New-York tribune., 1904-10-17
LEGAL HISTORY OF PENSION ORDER Is.
WARE Sc rs FORTH FACTS WHIcH
LED UP TO ITS ADOPTION.

seventy-6ve years and disability which nay be
pected as natural pathological result OF ssnllty
win Be held to be good under said act
In the body os the opinion the department.
says:
If declaration sets forth that the claimant IS
sIIeeed the allegation Of age alone viii Be hsId .s,
being satisfactorily shown.
From the foregoing the procedure was def
nitely Axed that age only need be alleged By
claimant
On January II. 1896. Assistant srcrstary
Reynolds. under President Cleveland IN the case,
of Thomas Hughes. SSth Illinois Infantry. Ger
tihcate No. 7ss.69O. said In effect that pen
sioner who was on the rolls at S6 per month
would not be dropped from the rolls when Il ap-
pears that he has attained the age % sixry-fvs
years. although without specific disabilities.
This holding was not published but is shown.
with others, by the files Of this Of1ce.
The next holding Of the department Is Dated
July z. 1891. In the case OF Francis Frank
p. d. 6S.
The syllabus Is as follows:
A claimant who has attained the age Of sixty-hvs
years SnaI De oeelnsd ehtLed % aI isasl Jne min
OF manual labor in one Of that age
The claimant in this case had been denied a
rating. and the Department cited the case OF
(aIl above given) and says:
In retfrernents from the army the age OF sixty
two IS tXsd as OF itself % Sufctent reason tor con
the cessation Of the active duties OF an officer.
In this decision Is also cited the act Of Janu-
ary 20. 1857 fixing the age Of sixty-two as en-
ttling soldier or sailor OF the Mexican War to
the rate OF pension therein provided. Independent
Of any disability.
The next important case was one decided by
Hon Thomas Ryan. many years a member OF
Congress. and in 1895 First Assistant Secretary
OF the Interior. The case is that OF Chauncey
Davis. 10 2. D.. l.. OF which the following Is tho
syllabus:
n the sss 1S e59mDato * q nat shows 10 aDprsciasIs
the act OF June q 1880. though claimant Is sfv
thereof
and in the opinion the department. says:
IL is believed that s. rating for seniIe debility
proper and cornHensurate with the decree OF dis
been allowed It IS sustained.
Sc it appears from the foregoing that various
ages have been taken by the department. as IN
dicating disability from senility. and these ages
extend from sixty years UP.
In the Book OF Practice. page 96. parasrapb .
published In 1898. the following practice Is laid
down by the ConsnissioItsr of Pensions and an
proved by the Hon c. y. Bliss Secretary Of thu
Interior:
Claimants who have attained the age OF seventy
within the meaning Of the law and are snttsT
% the maximum rating under the act OF June a.
1870 Claimants who have attained the age OF sixty
i've years shan be deemed entitled to al least the
disclosss an unusual vigor ana abilifv for fS 1s-
formance Of manual labor in one OF that age.
These rates were not fixed by the Commission
er OF Pensions until It became apparent to the
bureau through Ions experiences In handing
hat
disable claimants in certain degrees
When the writer became Commissions. NAY
10 1902. Congress vas in session. and the r1rs-
going were the rulings OF the department
Persons making applications setting forth thslr
ages were granted pensions at s. and SI2 ror
the ages OF sixty-five and sevenCy-avs years.
In a very few days after assuming the ofsss
the writer found that the cost Of medical sz-
amlnations was exceeding the appropriation
and one OF his first duties vas to appear bstoEs
/ Congress and show Why he should ask Cor ever
SSO,OOO more os money. the sum of S7O0O00
having been heretofore appropriated
The next year. owing 70 the Increase of ths
business. an extra sum OF S156.OOO had 70 bs
provided for This led to an immediars ex-
animation Of the pending conditions Il was
found that those who were sixty-two years old
were able to prove by their neighbors and
medical assistants that they were one-haIs
UiSdD4sd IIotn earning support by manual Ia
bor. Those at sixty-hve years were able to
| prove more. so also at sixty-eight and seventy
years old.
Mr. Davenport the First Deputy Comnis-
sioner. instituted an examination into adtudi-
Gated cases for the purpose OF finding out the
! proportions OF reflections OF those who were
siXty-hve and over. Thousands OF cases wars
examined
An estimate was made as to the cost to tbs
government OF examining these cases and is
was found that applications were made one after
another and examinations made one after an
other concerning the same pensioner. and that
these examinations cost the government in SUI
Seons and bureau expenses at least $40 apiece.
On the other hand. It was expensive to the
Claimants to leave their homes and go to places
where there were examining surgeons. % pay
railroad fare and hotel bills. and il was found
that very large number OF these old soldiers
often had 10 make two trips and were very
often cared for by Grand Army Of the Republic
posts and by charitable associations to enable
them 10 make the trips. and that the trips
would average in cost about $40 apiece.
The estimate which Mr.. Davenport made was
that not over , per cent OF those who were
sixty-two years old were finally rejected, and
not over 3 per cent of those who were seventy
years old were denied pension for total dis
ability.
In view Of the fact that applications came in
At the rate of over two hundred thousand year
for original and increase pensions. it was seen
that. as a pension under an age order would be
simply anticipatOry for a year two. it was
saving TO the government to arrange an age
DenSiOn