Sunday Washington globe., 1902-01-26

boards throughout the country by publish
ing a few garbled and exceptional reports,
and then raising the hue and cry Of whole
sale fraud and incom potency GLOBE, No
vember I7). The said reports appear to be
all right, but if not, it was his duty to in
struct and to send around his medical stu
dents to these boards. Why did he take the
opposite course9 His course is positive
proof Of his fraudulent intent He occu-
pied confidential relation towards those
boards, and hagrantlY violated it through
the press and his reports malicioasly. He
did this for a fraudulent purpose, and the
President and Congress know it, The fur
ther fact is also in proof in the files that
these 4I5s physicians on these boards, are
among the most competent physicians in
the United States, and that Evans report
and publications in the press are vile libels
against those educated men by low and
ignorant, and a villanous political boss
who has practiced his trade among the ex-
slave voters of the South where bosses Of
the Croker stamp fourished during the
reconstruction period. This is why Evans
was selected for Pension Commissioner by
the anti-pension junto. (See GLOBE No
vember "a. IeOI.)
Let all the medical reports during the
last FIVE years be published in full, except
the names and regiment, giving for identity
the Office number This publication would
strike down at a single blow all 'of Evans
pretensions. Congress owes II to the ply
sicians, TO history, TO the country and to the
veterans Each veteran should demand
this of his Member Of Congress. The pubh-
cation should give the action taken by the
office, showing fully what diseases were
ignored changed and reduced after the re-
ports reached the office, and show amount
allowed, and whether rejected in whole or
in part The facts would astound the Ma
ton.
Judge Rassieur, in his address before the
last National Encampment of the c. A. r.,
read seveal reports Of the St. Louis board of
examining surgeons in claims which Evans
had rejected several times. The reports
showed the most fragrant abuse and fraudu.
lent action by the Pension Bureau. There
are hundreds of thousands in the files re-
jected in whole OF in part, as strong or
even worse; but Congress is determined
they shall never see the light of day.
That Congress and the Republican bosses
are 'jockeying' the Civil War veterans was
shown over two years ago when the G. A.
r. National Encampment at Philadelphia
requested the President to construe the new
law by restoring Harrison's order I64 for
rating them so as to pension between 50 and
SI2 on the same degree Of disability as If
rated under the old law What did the
President do about il? He sent for Evans
and Evans told him to ignore the whole
subject but to recommend to Congress the
passage of an amendment to the widows
section exempting $3.50 income (the amount
which Harrison exempted) The President
did this. Was that treating the great and
extensive G A. X. fairly2 Did not candor
and fair dealing require the President to
take some notice of the only part of the
! resolution which affected themselves?
| They were laboring under greaI hardships
/ by the emasculation of the law by the pen
sion department; yet Evans had the Presi-
dent ignore their appeal without public
word. It was clearly his duty to have said
that he thought the law was correctly con-
strued if he did think SO and to have asked
! Congress to settle the long, hotly waged
and aggravating controversy by injecting
into section Evaus' words total inability
to perform any manual labor" No fair
minded man can doubt this The best men
in the Nation were against Evans perver-
sion of plain English sentence inability
to earn a support by manual labor") which
related only to disability to perform the
manual labor of a sound man, and had moth
ing to do with a support or financial condi.
ton; but which is fully complied with when
the veteran lacked only So of ability per
month of performing the amount Of labor oi
a normally sound man. (See GLOBE No
vember ~, IooI) Evans nor any other
person ever attempted to analyze the words
to mean any other thing; but they argued
that some of the rates under the old law
were too high if taken on a basis to perform
manual labor. That argument was an after
thought for downing plain law of exten
sive use at that time Heretofore they had
been bowling against those old law rates az
too high, saying that ability to perform
manual labor was the only test
They were then correct in law and fact
and the few rates which were out of proper
tion to inability to perform manual labo
under the old law should have been reduced
The Commissioner had the legal power t
reduce item. There were not more thar
five or six Not more than that number ha
ever been pointed out as justification foi
emasculating the new law. Manual laboi
is the only standard for earning a supper
as pensionable ground under the old Law
and under the new law alike, and Evan:
admitted that in his annual report of 1899
page 40.
But why did Congress also dodge th'
question when Congress re-enacted ths
June law May 9, 1900, and omitted Evans
clause at Evans dictation, through the cor
ruption of the 6. A. r. committed
Honesty and fair dealing with over a mil
lion of the defenders and preservers Of the
republic required Of Congress a final settle
ment of those words which the Pension De
partment had unlawfuly foisted into th'
law. Had Congress written Evans CLAUSE
into that law there the matter would have
ended but corruption and deceit were
abroad. Evans would rather lose larg,
sums from the surplus" than save 4
honestly by legal saving. He is consti
tuuonally corrupt He induced" Con
gress to the belief that "stoleu waters ar'
sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleas
ant" An open manly course would have
settled the law frankly, and have satisfied
the veterans, because legal. Every mar
feels humiliated and stuluhed by the cOurs'
pursued by Evans, the Q. A. r. committee