Sunday Washington globe., 1902-06-01

Within the last two weeks the Civil Ser
vice Commission has been investigating
the pension bureau under ex Commissioner
H. Clay Evans on charges of appointments
and promotions for money. The Commis-
sion gave out through the daily press that the
evidence adduced at the Investigation was
not sufficient without further corroboraton.
We would invite the Commissions atten-
ton to the facts given in the GLOBE about
the Romero sugar plantation scheme which
has been openly worked on the clerks by
the appointing chief of the appointment
division with the full knowledge Of Evans
and every clerk in the pension bureau. It
does not appear from the matter given out
by the Commission that any attention was
paid to that scheme for getting money from
clerks eligible to promotion. In fact, the
published explanation indicates that the
subject was wholly ignored, regular white
wash. Evans never mentions any such
things when he is claiming "clean sheet"
and mo scandals" (See GLOBE, March
and May I8) His defense is on the South
ern school book plan
In the last issue of the GLOBE Evans
false declaration made officially that the de-
cisions of the board of appeals had not
changed any rules of the bureau practice,
was copied and illustrated. (Annual report,
1898, p. 49, One of Assistant Secretary
Davis decisions, as stated in the GLOBE,
had, year before that entirely reversed
the practice on adiudicating invalid new
law claims Evans false statement was
made to deceive and gain time, and make
false record for permanent history 1t
would, in a short time, take considerable
research to detect the falsehood, for one not
eonversant with the history of pension de-
cisions.
There were six points of reversal of
Evans practice stated in the syllabus Of
that decision, and the seventh paragraph
1.-THE syllabus was in seven paragraphs)
read: "All former rules and decisions in
conflict herewith are hereby set aside"
Evans was at that time, following the
practice introduced by Lochren, and all of
the cases rejected by Lochren and appealed
after Evans came in, had been irst referred
back to Evans for consideration, and rejec-
tion approved by Evans before Davis would
entertain the appeal. The practice of
Lochren was followed in every respect by
Evans at the date of Davis decision which,
in his official report, Evans falsely stated,
made no change in the practice, and set
mo new precedents." Now, each of those
six paragraphs changed the rule in six large
blocks OF claims containing in the aggre-
gate several hundred thousand claims of
veterans, and each block containing many
thousands. The very statement of the
syllabus shows that the decision did not
deal with isolated cases, but with broad
principles which had entered into thousands
Of cases. It is a favorite coue off of the
President and congressman, when con-
fronted with a given case, to say, "Oh that
is a single case, or those are few cases out
of many hundred thousand claims" But
the GLOBE has never dealt with single
cases, not with cases at all, except to illus
trate given rule that was framed to knock
out thousands of claims, apparent on the
face of the rule. There are two methods
of inquiry into rules or systems. One is to
take given rule and explain it by few
cases sufficient in number to show up the
several workings or extent Of the damage
designed This is the method of exposure
adopted by the GLOBE. We take Evans
arbitrary, unjust aud illegal rules and show
the extent Of the damage done. The other
method is known as the inductive method
used in science for discovering general
rules or laws of nature, and is worked by
taking a large number of individual cases
or specimens, and using them to find out
the rule. The GLOBE has not been driven
to resort to so und-about- method. The
President and the anti.pension junto have
been beating of the veterans and the c. A.
r. committee by saying you furnish indivi
dual cases out Of many. You can't prove
rule with so few cases as that; and you
can't get up general investigation, because
the cases are 80 many that you have not the
time nor the funds at your command and
you can not get up Congressional investi-
cation, because we wouldn't let you This
is exactly the condition in which the iunto
has held the veterans for five years. II is
similart to what President Cleveland charged
against England with respect to arbitrating
the Venezuela disputed territory, which
England was holding because Venezuela
was not strong enough to protect her rights.
Take now the arbitrary rules which Evans
was following at the time Davis reversed
them and established new precedents. They
show on their face that they were designed
to cripple claims without benefting the
Government OF protecting the Government
in any way except by defraud1ng the claim.
ant out of part or all Of his claim. One de.
cision alone shows up two Of these illegal
widow In the case of Hudson decided by
Davis, Nov. II, 1899, two precedents are
shown to have been established in 1893.
Soldier had alleged (new law bronchitis as
the disease. Claim was rejected although
soldier was ratable for another disease
which was omitted from his application.
OF course the rejection merely took ad-
vantage Of the difference between the
opinion of the soldier and the medical
referee as to what was the trouble with
him. Often the most serious diseases are
omitted by inadvertence Of soldier or his
scrivener. This class covers many thous-
ands of cases, and Iochren made the rule
TO defraud them. Raum called upon the
veteran to prove up and explain. Lochren
changed Il as a slick method Of defrauding
the veterans to save" for the Treasury
Evans followed suit. Davis reversed the
rejection and said: But this construction
(of Evans and I.ochren) has been changed
by my instruction Of July g. 1897 l9 P. d.
o3), wherein il is declared that the omission
Of an essential averment shall not invali-
date the appiication for pension - The