The National tribune., 1901-04-25
HOW HAS HE SAVED 1T?

The following, from the Burlington (Vt.
Free Press, is specimen of the misleading
stuff Evans is sending out to the newspa
pers of the country:
at is estimated that Pension Commits
| sioner Evans has saved the Government
100000 in rejected claims during his
term OF four years. Under the eIrcum-
| stances Uncle Sam could well afford an
| increase in salary for this Office"
Now, like all of Mr.. Evans's statistics,
this is preposterous, and will not bear
analysis. The average value of the allow
ances under the Act of June 27, 1890,
last year was only S1OS2S. In spite of
the increasing age and infrmities OF the
veterans and their widows, the value Of
the allowances has been steadily cut
down. Under Commissioner Raum the
| annual value of the allowances was
S121.51, or S13.23 more than at present
That was more than 81 month 10 years
en- who received it, and no one can imagine
how much that 81 a month represented to
them in comforts of life, medicines, shell
ter, etc. Commissioner Lochren cut down
the average value of the allowance to
$109.25, or about S12 year from Raum's
ratings, but this skinning was not enough
for Evans, who pares off another dollar.
Think of such cold, hnty-hearted, calcu-
lating parsimony toward aged men and
women who in their youth gave Iavishly
of everything they had to the Government
which has grown inordinately rich upon
that sacrifice! Think of a man systemat-
ically following this policy of fleeing and
deprivation, solely and simply for the pur-
pose Of advertising himself as an "econo-
mist" and "financier."
And everybody who dares demonstrate
against this merciless deprivation of tens
of thousands of aged men and women of
what would supply them with coffee, to-
bacco, medicines, or other little comforts
and necesSaries, is branded as pension
shark" a Treasury looter," etc. Does
the great, warm-hearted, generous Amer
lean people want any such a Shylock
weighing out in poor scruples" the
hearts blood of those to whom they owe
an unpayable debt?
Returning to Mr.. Evans's figures: That
Mr.. Evans has saved the country $780,
100000 is a gross exaggeration. At the
rate of S10S.2S per annum that would rep
resent nearly 100000 reflections, or an
average of nearly 1000 a week, during
his four years, or approaching twice as
many as he has allowed. He has hither-
to strenuously denied to the G. A. II.
Pension Committee, to the veterans gen
orally, and to the press during election
periods that he has made any such num-
ber of reflections.
He says that all of these should have
been rejected. This rests solely on his
say-so-on his wretchedly prejudiced, per-
verted, unwarranted construction of law
and evidence. 1t rests on a construction
of the laws which has not received the
approval Of single reputable lawyer in
the country, and which he has had to
deny, explain away or apologize for, every
time he has been cornered, in Congress
or elsewhere. 1t has for its basis solely
sion expenditures, without regard for the
law, the interests of justice, or the de-
mands of humanity. All these ars as
nothing compared to the qualification Of
his vanity in making an advertisement Of
his genius for economy"
By any reasonable showing, which win
stand the test of examination, he has not
saved the country any 100000 900, or the
half of it, but he has embittered the lives |
of hundreds of thousands by niggardly |
cheese pairing and heartless reflections.