The National tribune., 1904-02-04
PENSION POINTERS.
Inquiries Answered and Suggestions
Made.

Appeals of the Interior Department sew
eraI members of the Board review the
work of the rest of the Board Tor the pur-
pose of insuring uniformity in decisions
and guarding against mistakes. Ihese
are the reviewers you have reference TO-
Appeals of very aged claimants are mace
special and taken up out of their turn.
Appeals in some classes OF claims seem
TO be reached sooner than appeals IN otner
classes of claims. Motions for recohsiu-
Grafton are also taken up quite promptly
The work of the Board is still considerably
over a year In arrears, appfoAinla'ihs 10
months apparently.
E. NJ. c., Canton, Ohio.-The PENSION
Committees of Congress will not know
ingly consider any case which is still pend
ing and unadjudicated in the Pension Bu-
reau or in which an appeal is pending.
Subscriber. Pleasanton, 1owa.-Ihe
fact that the widow was married 10 the
soldier while he was known by an as
sumed name does not inyalldate her tltie
to pension. 1t must be sworn, OF course,
that the person she married was the per-
son who served under name other thah
that by which he was known to her.
L., Observation-Disclosures who reside
abroad may execute their pension voucher
before any officer authorized to administer
oaths for general purposes, and then have
the official character of such officer certl-
fled to by the nearest L. s. Consul or Y.
s. Minister or ambassador. Or, the
voucher may be executed before such u.
S. representatives Only fourth-class
postmasters of the L. 5. are recognized
as empowered TO execute pension youch-
ers Canadian <postmasters are not rec
ognized.
= C. J. E., Canada, n. H.-If You are
pensioned under the general law, and sue
in, iphp
act of 1880, such higher rate will COM
mence from the date of filing the last APP
piication under the act of 1890.
d. c. B., Camden, Del.-An act of Feb.
q, 1897, authorizes the muster of an off-
Ger from date from which lie was TO take
rank by the terms of his commission, if
his command had been recruited TO the
minimum or had been assigned to duty
in the field, and he was actually perform
ing the duties Of the rank to which he was
commissioned.
f. i. s.. Denver, Colo.-If it can be
proven that the soldiers death was due to
disability having its origin in the service
and line of duty, the widows rate OF pen
sion will be $12 per month irrespective OF
the chldrenl, she being married to the
soldier before March 10, 1856, though after
his discharge from the service. The rate
of widows pension under the act OF June
81, 1890, is IS per month, besides the adj
ditional allowance of 81 per month for
each child under 1t.
J. H., Elgin, Ill.-The date of a sol
ilier's death has no bearing one way or an
other upon his widows pension title. The
widow could obtain pension from the date
of the soldiers death only by his death
being proven due to disability that had It's
origin in the service and line of duty.
: Z j.. +. r., Trenton, Il. 1.-The attorney
of record in pension claim may not law
fully accept fee from pension claimant
for whom he appeared as attorney of rec
ord, except in manner and forms as pro
yided by law. The fee must come through
theU. S.Pension Agent through whom the
pension is paid. The accrued pension of q
deceased pensioner is not regarded as con-
ietituting s'pensiOn claim" and an attOr-
ney aiding in the securing of this may re-
ceive his fee whenever and whatever
amount may be mutually agreed upon.
!. /. n. S., Shelbyyille, Tenn.-Unless you
can produce other evidence than you have
already furnished to show that your deaf
ness originated and existed in the service,
the only thing to be done is to enter an
appeal with the Secretary of the Interior.
Consult your attorney.
Subscriber; Macon, Mo.-Acceptance for
military service is only prima facie evil
dence of soundness. The act of March
3, 1885, says that .'ail applicants for pen
sion shall be presumed to have had no
disability at the time Of enlistment: hut
sneh presumption may be rebutted."
w. G. s., Cooperyille, Mich.-If the
widow left no child by the soldier under l6
years Of age, and left insufficient assets to
cover the expeSes of last illness and
burial, the person paAing or responsible for
such expenses may SOLICIT the necessary
amount from the accrued pension due, the
widow. Application should be made to
the Auditor for the Interior Depart
ment."
J. b. D., Rutland, vt.-The fact that a
soldier by misstating shis age was accepted
into service, when if he bad stated his true
age he would have been rejected because
OF being over age, does not inyalidate. his
service. OF course, il the Deception had
been detected while he was still in the
service, he might have been discharged dis
honorably for fraudulent enlistment. But
his honorable discharge ends the matter
so far as the War Department is con-
cerned.
Stanton.-See reply to j. +. r., above
There does not appear to be any published
decision prescribing 81 as the proDer fee
for collecting the accrued pension of q de
ceased pensioner
L. p. d., Bellefonte, Pain the abb
senee of an official record of the disability
IN the service, the success of the appeal
will depend upon the quality rather than
the quantity of the other evidence submit
ted 10 show that the stability originated
and existed in the service. Ii the wit
nesses are all Of good character and have
a distinct personal recollection of the mat.
tiers TO which they testify, and their testi-
mony, is direct and specific i'm character,
there should be a good chance of success,
though the outcome may turn somewhat
upon the nature Of the disability. 1t does
not matter whether a soldier holds II.
>. discharge or only State discharge. if
he served under u. s. officers and was
called into service by proclamation of
the President.
4. 5. H., National Military Home. Ind.
: You evidently received all the bounty to
which you were entitled, as indicated Inv
the record of your service. You were en-
titled TO and received 500 bounty on your
original enlistment for three years. and
S4OO on your veteran enlistment.
w. j. III. r., Households, n. Y.-If Won
have no pension claim pending, it is evil
deDtly mistake in ordering you for medi-
cal examination. The fact that Won are
ordered as of the Regular Army regiment
in which yOn last served and on which,
You have not chained any pension, sur-
gpStS the p0SSihifity that tba Dan.:o,. NJ