The Minneapolis journal., 1904-09-30
WARE DEFENDS
PENSION ORDER.
Commissioner Justifies the Age
Ruling in an Open
Letter.

Washington, Sept. Boz. F. Ware.
commissioner OF pensions, has prepared
the e. following 10 open letter regarding
department.:
All democrats are constitutional law
yers, and occupy the same relation to the
republican party that mosquitoes do to a
fisherman. 55s5
I have recently seen Report NO. L."
made by the Parker Constitutional club
of New York, in which they find that pen
sion order IS, known as the age order. Is
an invasion Of the constitution and they
hold the president responsible therefor.
Order 78 was an order making the proof
Of certain ages, by old soldiers, evidential
facts of certain degrees of disability-not
conclusive-only evidential.
Seventy years being the biblical age of
three score and ten, was fixed as the prob
able age of total disability, (which so in
capacitated them from the performance of
manual labor as to render them unable to
earn support" The foregoing are the
words Of the statute. - = :
The United States statutes make the
commissioner of pensions the executive
officer to carry out and enforce the pen
sion laws The laws are brief and need
much Interpretations and the position of
commissioner Is In many respects analo-
gous to that OF judge, In that he must
interpret the law and weigh the evidence
presented, and declare therefrom whether
the claimant is entitled to a pension or
not: Over 1000 claims by him re-
jected annually. -s.s-.."
Among other things which the commits.
sioner Is called upon to decide Is the
meaning Of the sentence above quoted.
For instance. what is manual labor?''
Notice policeman strolling leisurelv
along-is he performing manual labor? Ia
the night watchman in a hotel, or the
cashier IN a bank, or many another whom
we might cite, engaged in manual labor?
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 pensions for
physical, and not mental, decay. - :
Again, what is a "support?" Must an
old soldier live rice or on cornmeaI?
Is the support contemplated by congress-
the cheapest that will keep life in him at
one meal day? Must he live in a. cellar
or in bunk like San Francisco China
man; must he wear rags must he wrap
himself in piece of carpet and htber-
nate thru the winter?
The present attitude of thought in the
pension bureau Is that the word Support
means clothes good enough to go to
church In and a respectable abode and
such medical attendance may be nee
essary, and three good square meals a
day, and plenty Of plug cut, and several
other things and then some more. t,. 4
Order No. Is finds that an old soldier
who Is 81 years of age Is able to earn
only one-half of this kind Of support and
is entitled to Sc per month as pension;
and at 65 he is two thirds disabled and
entitled to So.
This rule Is within the strict line of
statutory authority. human experience
ana executive precedent No democratic
president or commissioner will ever abro-
gate order No. 7S, because It is for all
time; yet democratic president or com:
missioner would have that power, and
General, Black, who had been pension
commissioner knowing gof this power,
thought 1t%W1se to suggest that congress
put the question beyond the reach Of his
party by making an act done in pursu-
ance OF congressional authority the mo-
tive Of a specific act.
Constitutionality. - ~