The National tribune., 1900-01-25

striking our these just cases for pension
and / warn you, so that you may be a
guard.
| In addition to Mr.. Robinson three 9th,
gentlemen We're allowed to speak. on II
| time of Mr.. Livingston GA. D.. buGheir r.
marks were not printed in the Record unit
| later.
DEFENDED BY A TENNESSEE DEMO
Graf.
Mr. Sims (Tenn., d. defended NJ
Evans's course. He said n pension wa
simply gratuity, for which he was crit
ciZed by William Alden Smith Mich, r.
who asked if it was not solemn obligatio
upon the GovCrnment-an implied COZ
tract, sacred and binding-that those VIII
bore the brunt of battle shall not ask /
vain for help from the Government the
saved? He said further that the reaSo
why many of the soldiers have not bee
penSioned heretofore is because they hav
not asked for pensions until by the fore
| of circumstances they needed it; and Whel
| that time arrived, ! do not think the Gov
crnment ought TO be too rigid in its con
Struction of the rule that will permit theS
men TO get their Just deserts from the Gov
ernmcnt. | would make the laws NOR
liberal and feel sure the COMMISSIONS
would gladly administer them
there was such delay in the Spanish wa
cases lis TO amount TO almost exclusion
Mr.. Sims said:
Oh, ii does not amount TO exclusion
The great ma .jority of the soldiers who Wer
engaged in the Spanish war We're youns
men, who have a long life before them
Now, you want to have them penSioned a:
boys, when they have long lives befor
them, and to be drawing pensions all tina
time. l say that any Commissioner o
Pensions. regardless of politics, ought t
take such time as is necessary 10 properly
investigate and determine the facts of Il cast
when it is before him.
SPANISH WAR PENSIONS.
Mr. Fitzgerald Mass, d. complained o
the course of the Pension Bureau toWart
the veterans of the Spanish war. Only 30t
of the $4,000 claims had been adjusted
There were men who had lost limbs or who
had been completely incapacitated whose
claims We're pigeon-holed.
Representative Ray On. Y, R) former
Chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pen
sions, replied to Representative Curtis
characterizing as "unwarranted and un
justifiable" the latter'S attack upon the
Commissioner of Pensions. He defended
the action of the Commissioner in refusing
back pension to minor children who he sale
have long since grown TO manhood.
Mr.. Talbert Is. c., d. wanted to abolish
Friday night sessions devoted 10 private
pension bills. The large majority OF the
bills for special Legislation here are for IN
creases and for desertion and for camT
followers generally. No doubt there are
some deserving cases, and / will always
take pleasure i'll voting for those cases.
REPRESENTATIVE MAHON'S SPEECH
Mr.. Mahon Pa., r.. Mr. Chairman, this
Pension Bureau disburseS some Sl40,O 900,
600 annually, and it is very easy to criticize
il in a few isolated cases. In this opposl
ton that has grown up during the last yeal
against the Commissioner OF Pensions and
the Pension Office there is a class OF gentle
men at the bottom of it, and think the time
has now come to have something to say II
reference to those gentlemen. 1t is vel
known that the City of Washington is in
tested with what is known as pension-shark
lawyers. They will send their circulars all
over the country, send blank applications
and a blank power of attorney, and get
these claimants, whether they are entitled
to pension or not, to sign and execute
these papers and return them.
Then they send them few blank affi-
davits and the whole outfit does not cost
them 10 cents. From the time these papers
are sent out, it is my experience, and it Is
the experience of every man who lives IN a
community where these soldiers live, that
they must resort to a lawyer, or to the home
of the Justice of the Peace, or to Notary
Public, or to that man whom we find in
nearly every village who sort of looks after
things of that kind for the people, and they
execute the papers for them. l will take
you to the Pension Office and show You that
not one case out of 40 do these gentlemen
ever put in an affidavit in their own hand
writing. / have filled up hundreds Of these
cases, and l never charged soldier dime
in my life. When the case is made up, and
the member of Congress succeeds in getting
favorable action upon it, what do these
pension-shark attorneys do? They walk
up TO the Treasury Of the United States and
take their $40 bill or contract for S25 from
these claimants, for which they have never
rendered one penny of service except to
send out a few blanks.
Mr.. Ray, of New York. Will the gentle
man from Pennsylvania pardon me Sug-
gestion right there?
Mr.. Mahon. Yes, if you do not use up
too much Of my time.
Mr. Ray, of New York want to add tc
what the gentleman says that after the
ad iournment of the last Congress received
letters from all over this country, in cases
where we had granted special pensions
asking me if the attorneys in the cases were
entitled to charge S25, $50, and $50, as they
were doing, for work that they had never
done and cases they never had anything Il
do with.
Mr.. Mahon. Since / have been in this
House | have handled over $500 pension
cases. i live in "A country where war rageC
for four long years, and i'll State tina
furnished 37S, 900 men 10 the Union army
and i'll district that put %, 600 men into il
/ have requested the Pension Commissioner
and written 10 him, not to allow these in
famous sharks 10 take a dollar from tn,
claim after it has been allowed.
Now, this appeal that IS made To you il
in the interests OF these sharks who hav,
been robbing the soldiers Of this country
IApplause.l In 1893 the present Commits
sioner paid out S730,OOO Of the money
awarded the soldiers, Of which over two
thirds, or one-half, went 10 the pension
sharks of Washington City. ! do not refcl
To the reputable lawyers. traced a case il
this city 10 find a pension attorney hy til,
name of Mcbride, and J. found him, OF
Louisiana avenue, TO be an Irish washer
woman. The city is infested with theSt
people, and they have neither Office no.
desks. Now, during the last year tn,
Commissioner in his report under June 80
1899, says that he paid them instead o
S730, 600 only S476, ,369.61, almost $500, ,OOt
less than they had received heretofore, anC
although more pensions had been granted
during 1899. Now, for this speech expect
to receive the compliments of a paper callet
THE NATIONAL TRIBUNE, which claims
to represent the soldiers of this country.
1t was these pension sharks, through
that paper that have stirred up the soldier.
all over the country, and | am one of tn,
men in favor Of passing a law, or putting i
into this bill, indorsing the COMMISSIONS
of Pensions and providing that these mel
shall not rob the claimants of the money
allowed them by this general Government
EApplause.l
Mr.. Clark, Of Missouri. Why not put i
into this bill?