The National tribune., 1904-07-07
THE LEGALITY OF ORDER NO. 70.

pensions on sentimental grounds, hating
the men who interfered with the plan to
establish a Southern Confederacy, and
who by their courage and fortitude
wrecked that promising conspiracy.
| 2. They who are hostile to pensions
expenditure of the Governments funds
and the distribution of money from the
| Treasury all over the country. out of any
| possibility of control of the money power
I 3. They who are anxious to attack the
| Administration, and seize every pretext to
find fault with it.
There is absolutely nothing more self
| defensible or more obviously right and
proper than that Order. The very Ian
guage of the Act supports. to any reason
| able thinking man, all that the order inn
plies. and gives it the fullest justification.
| The Act reads as follows:
"All persons who served 80 days or
more in the military or naval service of
| the United States during the late war of
| the rebellion, and who have been honor
ably discharged therefrOm, and who are
| now or who may hereafter be suffering
Il d
permanent character, not the result of
their own vicious habits. which incapaci-
tateS them from the performance of man
| ual labor i'm such degree as to render
them unable to earn support, shall, upon
making due proof of the fact, according
| To such rules and regulations as the Secre
tary of the Interior may provide, be placed
upon the list of invalid pensioners of the
United States. and be entitled to receive
4 pension not exceeding ST. per month.
| and not less than S6 per month. proper
toned to the degree of inability to- earn II
support: and such pension shall commence
from the date of filing of the applica-
ton in the Pension Office. after June 27.
1870, upon proof that the disability then
existed, and shall continue during the eX-
istence of the same: Provided, That per-
sons who are now receiving pensions un-
der existing laws. or whose claims are
pending in the Pension Office. may by
application to the Commissioner of PEN
ions, i'm such form as he may prescribe.
showing themselves entitled thereto, re-
ceive the benefits of this section; and
nothing herein contained shall be so con-
Strued as to prevent any pensiOner there
under from prosecuting his claim and re-
ceiving his pension under any other gen
eral or special act: Provided. however.
That no person shall receive more than
one pension for the same period: And pro-
vided further. That rank in the service
SHdll not DE cOnSl0ere0 Ill APPLICATIONS
filed under this section"
Now what idea does the reading of this
act. giving the words their plain. every
day significance. convey to the average.
sensible man? 1t is that It was the intent
of Congress to pensioa. up to $12 a month,
all survivors of the war Of the rebellion
who had served 80 days and had been
hly. nd
fering from any physical or mental disa-
bility which interfered with their gaining
livelihood. This is the whole intent and
purport of the Act. Congress recognized
that all men who went through the war i'm
the army or navy had probably suffered
serious physical impairment from such
service. and it therefore was the duty of
the Government to give them assistance.
and this assistance could go as high as
$12 per month.
The only requirements and restrictions
that Congress imposed were that the i'm
pairments should not be the result of
| vicious habits. Everything else was put in
the discretion of the Secretary of the In
terror. He was given the fullest and the
most absolute power to grant any man a
pension. after satisfying himself that the
claimant had served 80 days. had been
honorably discharged. and was then dis
| abed. What rules he should make for
| mea suring this disability and graduating
the allowance was left entirely to his dis
cretion. So far as the law was concerned,
he could make a discrimination between
black hair and red hair, if he go chose.
He could say that rheumatism was
worse disability than heart trouble or
vice versa. The whole thing was placed,
unreservedly in his hands, in way that
| The National. Tribune protested against
latitude and power.
The wide discretion given the Secretary
| of the Interior was used with terrible
harshness by Commissioners Lochren and
Evans: but. still. it was the law. and they
were within their powers. The utmost
that The National Tribune could say was
that they kept within the letter of the law,
while killing its spirit and defeating the
plain intent and purport of the lawmak-
ers.
Order No. IS simply exercises this un-
questioned dlScretlOn ana the undOubtPd
prerogatve Of the Secretary OF the Interior
and the President to amelorate the con-
ditions of the preceding administration
Of the Pension Bureau, and bring the
present execution Of the law more nearly
| in accord with the beneficiary spirit in
which it was framed, and in which it was
intended to be executed. The Secretary ry
Of the Interior and the Commissioner OF
Pensions have the most absolute right to
select any feature Of a claimants case as
a basis upon which to allow him pen
sion. They have the power to say that 62
years, 66 years. and TO years shall be dis
ability emitting a man to specific rates of
pension just as undoubtedly they have the
right to say that anchylosis Of the elbow
joint shall be disability emitting a man
to So per month, that the loss of the index
finger shall give a man So per month, and
} the loss of an eye $l2 per month. 1t can.
not be seen where this order No. 78 differs
from every other Bureau order describing
a specific disability, and fixing the rate for
it. There is not even q chance for q law.