Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-19
AGAINST THE REFEREE
Another Fight Pending in
the Pension Bureau.
F0RMULATING A CASE
CLAIM THAT DECISIONS ARE UN-
DULY SEVERE.
DR.. Raub's Acts Will Be Reviewed.
A Phase of Antagonist to
Mr.. Evans.
FORMULATING A CASE

When the Grand Army assemblies in this
city in October there is likely to be a re-
vival of the old issue relating to the grant,
ing of pensions which was SO prominent
while Commissioner Evans was at the head
of the pension bureau The fight, it is said
will be very much along the same lines
that are so familiar to every one who has
followed events connected with pension Of
flee controversies, except that instead of
being directed against the commissioner 1t
will be aimed at the medical referee, DR..
Jacob F. Raub, who for five years has held
that important position and was always up
held by Commissioner Evans. Very much
the same people who kept up continual
fight against Mr.. Evans will demand the
removal of DR.. Raub as medical referee.
They will claim that his decisions have
been unnecessarily severe on veterans, and
now declare that the medical referee was
to large extent responsible for the acts
OF Mr.. Evans, against which they protested
Tor SO many years. In other words, Mr.
Evans resignation, they say, has not cor
rected the conditions which they objected
to- Now they want to get rid of the medi-
cal referee and to have some one else put
in his place. =
A Formal Protest.
Commissioner Ware was not in the city
today, but Will return here Monday. 1t is
said that within a short time he will have
formal protest before him stating reasons
why the medical referee should be
moved. He has, it is said, already been APP
preached on this subject, but it is well
known that in many ways he has main
tanned the same attitude toward pension
office administration that characterized the
term of his predecessor. What he Is apt
to do In the case of the medical referee is
a matter for speculation, as one in the
bureau has any definite information in re-
gard to his Intentions
Before Mr.. Evans went out of Office he
decided upon the appointment of a board of
review to investigate and report upon some
thousands of. claims that had previously
been disallowed and were on appeal to the
Secretary of the Interior. These claims, it
is said, were decided ascouple of years pre-
Niously, and the object of this review was
to determine whether under the change of
law and rulings in the bureaus during that
period of time any of them could be al
lowed.
Changes in Rulings.
The important feature of this proceeding
was that the cases were to be reconsdered
In view Of the changes In rulings that had
been made, which, of course, related to the
rulings made by Mr.. Ware, the new COM
missioner. 1t is declared that the appoint
ment of this board Of review was In no way
slap at the medical referee although
many Of the cases that were to be decided
by 1t were those that had been, passed upon
by the medical referee, who was regarded as
In sympathy with the old and not the more
recent rulings. 1t was the medical referee
who was ordered to appoint this board of
review, and Its members were selected by
him 1t would have been impossible for
the medical referee to have personally re-
Viewed these cases, so that the appointment
of a board was absolutely necessary if the
work was to be done.
Enpp,or nso;ciors
The real effect of the work of this board
is said to be that It's decisions have called
attention to former decisions of the medical
referee in such way as to give ground for
criticism on the part of those who have
openly been against him. When the work
Of the board of review Is completed 1t is
expected, a list will be made Of all reversals
of former decisions, and that in this list
will be included many cases that can be
used to the detriment of the medical ref
cree, because they will show instances in
which his official action has beeen unneces-
sarily harsh
1t Is said that if DR.. Raub IS relieved from
his duties as medical referee that action
will not be unusual. There Is no thought
of doing more than to transfer him to some
other duty, and today there are two exam
liners in the office who have served as med
zeal referee. DR.. Raub has occupied his
place as medical referee for five years,
which Is about as long as any of his prede-
cessors have ever held 1t, and longer than
most of them have been there