Milford chronicle., 1904-09-30
Pension Commissioners Clear
Defense of the Age
Pension Order.
Il Is Right In Principle and In Law-Dull-
ness of Parker Constitution
Club Well Shown.
To the Editor of the Sun.

-e to u fisherman.
'e I have recently seen report No. ]
made by the Parker Constitution cluI
! of New York, in which they find tha
pension order No. 7S. known as the az,
order is an invasion of the constitu
o tion, and they hold the president re
Y sponsibIe therefor.
It Order No. IS was an order making
It the proof of certain ages of old sol
diers evidential facts Of certain degrees
? Of disability; not conclusive-only evi.
DENTAL
, Seventy years, being the Biblical age
: of threescore and ten, was fixed as the
g probable age of total disability, (which
} so incapacitated them from the per-
formance of manual labor as to render
them unable to earn u support" The
foregoing are the words of the statute.
) The United States statutes make the
commissioner Of pensions the execu-
tive officer TO carry out and enforce
the pension laws. The laws are brief
and need much Interpretation. and the
position of commissioner is in many
respects analogous TO that of a Judge
in that he must interpret the law and
weigh the evidence presented and de-
clare therefrOm whether the claimant
is entitled to a pension or not. Over
100000 claims are by him rejected an
nually.
Among other things which the COM
missioner is called upon to decide is
the meaning of the sentence above
quoted For instance What is manu-
al labor?" Notice policeman strolling
leisurely along. Is he performing man
ual labor? Is the night watchman in
hotel or the cashier in a bank or many
another whom we might cite engaged
in manual labor?
The commissioner must decide what
is manual labor" The statute does
not apply to brain labor, nor does il
define manual labor" Congress pen
sions for physical and not mental de-
cay.
Again. what is "a support?" Must an
old soldier live on rice or on cornmeaI?
Is the support contemplated by con
gress the cheapest that will keep life
in him at one meal day? Must he (
live in a cellar or in a bunk, like a San
Francisco Chinaman. Must he wear !
rags? Must he wrap himself up in '
piece of carpet and hibernate through I
the winter? 8
The present attitude Of thought in |
the pension bureau is that the word a
support means clothes good enough t
to 20 to church in, and respectable l
lbOde. and such medical attendance as b
may be necessary, and three good "a
square meals a day. and plenty Of plug t
ut and several other things, and then p
Ome more Il
Order No. 7S finds that an old soldier X
Who is sixty-twO years of age is prob a
bly, able to earn only one-half Of this cl
ind of a support and is entitled to Sc it
er month as pension. and at sixty to
We he is two-thirds disabled and en- bi
tiled TO IS. I'll
This rule is within the strict line of
-atutOry authority, human experience is
nd executive precedent No Demo of
ratio president or commissioner will ST
YER abrOSate order No rs because il gi
for all time. yet Democratic presi- m
ent or commissioner would have that ar
over, and General Black who had til
cen pension commissioner knowing w
this power, thought it wise to sug- cl,
est that congress put the question be- vi
ond the reach of his party by making WI
n act done in pursuance of congress he
onal authority the motive of a spe- cl;
fc act. til
There being nothing wrong in princi Pa
e with order No. 7S let us now ex- st;
nine the particular charge of uncon- r,
nationality which the Parker Con to
tuition club sets forth. OF
The club finds President Roosevelt at
sponsible for the order and finds fo
lat it cOntravenes section 8 Of arti- WI
e /, which reads as follows: mo III
oney shall be drawn from the treas pr
y but in consequence of appropria- til
1ns made by law" to
History and the public records CON wi
rning order No. as show that when Ro
was made congress was in session; raj
at the order was made March Is. dol
04, but was not to 90 into force until let
lril Is, 1904: that it was Immediately an,
ported to congress, with request of
at $1,500,000 be appropriated to try
rry the order into effect. The sun,
-imated was embodied in the pending
ticiency bill and came up for quick
icussion. As order No IS had been 7
lde under and by virtue of authority is
inted by congress there was then a I
g Of three courses to be taken by era
lgress-frst, it could deny that the era
-hority was granted, deny that the to
Ter was legal and refuse to pass is I
appropriations; secondly, it could re- tim
Il the law and abrOgate the order, sta
rdly, it could recognize the order as is S
al and valid and vote an appropria- in
4 to carry it out tiou
Ongress, after hearing what every crat
" had to say, took the third course exp
voted the 81, 100000 to carry it out. affa
Ongress having approved the order unc