The Taney County republican., 1899-06-22
THE PENSION BUREAU.
Interesting IufOrmation About th<
Most Abused of Governmental
Departments.

! Departments.
| No department of the government Is
more unpopular than the pension bu-
reauand no officials more systematical-
| ly maligned than its head, the commits
sioner of pensions. The first condition
is the result of liberal congress and a
! too liberal Interpretation of laws, which
/ threw down the gates and opened the
treasury TO the undeserving. The other
! is due to the fact that either the COM
] missioner is too liberal in his interpre-
! tation of the laws, which brings criti-
cism from the people, or he is strict in
his interpretation and thereby eXcites
| the i'll will of the pension claimant.
Year after year the roll of pensioners
has grown until to-day there are 992,-
| G64 wards of Uncle Sam, who require
an annual appropriation of upwards of
! $150,000,000. When it is realized, as
every well-infcrmed man does, that
much of this money is unjustly distrib-
uted the odium which attaches to the
! pension Office cannot be wondered at.
sThe people expect Il wise and honest
! Interpretation of the laws relating to
! pensions, while many of the claimants
not only expect, but demand that the
| commissioner violate the law in their
particular interest. This is by no
means an eXaggeration, for the files of
| the pension office are crowded with
; claims that have absolutely no merit,
! and from each one of these claimants
there gees forth complaint that the
commissioner of pensions is unfriendly
to the interests of the old soldier, and
| that he should be removed. 1t is the
same experience with every commits
! sioner of pensions, democrat or repub-
! lican. Some commissioners have made
0emselves popular with the claimants
| by granting pensions broadcast, but
/ the wrath of the people was not slow in
making itself felt.
The provisions Of the general pen
sion laws and the rules and regula-
| tions established by the secretary of
the interior form the basis of the ac-
| ton of the pension bureau in the a6-
| judication of claims for pension.
The law places the commissioner OF
| pensions under the direction of the sec
! retary of the interior, and therefore the
action of the pension bureau is subject
! to the regulations prescribed by the
secretary. In constituting the pension
| laws the decisions of the department,
| which are contained in nine volumes
published by the department, are bind
| ing upon the pension BUREAU and as
nearly all material questions relating
! to the granting of pensions have been
! considered and decided by the interior
| department from time to time very lit
| tie discretion resides in the commits
| sioner as to the meaning of the acts OF
congress relating to the subject.
| The act of June -, 1890, as construed
/ by the secretary of the interior creates
! conditions which are not applicable to
| claims under the general law, and much
of the emisapprehensiona and dissatisfac-
| ton with the operations of the pension
! bureau arise from 4 want of under
! standing as to these conditions.
Thus, for example, soldier is en-
! titled to n pension of SO month un-
! der the general law for single hernia,
while the same disability entities him
! to only six dollars month under the
! act of June -, 1880. The loss OF one eye
, is rated under the general law at SIT
! q month, while under the act of 1890
! only six dollars is allowed. n degree
| of deafness, which would entitle 4 SOL
| dier to $50 month under the general
| law. IS not ratable under the act of June
! 81, 1890.
| a widow under the general law is
| pensioned regardless of her possessions.
vhile under the act Of June -, 1880, the
enjoyment of an income in excess of
! Sl0O per annum is bar to pension un-
| der that act.
Now, when these different conditions
| arise in the same neigEburhood people
! seldom stop to inquire as to the law I'M
! der which application is made, and
when n claim is allowed under the gem
! eral law at Il high rate for degree of
deafness which does not entiile to n
| rating under the new law it necessarily
'esults in criticism Of the commission
| er. And when widow who is in afiiuent
circumstances is granted pension un-
der the general law, while n claimant
not nearly SO well off is denied pen
! sion under the other law because she
is not without other means of support
than her daily labor, it seems to the
public to be an unjust discrimination
on the part of this bureau.
Yet the law creates these conditions,
| ard it is not within the power of the
commissioner to DO otherwise than exc
cute the law, and in nearly ali Of these
cases the pension office is blamed in
stead of congress, which alone has the
power to lcgisiate.
When the present commissioner
took charge of the bureau he found
pending many thousands of claims of
persons who had never received any
pension, and 10 this number many thou
sands Of similar claims have been added
since that time. He also found Il still
larger number of claims pending for
increase, and this class of claims has
also received large accessions.
AS it was found Impossible to give all
these claims Immediate consideration,
a rule was adopted devoting the time of
the examiners )r four days in the week
to original claims. While this rule ap-
pears TO give preference to original
claims, the work on increase claims has
been pushed forward as rapidly as pos
sibse, and it is hoped that all classes of
claims Vii. soon be brought up to date.
With referepce to the work of the
bureau during the fiscal year ended
June so, 1898, 52,64S original claims
wore allowed aUainSt S0 I'M II, 1907