The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1904-09-28
WARE EXPLAINS ORDER
Pension Commissioners Gear
Defense of the Age
Pension Order.
II Is Right In Principle and In Law-Dull.
ness OF Parker Constitution
Club Well Shown.
To the Editor of the sun:


made by the Parker Constitution club
Of New York, in which they fina that
pension order No. IS. known rs the age
order, is an invasion of the eonstitu-
ton, and they hold the president re
sponSibe therefor.
Order No ~ WIS an order making
the proof of certain ages of old sol
dicrs cNidential facts of certain degrees
of disability; not conclusive only evi
dental.
Seventy years, being the Biblical age
probable uge of total disability, (which
so incapncitated them from the per
formance of manual labor as to render
them unnhle to earn n support" The
foregoing are the words of the statute
The United States statutes make the
commissioner of pensions the excel
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 II judge
In that he must interpret the law and
weigh the evidence presented and de
clare therefrom whether the claimant
Is entitled To n 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-
nj J. hor3" Notice n policeman strollng
lrisurciy ulong. Is he performing man
ual labor. Is the night Waterman in
hotel or the cashier In II 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 it
define manual labor" Congress pen
sions for physical ard not mental de
cay.
Again. what is IN supportT' Must an
old soldier live on rice or on cornmealf
Ii the support contemplated by con
gress the cheapest that will keep life
In him at one meal day? Must he
live In ccllar or In Il bunk. like Il san
Francisco Chinaman. Must he Wear
rags? Must he wrap himself MP in
piece of carpet and hibernate through
the winter
The present attitude OF Thought in
the pension bureau Is that the word
support means clothes good enough
TO so to church In. and n respectable
abode, and such medical attendance IA
mny be necessary, and three good
square meals II day and plenty of plug
cut ana several other things. and then
some more.
Order No. Is finds that an old soldier
who IL siXty-two years Of age Is prob
ably able to earn only onc-half of this
kind of II support and is entitled to So
per month MS a pension, and mt sixty
five he Is two-thrds disabled and en-
titled TO So.
This rule is within the strict line of
statutory authority, human experience
and executive precedent. No Demo
cratic president or commissioner will
ever abrogatc order No. 7S, because 1t
IL for all time, yet n Democratic prcsi-
dent or commissioner would have that
power, and General Black. who had
been pension commissioner. knowing
of this power thought 1t wise to sug-
gest that congress put the question be
yond the reach of his party by making
an act done in pursuance of congress
sional authority the motive Of spe-
Cific act.
There being nothing wrong In princi-
pie with order No. ~. let us now ex-
anime the particular charge of uncon-
stitutionality which the Parker Con
stitution club sets forth.
The club finds President Roosevelt
responsible for the order and finds
that it contrayenes section 0 of arti-
Gle /, which reads as follows: mo
money shall be drawn from the treas
ury but in consequence of appropria
lions made by law"
History and the public records con
corning order No. ~ show that when
II was made congress was in session;
that the order was made March II,
1901. but was not to go into force until
April -, 1904; that II was Immediately
reported to congress, with n request
that 81, 100000 be appropriated to
carry the order into effect. The sum
estimated was embodied in the pending
deficiency bill and came up for quick
discussion. As order No. ~ had been
made under and by virtue Of authority
granted by congress there WAS then
one of three courses to be taken by
congress first, II could deny that the
authority was granted, deny that the
order was legal and refuse to pass
tine appropriation, secondly, it could re-
peal the law and abrogate the order;
thirdly, 1t could recognize the order as
legal and valid and vote an approprla-
ton to carry it out.
Congress, after hearing what every
body had to say. took the third course
and voted the 81 10000 to carry II out
Congress having approved the order
and voted the money, the pensions be-
gan to issue under the order aud to be
paid.
How did the con missioner get the
money to pay those pensonsf How
did he get il ont of the treasury Did
Mr.. Roosevelt 20 to Mr.. Shaw and
treat him az Caesar did Metellus and
take the money away from himE No.
Did the commissioner open the treas
ury with crowbar and abstract the
money? No. Well, how was IT. Let
US ask Mr.. Shaw He will say that
not a dollar has gone out of the treas
ury without an appropriation bill pass
ed by each branch Of congress and