The National tribune., 1902-02-13
PEI SION FRAUDS.

| Mr.. Gibson, of Tennessee. very thor
oughly ventilated the Commissioner of
Pensions brazen calumnies against pen
sioners and claimants, and tiresome pre-
tense of having to encounter swarms OF
criminals and mountains of corruption.
Mr.. Gibson said:
Another matter, Mr.. Chairman, | ask
the indulgence of the House TO speak
about, and that is the so-called pension
frauds. Judging from what one sees in
the papers, and hears on this floor, and
reads in the Congressional Record, one
would think there were abnut 10000
fraudulent pensioners and about 10000
dishonest pension attorneys. and that it
was only the sleeplcss vigilance and tire
less energy of the Pension Bureau that
prevented the scheming soldiers and ras-
cally attorneys from bankruDting the
Government; and that with all the Bu-
reau's honesty, industry and argus-eyed
watchfulnesS, the sharks were lOOting the
Treasury to an alarming degree.
Now, Mr.. Chairman, let us see how
many deserters.' bounty Jumpers coffee
coolers camp followers spurious wild
ows,' pension sharks and Treasury loot
ers' have been caught in the traps set by
the Pension Bureau with IFS 100 en-
ployees in the Office and 226 Special Ex-
aminers in the field, to say nothing OF
the 800 clerks in the IS pension agencies
throughout the United States.
Remember, there are 403,569 pension
claims pending: that last year there were
222,5SS new applications filed, and there
were sent to the Bureau over a million
pieces of evidence; that there are 997. .735
pensioners on the roll, and 1892 attor-
neys to instigate and aid these pension
ers in all manner Of wicked practices and
fraudulent schemes
"What a grand harvest of rascals these
2.226 employees of the Pension Bureau
and the pension agencies must have
reaped! Judging from the hullabaloo. the
average man would not be content to guess
less than 25,000 'lOoters' and sharks
as the result of last years catch; and yet
what was that catch? | read from the
last report of the Pension Bureau: 226
persons convicted. all told, and hardly
a soldier in the lot Yes. instead of 25.0n0
convictions for violating the pension laws
and trying to loot the Treasury, only 228
exactly one conviction for each Of the
226 Special Examiners scattered all over
the United States, and no catch at all for
all the other 1000 persons connected with
the Bureau and its agencies.
''AIr. Chairman, let me read you what
lators of the law: False claim. 81: false
certifcation, %; false affidavit. 16: false
personation. five: perjury. 40; forgery. IL;
Illegal fee, 26; persODating Government
officer. 81: retaining pension certificate,
two: prosecuting claims while Il Govern
ment officer, four; conspiracy, two; en-
bezzlement, one, and attempted bribery.
one"
Mr.. Gibson then proceeded to make a
logical deduction from these facts:
'Mr. Chairman. in all the history of the
world there cannot be found a better rec
ord of honest dealing with a rich Govern
ment. Out of over a million of persons
concerned, either as claimants of pensions
or as witnesses therefor. or as officers
taking affidavits, or as attorneys or agents
assisting in the proSecution-oUt of over
a million of persons concerned only 226
of wrongdoing in a whole year,
and vet 2.226 officials of the Government
watching, guarding, investigating and
Scrutinizing in efforts TO discover crooked
conduct. One conviction for each 10 de-
tectives, one wrong act in each 4,400 ner-
sons concerned, and hardly soldier
among them!
''And how about these dishonest PEN
sion attorneys Of whom we hear so much?
Last year there were 1892 pension at
torneys on the roll. and during the whole
year only 81 were diSharred for miScon-
duct. Surely, Mr.. Chairman, these clam
Drous charges against pension ATTORNEYS
must be mostly false, or the Pension Bu-
rpau is not doing its duty to the country in
allowing them to continue tn practice.
THE honest truth is, Mr.. Chairman,
that the pension roll is clean and hon
ast roll of honest and deserving soldiers,
md honest and deserving widows. chill
lreu and parents of dead soldiers; it is
4 roll of honor and of honorable men and
women, and the pension attorneys are
lass of honorable men. engaged in an
business, and doing their work
N an honorable way. And these charges
# fraud and raScality so loosely and freely
pOJn npninsf fhp old soldiers and their
lttorneys is a gross SANDER and a sour
-ilous libel, and all that is necessary to
'ause the great body of the American neo-
,le to burn the brand of condemnation on
he brows Of their defamers. and to vim
licate the honor of the old soldiers and
heir attorneys is full knowledge Of all
he facts"