The National tribune., 1901-07-11
DEPARTMENT NEWS.

ACCRUED PENSION PENSION
CHECK OF DECEASED PENSION
ER.-Under date of May 21, 1901, The
Auditor of the Interior Department has
issued an order, Department Circular, No
g. as follows: The act approved Marcf
g 1885, entitled, An act to provide fol
the payment of accrued pensions IN Ger
tain cases. among other things provides
the mailing of a pension check, drawn b!
g pension agent in payment OF pension due
TO the address of a pensioner, shall con
stitute payment in the event of the death
of q pensiOner subsequent to the eNecu'
ton of the voucher therefor Under this
statute a pension check drawn to the or
der of and mailed to a pensiOner, who dies
after the execution of the pension voucher
and before endorsing the check, becomes
a part of the estate of the deceased pen
sioner, and is payable to the personal rep
resentatives of the payee's estate.
PAYMENT TO AN EXECUTOR OR ADMIN,
ISTRAToR.
I'm order that the proceeds of such a
check may be disposed of according TO
the laws of the State in which the de-
ceased pensioner resided at the time of
death, it is payable to the duly appointed
and acting executor or administrator of
the estate of the payee. The executor or
administrator should endorse the check
in his representative capacity and attach
thereto a certified copy of letters tes-
tamentory or letters of administration,
and forward the same through a local
bank to the Assistant Treasurer on whom
the check is drawn, for payment. 1t is
no longer necessary in any case in which
there is an executor or administrator to
forward the check to the Auditor for the
Interior Department for investigation.
PAYMENT WITHOUT ADMINISTRATION.
In many cases these checks are drawn
to the order of payees on whose estates
no administration is required. In such q
case the check will be paid to the person
or persons who would be the beneficiary
or beneficiaries in case of administration,
and should be forwarded to the Auditor
for the Interior Department for investi
cation and recommendation to the Secre
tary of the Treasury. 1t will be neces-
sary for the applicant for payment to file
an application in the Office of the Auditor
for the Interior Department on Form
b2S.' Application for payment Of pen
sion checks without administration The
reason for distribution of the estate with
out administration will be required to be
shown, together with the name of the per-
son or persons who would be legally en-
Of administration, whether there are debts
of the decedent which are preferred claims
against the estate, and such other facts
as are indicated on Form 52S.'
'The circular regulations of this Office,
dated Sept. 8, 1895, are hereby revoked,
the provisions of this circular to take eff
feet July l, 1901"
ACT OF JUNE 27, 1S90-VICIOUS
HABITS-In the pension case of Benja-
min +. Peterman rejection by the Pen
sion Bureau was based on the inability of
claimant to show that he was not ad-
dicted to vicious habits at date when in
3ured"-claim for pension being based ON
loss Of part of three fingers while running
an edger in a saw mill in 1882, IL years
before application. The claimant was un-
able to furnish the testimony of any eye
witness to the accident. The decision
asst Secretary Campbell May II, 19O1)
holds: "ViciOus habits cannot be presumed,
In case of an injury, unless there is some
thing concerning the nature or character
Of the injury which warrants such pre-
sumption, or unless the evidence shows
certain facts which are sufficient to raise
such presumption.
Where neither the nature of the injury
nor the evidence adduced raises such a
presumption, the testimony of two credi-
BILE witnesses to the effect that claimant is
now a man of good habits, and that they
do not believe, and have no reason to be
heve, that the said injury was due to vi
cious habits, will be considered as suffi-
cfent to meet the requirements of the
statute, provided always that the claimant
s man Of good repute for veracity, and
that he shows that no better evidence is
obtainable by him."