The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-26
REPLY 70 CONSTITUTION CLUB.
LAWYER HENRY ". TAFT DE-
FENDS PENSION ORDER.
Nentures to Assert That the Eminent
lawyers Of the Club Wouid Not sub
scribe a Lawyers what Two or Three
Young GeNtlemen'' Have Put Forth.

1ounS ce6tlefuen rave Put tortn.
Henry W Taft of the law firm OF Strong
/ CsdSalader. a brother OF the rrese Mt
Secretary Of War. and the man who was
reccnty tailed OF by some Repu hlicans
rs n prospective candidate for Govern or
Until Re refused absolutely 10 allow his name
70 ~ presented to the convention, has re-
Piled TO Report No. OF the 20 rker Consti-
tuition Club concerning the National Ad-
mnstraton's pension order Mr. Taft
defends Mr.. Roos-Velts action in the mat
'er and charges the club with allowing its
affairs to he conducted under the direction
OF the Democratic rational committee.
while pretending to hs an organization
founded m Judicial tnpartiality MIR Tam.
It wild ba recalled. replied TO the announce
ment made 10y the q, b Ut its organization
Berc is what h. s'ys 81 Rr,por. No. T.
While I was away on nv vacation saw
that the Constellation tTuS bad at last, after
a delay Of SIX weeks, begun to devise res-
Ions FOR their irctictmen. Of Mr. Peosevel,.
On Aug rs he club made an Official an
nounCcment Of It's purposes. and coming
from a club OF Lawyers, IL was 30 remark
able that it ought TO b. horne in mind when
ever the club tSss TO bs, listened to- After
an incorporate attack tTon ,h-, President
without specification OF urUof he annoy rce-
ment closed With this remarkable COATES
sion. Al TINS vs' believe to I've so, but
we have nS7 Layssgl1aIed. bCt hcn NE co
investigate" We Will be perfectly jl 81
to him and v'l -o6 acccse hi.n Of what re
ought rec - ~ a&crsed Of. and will give
him credlt for tsin,Ss he deserves .rvC,it
for
Justice from such 4 Sctrvs. forseoth,
II these Gentlemen voCG CONE ,ut into the
open and abandon rhsfr absurd prseeSlsion
to judicial IInrarviahty they would COM
hand our respect a. Booty Of ardent Demo-
crats fighting for their csu<e And in this
Connection thers Il a question interesting
TO every lawyer. viz: Whether the emf
nent gentlemen whose names are Used As
PRESIDENT and vtce-presiGents OF the club
would Subscribe to the extreme PROPOSE
tons put forth By the two or three young
gentlemen on the executive committee who
are conducting the affairs Of the club under
the direction of the Democratic national
committee.
Il venture 20 assert that they would not
James @ Carter the president OF the club,
at about the time OF the organization OF
the club wrote a letter giving at great
length his reasons for supporting the Demo
cratic ticket; but he expressed for Mr..
Roosevelt the greatest respect and did not
remotely hint at unconstitutional or law
icss' acts on his part either in making the
Pension Order No. Is OF in any other matter
and am confident that neither Mr. Parsons
nor Mr.. Peckham nor Mr.. Larocaue nor
MIR. Carlisle would. on their individual
nCtl
that the President OF the United States
mad been guilty Of high crimes and mis-
demeanors subjecting him to impeach-
pesnt.
But let us examine report No. 1. The
tone OF this report betrays paTtisanship
OF an extreme type. 1t imputes to the
President the most unworthy motives.
II charges him with being a party to a
vile conspiracy to extract millions Of dollars
from the Treasury. And all this solely
to secure his reelection. Passing the
question whether this form OF harangue
is calculated to appeal to intelligent MEM
bers of the bar, will take up the sub jet
natter OF the report on the merits.
BY the Pension law OF 1890 this country
approved OF a permanent service pension
system under which any person who served
in the army or navy during the rebellion
for a specified period became entitled 10 a
pension of not less than 50 nor more than
sl2 per month, provided it should be proven
that he was suffering from permanent dis
ability incapacitating him from perform
ing manual labor in such a degree as to
render him unable to earn a support The
amount to be paid Is graduated by the Law
according to the degree Of disability. The
kind Of disability Is defined as that only
which inpairs tbs capacity for manual
labor and the Commissioner Of Pensions
subject to review by the Secretary of the
Interior, is the officer who ia to determine
in his judicial discretion whether dis
ability to perform manual labor does exist
and II 80 TO what extent. That this judicial
function has not been performed perfume
torily will appear from the facts that since
the passage OF the act in 1890 out OF nearly
sixteen hundred thousand applications for
pensions only little more than nine hun
dred thousand have been granted, and that
In the year following the passage OF the act
out Of nearly seven hundred thousand ap-
piioations only about one hundred and fifty
thousand were granted.
In examining such an INN ense number
OF applications lawyers will readily appre-
clate that rules both OF procedure and OF
evidence become en- absolute necessity;
and that rules OF evidence as to when dis
ability to perform manual labor is to be
presumed must be based upon a considera-
ton Of the evidence Of surgeons and other
experts and classification based upon
their conclusions. II every individual case
were to he considered Upon its particular
facts administration under the act would
become II not impossible at least most
cum bersome
As early as 1893 and during the admins
traion OF Mr. Cleveland an order was
made that in the case Of a man IS years Of
age senility alone should be conclusively
regarded as disability within the meaning
Of the act of 1890 This order was based
upon decision Of Mr.. Cleveland's Com
missioner Of Pensions in February. 1898,
that old age was disc bility and that the
surgeons were the proper persons to esti-
mate the degree Of disability for the per-
Torrance of manual labor arising therefrom.
Upon this principle and in the same year
an order was made by Mr.. MoKinley's
Secretary Of the Interior that an applicant
fora pension who was 65 years of age should
~ entitled TO at least the minimum amount
Prescribed by the act that is, as for one
hali total disa bility: and the law has been
continuously administered under the Ceve-
land aud Mckinley orders without any
question being raised either as to right