Sunday morning globe., 1901-08-25

that instead Ol Waltlnk Tor the en-
campment he took the neat train back,
and the next morning called on Mr..
Davenport He related Oatmans case
and enlisted the sympathies of Mr..
Davenport. But as the papers We're
gone out to the field he could do moth
ing. However, maybe the papers are
not sent out yet, said Mr.. Davenport.
And, sure enough they were not. He
there and then vent through the eW-
dence and the papers and declared the
case complete, and the man entitled to
the total disability pension. But the
papers were ordered out TO the field,
and the only thing he could do was to
mark them special which he did.
When Evans returned and found out
what had happened, he was fu ious
His agents got extra stringent inStruc-
tions, and when the papers We're re-
turned from the field H. Clay evans
marked the claim rejected" An in
stant appeal was taken from his de-
cision, and pending this appeal, which
Is still undecided, poor Oatman passed
away i'm blissful Inconsistencies Of
the cruel injustice done his wife and
children.
Here is what the veteran referred
to says of the deceased soldier, whose
case is now pending before the appeal
board, and has been for almost a whole
year:
"Dr j. j. Oatman and two other
comrades, when ne was wounded iu
the head with a piece OF a shell, lay
HH.1I IN
prisoner and sent to Libby prison.
From there he wrote home to his sis
ter, telling of his wounds, etc. When
he came home he was unfit for duty
Tor some time, and they wanted to give
him his discharge, but he would not
have it. and when able went back to
the company and was wounded twice
after that, and discharged with the
company at the expiration Of his three
years service. After that he read med
iCine and graduated as doctor. l did
not see him again until about the year
of S4 or S5, when he was practising
medicine at CarrolltOwn, Cambria
County Pa, where he was styled the
crazy doctor because he would not ride
a horse When 1 asked him about it,
lAH AUAA hAN AAh eAANAA MOAAA III lAAl
head affected him so that he could not
ride a horse He also told me that
while reading medicine at college that
at times, when working hard, that his
head got affected and he would have
to quit. At that time he had no idea
what was the cause oft, but since he
found out that it was the effect of the
she'll wound, and it was getting worse
right along From there he moved to
Altoona Pa and I'm the course of time
he got so bad that he became utterly
hepless-childish. III you pointed your
finger at him he would cry like a
child, and. like q child, he attended to
calls of nature. He was receiving a
small pension for hls other wounds,
and when they applied for an increase,
thuapn a. old cogy ulre, who
made a failure of it, Afterwards tt
came into the hands of an attorney i'm
the city who had the case opened
again, and after a time was to all ap-
pearances completed about two years
ago All the doctors had rated it
case Of total disability, and we all felt
sure that IL would go through all
right but the Pension Commissioner
thought different and ordered it back
to the field Now, during this time
they (Oatmans) were sued for debts
contracted, as his small pension could
not keep the pot aboiling, and his little
was to be sold by the sheriff,
but as everybody was 80 sure that he
would get his pension, the sale was
postponed so that the debts could be
pa. out Of the back pension, and we
wanted the case made special. Not
withstanding all this was explained to
the Commissioner, he refused to do so.
They ordered Oatman before a board
of surgeons at the county seat, and
when it was proven that Oatman could
not be taken there, we got a special
examiner to examine him at his home,
and he rated him total disability, and
described the cause the she'll wound IN
the head, etc. l was told that the eX-
aminer in the field was at Mrs. Oat-
man the biggest part Of two days, put
ting her through the sweating process. |
They raked up everything they could
against the case. I was told that they
took the statement Of an old drunken
doctor, who did not like Oatman for
taking his practice, that the wound in
Oatman's head was caused by a limb
Of a tree falling on it. When the let
ter that Oatman had written from Lib
by prison was produced they looked
upon 1t as manufactured evidence, but
here was the sisters sworn statement
and the pOstmark where It had been
mailed in our lines at the time They !
had TO admit that it might be all right, |
but when IT came back 1t was rejected !
Then am appeal was taken, and there |
he case Is now. A few months after |
he appeal was taken, Oatman died. |
1he great trouble was that the claim |
was too great To would make too |
arge a hole i'm the appropriation. Had |
Q been a Sl or So claim 10 would have |
gone through all right. [ understand |
hat the Commissioners private secre- |
ary stated that IL it was granted they |
would not allow him the full rate"
The veteran who penned the fore |
going wears the medal Of honor. He |
IS well known to Commissioner Daven- |
port, and is a man of integrity and I'M |
mpeacheable veracity His statement |
s. truthful and uncolored Commits |
iiOner Evans has simply robbed I'm a |
brutal manner the Widow Oatman and |
ler children out of the money due |
hem. and allowed them also. by the |
generous American people, through It's |
congress The money Commissioner |
Evans turned into the Treasury repre- |
tents the robbery OF other soldiers
Widows and orphans like the Oatman
'amily Nature cries out against this
nfamy, and we are tempted with the
lsalmist to exclaim, "How long, o
Lord, how long" win this tool Of a
ieartless hypocritical and unfeeling
Administration be permitted to rob
md outrage the widow and the or
,hans Of the men who gave their lives
hat this Government shall not per-
sh?