50. One served u. rs
and the other one three months o
happens that the three months man s al
fcted with an hereditary Sc sc, whIch
appeared in his later years and pr gl e Sc
with his age, rendering him unti, t. pc
form labor. He receives So per month pen
sion-Well and good! Nv, the other poor
fellow always took good care # h m III
and comes from a hardy stock-c 1nst qde..t-
ly he is at the time of his medical exam ma
ton in pretty good phys cal c nd ito al
though unable t. earn his suplort b. ma l.
ual labor by reason OF ii advanced age,
but he receives not one cent.
The who serve faithfully all
through tne war p ~ Il Dy LO..- css be
cause God gave him a robust const tuti n,
and the feeble in mind and body derives ii l
the benefit irl esp, nsile OF his Sc. vi e en-
dered Mind, nobody would obJect i. me
disability would be due to the arm, service e.
This will plainly show the gross injustice If
this pension act, and the fact that II is so
Worded that each succeeding official of the
Interior Department can consilue ii to 81
himself reflects stlll more ol uonsress.
Commissioner Raum allowed the same
rating for disability under tbs act is
granted under the general pen i'm Jaw, a .i
Commissioners Lochlen and Evans made
the ability to perform manual labor the
rating point, which means that a man may
have thirteen and a half different d s Ii
ties, but so long he is abe to wash his
wife's dishes which Is manual ,abo, he is
entitled to very little or moth ng And We
both constructions right 81 lawful for.
stated before, Congress lie hose loop
holes in the wording Of the act. If on
needy healthy old boys could .llso Sc .. fe v
pennies, there would be no gr wiling
as it is, great many of the mJst deser i Ig
old soldiers are in want simply for having a
good constitution.
Surely no examiner from the pen on bu-
reau or notary public would ask sold err :
widow Are you living in concu fnage? Tut
1t is the duty of every notary under p iltE
of law to have every wild who exc uteS
her pension voucher, -lemny swetl tha
she has not remarked nor entered Into
marriage relations. AS not only lemaI-
rage, but a4so open cohabita tiOD bd.s a
widow from pension, the latter clause IN
the oath is necessary. The pens on bureau
has cautioned all notarieS t. be very par
tcuiar this point for The reason lat
many widows, with children born after
their husbands death, had drawn pens ons
for years. and as notaries are he'll! str ctly
accountable for any irregula ties on Is
point they must, of course, put this cue =
tion in their oath. There seems 10 be a
mistaken impression in the minds o. a
great many people that all those millions of
pension money are paid to the We Grams OF
the war of rebellion. Not So A b e amount |
of that money is pa dsto soldiers " no ne
served in any war, for the law prov d. s a |
pension for every soldier sailor " no con-
tracts Il disability in the service si. the |
war and should they die from the eau |
said disability their widows and m nors e
entitled. provided they were married piior