Sunday Washington globe., 1902-04-06

n
cases that the temptation to commit fraud
and perjury in the cases excluded IS so
great that the injury to the public morals
bv permitting witnesses to testify would be
greater than the private injury sustained by
individuals through the law denying the
parties the right to prove the truth, unless
proved by writings, record, or in the partic
ular wav laid down in the statute. For
merlv lands were transferred by word Of
mouth and delivery the same as horse, an
OK, or other personal property; and title
was proved by oral evidence. The statute
of 20 Charles II Of England, provided that
certain transactions thereafter had should
be proved only by writings. That statute
is regarded as the father of this class of leg
islation and has been generally followed
by similar statutes in the United States
Statutes and in all American states, But
these statutes are never retroactive (uever
covering transactions had prior to the
statute.) Public policy would not warrant
such a retroactive statute lone cutting of
proof of transactions prior to it). An ex-
animation Of all these statutes will show
that they are limited TO subsequent trans
actions which occur in a deliberate matter
in civil life where opportunity to prepare
and preserve proper writing is ample, and
where good business habits demand that
the parties should take time to mutually
reduce their transactions to writings, and
preserve them.
But how is it with the President and
Evans? They are taking snap judgment on
on the veterans, not only by illegally set
ting up a repealed statute of frauds and
perjuries in opposition to Congress- bat
by making it retroactive against the veteran
in cases where he had no control or oppor-
tuuity to have the matter reduced TO writ
ing, or any hand in preserving it. He was
not permitted to know wlat the army sur.
geon put down, or whether anything was
put down. The records are chiefly mo
diagnosis" and no record.
This repealed section 47I7 of the code
read: mo claim for pension not prosecuted
to a successful issue within five years from
the date of filing the same shall be ad mitted
without record evidence from the War or
Navy Department Of the injury or disease
which resulted in the disability OF death Of
the person on whose account the claim is
made" (See Digest 1897, page 5S5.) This
section of the pension code was repealed by
act of January rs, 1879, 20 Stat, p 265
That law has not been re-enaCted by Con-
gress The President and Evans prefer TO
usurp the powers of Congress and take the
law in their own hands.
The Harrison administration and the
Cleveland administration did not attempt to
exercise this arbitrary and unlawful estop-
pei. (See GLOBE Feb. 10, 1902 and Com
missioner Raums letter copied therein. }
Take this fact with Evans sudden spring
ing of such an unlawful rule on the veter-
ans who had about 100, 600 claims pending
| in which there was no record or surgeon s
testimony, and you can see the wickedness
| Of this crime in all its horrors. Take case
where the captain, the lieutenant and four
! comrades and six ueighbOrs testify TO the
/ disease, the wound or injury, but no record,
/ and thedoctors all dead and Evans reject
! ing the claim. This gives an illustration Of
thous ands of those claims which Evans
| rejected by this absolute estoppel
Evans once answered that the rules per
nit the clerks 10 refer such claims to him
or to one of the deputy commissioners, who
were ever ready to take action, but there
Evans was again lying. No such practice
prevails in these cases, and the clerk who
would attempt to refer few such claims
would soon be relieved. A Congressional
investigation will prove the truth of every
word in these columns That is one reason
why Congress refuses 10 permit such an in
vestigation. Congressman Warnock, Bell
ct al prefer to pretend that the law warrants
this rule Of estoppel, and that it is a Ques
ton of reasonable doubt. They know per
fecty that it is an illegal rule of exclusion
without regard to the weight of evidence.
The evidence cannot be read. A rule that
excludes certain classes of evidence in ad-
vance has no relation to weight OF evidence
and is illegal unless passed by Congress
The rule of evidence which requires the
best evidence is a rule which relates to the
order of introducing the evidence, and is
not a rule of exclusion of any evidence but
a rule requiring a showing that there is nc
record or better evidence extant in the case
This fact is always shown in pension cases
The claimant shows that the surgeon anC
family doctor are dead, and then introduces
ahidavits OF comrades, officers and neigh
bors to show treatment by the surgeon anC
by the family doctor and the history o
the illness. This class of evidence il
illegally ignored by Evans illegal estoppel
Thousands and thousands Of those claim
which Evans rejected by this illegal abso
lutte estoppel were proved by the testimony
of officers, comrades and neighbors beyond
the possibility of a doubt. A record wOulC
not have strengthened the proof The vet
eran might file the afidavits Of ten com
rades, ten neighbors and his captain, testi
flying in the most certain, circumstautia
and positive way TO the exact disease, o.
other disability, yet the claim will be re
jected.
If the pension laws are bad Evans de
clares that they are), the way to get rid o
them is to enforce them until repealed
This is laid down in law books as the wis
dom of ages. Evans prefers to make
criminal of himself, in order to pretend tC
save the Government from bankruptcy anC
save Congress from itself, or save the Gov
ernment from Congress. This is Away
the excuse of bad man The devil tool
Christ up into a high mountain
Evans says there is no record. and as
sumes that all the witnesses and claimant
are moral wrecks" although shown to b.
men of high standing. (Feb. 49, Blu
Evans is lying, often when he says there i
no record, for there is in many cases
general record of hospital without speci
flying the treatment or diseases. Evan
often lies in pretending that medical ex