The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-11-24
PUBLISH THE PENSION ,,sr

win the approval and conniyancc n,
| officers OF the United States Govern.
fnent. The present condition of afraira
in the Pension Office constitutes. n
public outrage, which those in author.
ity dare not tackle because of thu
power of the eX-Federal soldier IN cer.
tain parts Of this country. The worlds
Work says:
Let the public Know what is going
| on Let the public have tho lief AZ
| pensioners and determine for itself
whether in each locality those on the
list are entitled to the honor. pub
| licity VIII do no harm to the deserving
veteran 1T will be scourge to the
camp follower the deserter, the near
patriot"
nan prominent In his city for the
interest he takes In all civic and eco.
nomic questions suggests that the
Worlds Work
"Strenuousy and persistently urge
publicity of the entire pension list.
with name, reason for being on the
list and any other vital details, follow
ing each name. This list should be
published in pamphlet by the Gov
ernment each year and distributed as
other public documents are distributed,
and local papers should be requested
to repubiish the list of pensioners In
their localities. Palpable frauds and
we'll do grafters on the list would
vince at this. A notice OF, say, about
three months should be given by the
Government of intended publication, so
as to give those who preferred with
draw tr,c r t,ofa re 49,
time to withdraw. If you should per-
sistently and vigorously urge this, l
think that an irresistible popular de-
mand for the same would arise
We heartily endorse the work
which has been done by the
Worlds Work in throwing the search.
light upon this nest of corruption,
fraud and dishonesty. 1t is the
duty of the United States PEN
sion Bureau to publish fully the entire
pension list, for By SO doing it may
clear its own skirts and relieve itself
of the cloud of suspicion which is gath
ering about 1T.
Our contemporary gives some new
facts this month about the fraud that
has been practiced in the past. Here
is one instance: a man named William
Newly, a resident of White county,
Illinois. was killed at Shiloh in 1852
and was buried by his comrades on
the battlefield. The records of the
War Department prove this. His
widow moved TO Texas and his family
10 anj
when stranger came into the town
where the widow lived and announced
that he was William Newly. He SAID
that wound on the head had made
him temporarily insane and that he
had only lately regained knowledge OF
his identity. The Widow Newly was
sent for. and after short talk de-
clared that the man was in truth her
supposedly dead husband For thirty
years Mrs. Newly had been pensioned
as the widow of a veteran. The re-
stored Newly applied at once for a
pension. His claim was for $4,000.
The sum demanded was so great
that the Pension Bureau put special
agent on the case. It turned out that
the new Newby's eyes were of the
wrong color He was twenty years
younger than he should have been.
Later investigation developed the fact
that the impostor was "Rickety Dan"
Benton, who had lived in White coup-
ty. Illinois, when "a boy. He had never
been in the army, though he had seen
conspicuous service in jails and poor
houses
But what o. these revelations? The
consprators and their friends would
not give up that $4,000 without
fight. A Newly League was formed.
Learned and able counsel were engaged
for the impostor. A trial was held at
Springfield, Illinois. and one hundred
and forty witnesses. among them the
widow and one son. swore that the
man was Newly. The Government
produced sixty witnesses. including
"Newby's" daughter and brother, who
rcpudiated him and told oftmarks not
shown on the defendants body.
s'Newby" was convicted. That. how
ever, is not the moral of the case. Pre-
vious administrations OF the Pension
Bureau wauld have allowed the claim
without taking the trouble to investi
fraud has been so easy as this and so
likely to be overlooked. how many
thousands of such fraudulent pension