The National tribune., 1903-08-06
Z. T. WARE.
Commissioner.

Mr. Cooley, who is acting as President,
called upon the Commissioner and a pro-
tracted conference ensued, in which the
Commissioner adhered to his position and
the Civil Service to theirs.
The result was the following letter to
the Secretary of the Interior, asking the
decision of the Attorney General upon the
matter:
To the Honorable, the Secretary of the
Interior.
Dear Sir: The Commissioner Of Pen
sions has the appointing power for ex-
nmining surgeons in the field, the number
amounting TO over 1000. These surgeons
are organized in boards of three each.
President McKiniey's order was that two
members of each board should be Repub
ican and one Democrat.
QHestion has arisen as to whether these
examining surgeons are in the classified
list and are under the civil service law.
The Commissioner of Pensions claims
that they are not under by virtue of the
decision of the United States Supreme
Court, 10 wit. 90 L. S. J0S, 81, 512; 131
L. S, SO, 32I.
The Commissioner Of Pensions. how
ever. desires to comply with both the let
ter and spirit of the civil service law, and
has therefore addressed a letter to the
Civil Service Commission requesting an
opinion as to whether the pension examin-
Eng surgeons are in the classified service
in a personal interview with member
of the Civil Service Commission the Com
missioner Of Pensions is given to under
stand that it is the judgment of the com.
mission that these places are in the classi-
fled service under the rules promulgated
by the President April 15, 1903.
In view of this difference of opinion
and the desire of this Office to comply
with the civil service law, it has been
mutually agreed by the Commissioner of
Pensions and the Civil Service Commits
siOner TO submit this matter to the Attor-
ney General for opinion.
/ therefore have the honor to ask that
Mt the joint request of the Civil Service
Commission and of the Pension Commits
sion you submit that question to the At
tOrney General of the United States for
an opinion. Very respectfully.
L. r. WARE.
Commissioner.
No matter what the decision of the At
torney- General may be, right, common
sense, justice and the obvious intent and
purport of the law, all point conclusively
one way. A little history will show this.
As we have before stated, n,ior to Mr..
Cleyelands second term, the Pension Ex-
amining Boards were all bi-partisan in
character and such was the il.ent of the
law constituting them. When Mr. Cleve-
land came in and began his celebrated
crusade against the pensioners, ordering
practically all of them to be reexamined.
world Of business, with its accompany
ing revenue, was thrown on the Boards
of Pension Examining Surgeons, and a
position there became a very desirable
plum in the gift Of the local bosses. They
were more desirable than post Offices, and
young fiedgiings just out OF college could
be amply rewarded for their services to
the party.
The result was that the Republicans
were nearly everywhere removed and
young Democrats put in their places. This
was a grievance and hardship to the vet.
erans, because in the previous Admins
frations the practice had been to appoint
old army surgeons Of both parties who
were familiar with the veterans and knew
what they had suffered and, endured
These were replaced by callow fledgiings,
hippant and brutal, as only medical stu
dents can be. who jeered and Knocked at