Sunday Washington globe., 1902-02-16

kept on single claims passing on evidence
in such claims where the decision Of one
claim would not affect any other claim
Those claims IN which a single decision
would reverse Eve thousand claims were
left untouched until Evans had finished up
the Job This was so for three years with
the minors claims; with The mothers
claims; with the violation of the act of
March s, 1896, for rehabilitation Of new
law invalid claims with his order 3sa put.
ting claims for increase on the hold-up files
for one year before issuing the order for
medical examination; with his order pigeon.
holing and refusing to adjudicate claims of
veterans living abroad, and with his several
schemes for defeating invalid new-law
claims by technicalities set out in his book
Of practice at page 96 section H. page Io2,
sections 3 and a. wherein Evans set out six
pitfalls for entrapping new-aw claimants
into losing part OF all of their pensions.
Some Of these uew-aw tricks were worked
for four years. They affected almost every
claim adjudicated, and caused rejection in
whole or in part The claims Of 600 minors
are still on the hold-up files pretended to
be awaiting legal construction of the law.
but ia fact for Congress to repeal the law
which gives these pensions and thus de-
prive these claimants of these short accrued
pensions Tetroactively.
Evans and Hitchcock are deprivinR these
5000 heirs of deceased veterans Of their
legal rights In order to hold them up to get
Congress to con6scate the money now due
them according TO laws now on the statute
books. Evans expected to play the same
trick upon the minors and insane veterans
who are already pensioned but have estates
This was clearly the plan. In his report of
1900 he wanted to BE- authorized by the Sec
retary TO call for annual reports from all
guardians. In May, 1901 the Board Of
Appeals told him to go ahead and do his do
The exposures in the GLOBE alone brought
the matter to a head and caused the Secre-
tary to permit the board to take up the case
on appeal before year had expired He
Evans, was reversed last week. (See Even
irH Times, Feb. 6, 1902, case of Margaret,
mother and guardian of George l. Beck. an
insane veteran; GLOBE, Jan. s. 70 and Feb
y. Can the retention Of such a man over
the veterans be the result of anything short
of conspiracy TO defraud the pension laws?
The President was reported bv Evans as
saying that he the President) would not
remove Evans under fire." Is that another
threat that the veterans must grin and
bear it all2" The same threat was made at
the last national Encampment of the G. A.
R. by Senator Hawley when Judge Rassieur
moved that steps be made to have Evans
removed. Hawley threatened the encamp-
ment that If the veterans passed the reso-
luton the President to punish them for
their temerity would not remove him. This
is not the exact language, but the substance
or purport of the threat. II is in effect the
same threat that Evans reports President
Roosevelt as making TO him when Rvans
first called after the Mckinley obsequies
This is game" that two can play and the
other side will have their inning next
November for the first time The case is in
its last stages
Evans brought the g. A. X. officials to the
bureau last week for another fake invest-
CATION to help him out. The pretended G
A. r. investigation in 1899 was so thor
oughly discredited that Congressman Sims
got ashamed of his praises of it and cut
them out of the bound volumes of the Con-
gyeSSfoRal Record If the officials were
ever so faithful 10 their trust they could not
touch the matter under three months steady
work with a good force OF clerks Not less
than TOO, 900 reflections should be examined
and $4,000 allowed claims.