The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1907-11-08
THROUGH THE STATE
NEWS GATHERED FROM VARIOUS
INDIANA POINTS.
a REPLY TO PENSIONERS
Commissioner Warner Answers Com
plants Of Veterans Regarding De-
lay OF Department Under
New Law.

Washington. d. C.-commissioner
OF Pensions Vespasian Warner de-
tends the pension bureau from the as
saults made upon il by Indiana vet
Grams. who complain that there Is I'M
necessary and unwarranted delay in
granting service pensions under the
law OF February. 1907. The commits
sioner make a vigorous denial or the
charge and asserts that never before
in its history has the pension bureau
lone as rapid and efficient work as II
has been doing since the act OF last
February went into effect.
Replying particularly 10 a criticism
OF George II. Puntenney. a prominent
veteran OF Rushville. Ind. that the pol
icy OF the administration is to delay
granting pensions until the old sol
diers are dead" Commissioner War
ner explained the workings OF the
pension bureau as follows:
Up 10 date We have received 3T0.-
600 applications under the act OF last
February. and | believe the old vet
Grams VINO are criticising US would be
a bit more patient II they understood
what a monumental task the bureau
has before IL in adjudicating so many
claims As the date OF the pension
under the new act goes back 10 the
date when the application is filed.
have taken extraordinary pains 10 as
sist the veterans in getting their ap-
plicauOns filed at the earliest possible
moment When the act was passed on
February s. 1907. | immediately had
half million blank applications print
ed These We're mailed in vast num-
bcrs 10 Grand Army posts and pension
attorneys and were given in bulk TO
members OF congress so that they
could be put into the hands OF the old
soldiers all over the country Just as
soon as possible without any expense
70 them.
The result was that the applica-
tons came in to us literally by the
wagon loads. and. as said. up TO date
we have received $4,000 applications
under the February act. Each case is
substantially a lawsuit. 10 be deter
mined upon the law and evidence. and
we are acjudicating them just as fast
as we can
We have allowed pensions since
the act was passed at the rate OF over
1000 per working day and we are now
acting upon them at the rate OF 500
a day and still they are coming in.
This is better work than has been done
Z in the pension bureau since II was es-
tablished. We are adjudicating claims
as fast as they could possibly be adju-
dicated and the Old soldiers should be
a little patient They will lose moth
I ing by the delay except the use OF
their money. as their pensions will
date from the day their applications
come to the bureau. however long thai
may be-
We began adjudicating pensions
within ten days after the Februar.
act was passed. while under the Law
OF 1890 II was four months before tht
first certificate was issued. We have
done more work with less force thar
al any time since the organization o
the government. and I expect that By
March l. 1905. all OF the claims undei
the new law will have been disposed
OF. I wish to thank the Star for 81
very Just defense OF the pension bu
reau-"
II IS explained by the commissions
that claims are not taken up and ad
Indicated in the order OF priority II
which they are filed. as to do so woul'
require a sorting process that woul'
make II impossible to grant more thar
200 OF 300 a day. instead OF 1900. Thi
may account for the fact that some o
the claims first filed have not beef
acted upon. while other claimants VIII
sent in their applications at later dat
are enjoying their pensions.