Sunday Washington globe., 1902-04-13

unfortunately for himself, he takes his
bearings, stand in awe of the present Com
missioner. About his FIRST official act on
assuming the duties Of his Office was 10
issue a HkaSe respecting the personal HABITS
Of the clerks, and other employees OF the Of
fee. IN regard to promptuess booze etc,
etc.
The Commissioner of the General Land
Office and the Commissioner Of Patents
have not deemed it necessary to hold up
Il cir clerical force to the public gaze.
Mr. Evans is charged with inordinate van
ity, and it may be that the desire to exploit
himself, and the importance of his dis
tinguished personality, has been at the
bottom Of his various attacks on the rep
resentatives of claimants at any rate he
has kept on HagCiUg, and strange TO say
has heen sustained not only in his warfare
on pension attorneys aud agents, but IN his
policy of rejecting claims on most himsy
and iuexcusable pretexts, by an admins
tration presumably the soldiers friend.
The fact that claims have been rejected at
the rate of over hundred thousand year
is the best evidence in the world that the
Commit ssiouer is not in sympathy with the
letter or spirit Of the law in his dealings
with the survivors of the Civil War or their
dependent ones.
To the everlasting credit of Grover Cleve-
land, be il said that he instructed his Com
missioner of Pensions to always give the sol
dier the benefit of the doubt. This just and
generous rule has had no place in the policy
of the present head of the pension system.
On the contrary the benefit of the doubt has
invariably been given the Government,
thus enabling the Commissioner TO cover
back into the Treasury millions of dollars
voted him by generous Congress to pay
pending claims and those already on the
rolls. II may be that among the large mum
Der Of persons practiciug before the Bureau
Of Pensions there are some who are not
honest in their dealings, but the percentage
of dishonesty among them is not greater
than among the same number in any other
line of human activity. and it won't do for
the Commissioner to shift the responsibility
for his uupopularity to those who repre-
sent claimants before the Bureau of PEN
sious. His own policy is responsible for it..
In the last report of Judge Lochren, who
preceded Mr.. Evans, he stated that pen
sion attorneys, as a class, were honorable,
intelligent and conscientious, and were of
great assistance to the bureau in the settle
meut Of claims Is there any reason under
the sun why Mr.. Evans should not have
been equally candid His resignation is in
the hands Of the President who is under
stood to be looking for a better Job for the
retiring Commissioner, just why this fussy
person should be entitled to special con-
sideratiou at the hands of President Roose-
welt is one of the conumdrums which no
body on earth can answer. In his message
to Congress, the Presid ent stated, referring
to veterans of the Civil War: mo other
citizens deserve so we'll of the Republic as
the veterans, the survivors of those who
saved the Union. They did the one deed,
which, If left undoue, meant that all else in
our history went for nothing" In the light
of this statement, how can the President
contemplate the promotion of the man who
has for dve long years made it hard for the
"boys" to secure the pittance allowed them
by Congress. ONE OF THEM.
AbgH s. I202.