Sunday Washington globe., 1902-02-09

them at the time II is part Of the game
for Congressmen to pretend not to know.
IF Evans is to be projected in this unlaw-
full practice, there is another dirty feature
about H. Evans knows as soon as the War
Department files its report Casually within
two weeks) that the claim will be rejected
for want Of a record no matter how many
witnesses testify to service origin, OF what
the strength of the lay testimony Will be.
With this knowledge he encourages the
claimant to think that there is some chance
of getting pension, ard thereby Evans puts
the veteran the widow. or the minor, or
the parent to about $50 of expense after the
claims has been decided against her by
Evans estoppel Why does Evans not
notify claimant that the records OF the War
Department fail to show the alleged dis
ability; and that unless she can comply
with his rule for testimony OF a physician
In service or at discharge, it will be use
less expense to go ahead with the claim
1t is part of his nature to de- i've and put
these old people to great expense uselessly
There has been fled during Eve years under
the old or general law alone as shown by
Evans report, S. ass original claims Of
veterans their widows and minors, based
Du hNANiNN NiAkAu VI hAoahAhAJs - ~N'@
those separate claims at least S2s in money
to prosecute the claims TO rejection, each;
but to be conservative, say $40 in money in
addition to their own time, thus Evans
taxes those claimants useIessly, and, there
fore, fraudulently by deceit S5S4,Sso II is
safe to estimate that hve-tenths of the
widows and minor classes will be rejected;
but If we take the invalid class alone,
e. mill ha n
conservative estimate Evans and all his
clerks know this now from the papers on
file; yet Evans with his fake executive
ability, sits there aud fails to notify the
claimants Of the trap he has set for them.
Congress is accessory to the fraud by pre-
tending that it is question Of weight Of
evidence, not a mere matter of illegal estop-
pei. Not one claimant in ten thousand ever
saw his book, and could not understand it
If he did see it, Congressman pretend not
to understand it,
The Harrison administration and the last
Cleveland administration did not use this
illegal estoppel in original claims, and the
Harrison administration modified it in new
disability claims, using it only as a circum-
stance in testing weight of lay testimony
where new disabilities were claimed for
hAAEl pENolOA Ad4 BNGu dAlOWGu 9A-OnHi
Dec. 29, 1901 Jan. S, 1902. (Eddings & Gil
lespie, P. D., page 81 and text. Harrison
relieved it of the estoppel feature. Lochren
did not use it in original claims; and when
Evans came in he found thousands of claims
which had been to the board Of review and
service origin accepted on lay testimony
alone; but which the board had returned to
the examiner for some technical evidence or
point on other matters such as correct post
Office Of soldier, correct spelling of name,
correct date of birth of a child, etc When
Evans came in all of these claims were or
dered rejected on this absolute illegal
estoppel for want of a record, notwithstand-
ing the service origin was clearly estab-
lished by lay testimony and stood accepted
by the board and claims would have been
allowed had not there been a change of ad-
ministration. An examination of the claims
will show this to-day in the bureau. Attor-
neys have examined them; so have Con.
gressnen.