The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-08
WORKINGS or THE PENSION BUREAU.
Commissioner Evans Replies to Criticisms
of the Grand Army.

WAsHINGToN June 7.-Commissioner OF PEN
sions Evans has written a letter to Senator
Hayward of Nebraska, giving some interesting
facts in the workings and management of the
great bureau Nehraskas junior Senator was
appealed to 10y his Grand Army friends to find
out what truth there was in the reports that
Commissioner Evans had repeatedly and per-
sistenty gone against Grand Army men in
every way possible since he went into the Pen
sion ONCE. At the outset Mr. Evans says:
There ar" ,747 employees in the depart
mcnt, OF which J6O are eN-tnion soldiers. and
II this number 452 are drawing pensions in
addition 10 the salaries The Board of Re-
view, as now organized. is composed Of one
chief, two assistant chiefs, five chiefs of see
tions and 10 reviewers. The chief of the
board is Col. +. u. Stephenson, who served
during the entire war of the rebellion as Cap
tain in the l52d Illinois. and later as Colonel
in the l52d Illinois Infantry. He was severely
wounded and is rensOner for that reason.
OF the no reviewers seventy are cX- Mon SOL
diers \ large proportion of the men employed
on the Board Of Review have been connected
with the Pension Department in different Ca
pacites for from twenty to thirty-hve years.
The medical division. whose work is to
settle all medical questions. especially rates Of
pensions. consists Of medical referee, an as
sistant medical referee. two qualified surgeons,
TWO prlnclIal examiners ana IOrty -tnTee meul-
cal examiners The Board Of Review. in con-
nection with the medical division, is charged
with the adjudication and settlement of all
claims. and their action is generally final on all
questions involved. The Commissioner does
not see one III hundred Of the claims that re-
ceive the attention of the legal and medical
"All the employees Of the Pension Depart
ment are under the protection OF the civil
Service law, A majority Of them are known to
be Republicans, There are about ;t34 en-
ployees who are known to be Democrats.
1t IS very evident upon careful eXamina-
tiOn OF the act OF June, 1870, that II creates
GondtiHns which are not appilcab!e to claims
the misapprchension and dissatisi faction with
the operations Of the bureau arise from a. want
of understanding as to those conditions; Thus.
a soldier is entitled under the general Law, to
al per month for the loss OF an eye. but under
Yer month, as it does not incapacitate him from
earning subsistence by manual labor 40 in
from dcgr OF deafness emitting him under
tn" general law to $40 or SO per month has
% Sa"5 Mnes ,S aS, 81 as
not ncaltcitht" him from earning support
by manual labor
law regardless of her possessions. while under
the act of 1870 the enjoyment OF an income
in excess OF the amount she would receive
when these different conditions arise in the
1uirc as 70 III" law under which application is
made, and when Il claim is allowed under IN"
general law at Il high rate for a degree OF deaf
ness which does not entltle to rating under
tho nsw law it necessarily results in criticism
of IA" tommi ssioner. And when a widow in
afiuent circumstances is granted pension
under the general law while a claimant not
nearly SO we i of i denied Il pension under
the new law, hccaus" she is NOT without other
means OF support than her daily labor, 1t seems
to the public to be an unjust discrimination on
tn" part Of this bureau. Yet the law creates
these conditions and it is not within our power
to do otherwise than execute the law as con-
sstrued by the dGnartmcnt but in nearly all Of
these cases tn" Pension Office gets thu. blame
when i ATTEMPTS to carry out the law as it eX
lists The disability which entities to the maxi
mum pension sl2 per month under the new
law is substantially tn" same as would enttle
to pension OF SO per month under the old
law Yet We find that under the old law only
while under the new law l'3.BI are drawing
the maXmum rate of $l2 per month. Under
the old law i1,5iI soldiers received Sl2 per
During President Grants term. from 1863
to lSII thor" were, allowed in all a 1872
f rom ~ I91nE S"ms W%rr ao 5Sr
During the fiscal year ending June 80. 1909.
I2.0S4 original claims were allowed. 1t will! be
allowances for the entire four years of presi-
drnt Grants SECOND tern and ne The entire A.
Mediral Referee Chief of the Board Of Review
and nine Gf the chiefs Of DIVISIONS and
IMPORTANT positions in the bureau are all eiX-
Union soldiers, and, AS you we'll know. the
entire organization Of the bureau is controlled
and in all matters pertaining to the question
of organization Of the different divisions. in
appointments and promotions. the ext nion
rnt commanders Of til" department uf the
Grand Army Of tn" kcruhli' have all com.
m"nded the Pension Bureau for its faithful
cnce to the soldiers of the rebs lion -