Sunday Washington globe., 1902-05-11


Congress as a blind, a Limitation clause
limiting appeals to one year, and prohibit
ing the proposed court frOm oyerruling any
of Evans constructions Of any law after
two years from the illegal construction,
This was TO fasten on the veterans ali Of the
hold.ups which the syndicate was prohibit
ing the Interior Department from over
ruling at that time, and 20 prevent over.
ruling other constructions
Just remember right here that no time
limits against the veterans appeals has
ever been in any pension law. (Hughes
9 p ID. IS2; Hird p d. 263; Ellis 9 p. d.
gag; 10 P. d. 32I) The Government has
never played the baby act in that way to-
wards the veterans as far as law has gone.
If the veteran has been defrauded out of
his legal rights the law allows him, and his
widow after him. to have it corrected at
any time by appeal. 1t would be a nice
scheme to have the soldiers of the Repub-
lie who are living in all parts of the world
and in all parts of the United States and
who have something else to do besides
keep posted as experts in pension law,
barred by that kind of time limit. Evans
wrote the court bill, or had it written by
his experts, and the G. A. X. committee
carried it for six months ready to spring
on Congress when il suited them. The
time came at last when their fraudulent
conduct in connection with the widows
property law and the Philadelphia resolu-
tion had been exposed. (See GLOBE March
| 10, Jan. 26, and Dec I5.) They then
wanted this court bill as a pretext and
screen, we'll knowing it could not be passed
then. The Limitation clauses were put in
] T. r.. e q.
had to be introduced earlier.
Evans worked on his revision scheme
three years in Congress, but failed although
! that G. A. K. committee Of I5oq-I9oo were
secretly aiding him. In his report for
1 1900, Evans, in order to make a rush for
the revision scheme, resorted to big scare
and bold lie by saying
Forty per cent Of the revenues of the
Government in time of peace is applied
to payment of pensions" (See Report
page 3o.) He relied upon the boldness of
that falsehood in doubling the pension ex-
peuditures to save him from detection.
The revenues we're that year in round
numbers S567, 900, 900 while the pension
expenditures were only $I39oOO,ooo. But
the Commissioner of Pensions as judge has
nothing to do with the pension policy of
tue GoNGIuLAGuls 4uclG were not TOO
many soldiers to save the life of the nation.
Congress is the sole judge of the revenues,
and Evans lawlessness in violating the
pension laws to Save" the money appro-
priated by Congress to pensions cannot be
justified or tolerated on any ground. He
makes himself Congress and all, by taking
the laws in his own hands
The Hanna gang of anti-pension scoun-
] Il % ef.r b.T q,
conceal gigantic frauds against the pension
laws They pretend that Evans is the
friend of the veterans and is, in accordance
with law giving the veterans the benefit of
all doubt that arises in the construction of
each law; while he ignores and suppresses
and pretends to reconstrue laws that have
stood from the foundation of the Govern
ment Take the recent secret pretended
reconstruction of the act of June n, 1890, as
to when the Civil War ended. That act is
limited to enlistments during the Civil
War Evans, after following a construc-
ton by the Cleveland administration which
had stood for twelve years, as to the date
covering enlistment of colOred soldiers,
has changed it from June 80, 1865, as the
last date of enlistment of colored soldiers,
to April II, 1865. He did not do this until
several of his other recent schemes against
large blocks of pension laws had been
overruled, including that fraudulent guar
dian decision which he planned and run
for a year for scoOping 100000 of the
wards pension money
The Republican President holds his Of
fee by the grace of colored votes at the
North; yet in violation Of the construction
by Judge Reynolds (Cleyeland's chief of
the board of arpeals) Evans secretly
wrote, or had his experts write, Assistant
Secretary Campbell an opinion reducing
the time from June 80, 1865 to April 80, 1865.
The law properly construed covers ninety
days service of volunteers prior to August
20, 1866, the official end of the war.
The Supreme Court of the United States
hold that August 90 1866, was the end of
the war, but Cleveland's administration
which every body will coucede was not pre-
JUDGED in favor of pensions, based date of
end of war for enlistments, on dates of
orders given at the War Department to stop
certain enlistment of certain classes of SOL
diers. The War Department continued the
enlistment of colored soldiers longer than
the enlistment of white troops, in order to
give the old veterans a release from war
and service, aud let them go home Troops
20, 1866, and enlistments of colOred volun-
teers continued until 1866. These enlist
ments were accepted by the War Depart
ment even after the orders to stop enlist
ment 1t was found impracticable to stop
enlistments at the date Of the order, there
for the order was changed verbally. 1t was
just as legal to change it that way as to
change it by new written order. The rolls
and records show these enlistments were
continued all over the South until 1866, and
the service is recognized as valid and bind
ing by the War Department. The men
were 'mustered-in" too Ia new but illegal
pension requirement by Evans). By chang
ing this date two and one-half months,
Evans unlawfully cuts out thousands Of
Colored veterans who have been regularly
pensioned until the present time. Many of
them had one and one-half years service in
the South during the period that the SUI
preme Court holds the war legally con-
tinued
There was fighting in the South by regular
bushwackers as late as July and August,
1865. The printed pension decisions show
this, and it was necessary to send good
-r l. E~as ID.