Evening star., 1926-06-14

! was necessary, all that was done, was
to transmit to the Veterans Bureau
! evidence of the appointment and quail
itication of Mrs. Norris as committee
of her mnatic husba nd. in order that
the Veterans Rureau thereafter
would. az in law II was required to do,
pay to the committee that which had
already been awarded the veteran.
Here again a mere statement OF the
facts is all that Is necessary.
Allen Case Reviewed.
I'm Aliens case Lieut.. Frank T..
A Hen had been committed as pa
tient to ST. t,liZabeth's Hospital by
authority OF the Secretary of the
Navy before Mr.. Fennlng even knew
of his existence. A brother of Allen
retained MIR. Fenning to the end that
necessary steps might be taken 10
trace and preserve the property OF
the incompetent. Upon petition oi
Aliens father. and with the consent
of all of Aliens brothers and sisters.
Mr. Fenning was duly appointed com
mittee of Aliens estate. after the lat
ter had been duly adjudicated to be a
lunatic AS In the case Of Flaherty,
he transmitted to the Navy Depart
ment, from which department Allen
was entitled to the retired pay Of his
rank. evidence of his appointment as
committee, with request that there,
after checks for pay due Allen should
be made payable TO the order OF Fen
ming as committee of Allen. Finding
In the course Of his administration
Of his wards affairs that mistake
was being made and that Allen was
being paid the retired pay of a grade
lower than that of lieutenant, he. In
,
fact to the attention of the Navy and
correction was made. Once again II
is manifest that there was no acting
as agent or attorney for the prosecu-
tion of any claims against the Gov
ernment.
"ln Cunningham's case. Cunning
ham, retired warrant officer of the
Navy. had been committed TO st.
Eliza Hospital for treatment,
His sister. Miss Betty cunningham.
resident of Kentucky. retained Mr..
Fenning to represent her In the ap-
propriate judicial proceedings TO the
end that she might be appointed COM
mittee of her brothers estate. Gun
ningham was adjudicated of unsound
mind, his sister was appointed com
mittee. and Miss Cunningham, by au-
thority of the court, paid to Mr..
Eenning and his associate. Paul
Rogers, fee Of $3.50 for services
as attorneys in the court proceedings.
We have now stated the entire con-
nection of Mr.. Fenning with the Cum
ningham case. He did not even trans
nit the evidence of his clients ap-
poIntment as committee of the insane
naval officer TO the Navy Department.
Miss Cunningham herself attended to
all matters which required her atten-
ton as committee after appointment.
Here again comment is certainly un-
necessary.
The uncontradicted evidence shows
that Mr.. Fenning since becoming
Commissioner has never presented to
any department in his capacity as
committee, attorney or otherwise any
matter except such as appears In
writing. as shown by the cases last
above referred to.
Sees Position Sustained.
This review Of the cases relied
upon to support the charge that Mr..
Fenning since becoming a Commits
sioner Of the District Of Columbia has
violated section 1O9 of the Federal
Criminal Code by acting as agent or
attorney in the prosecution Of claims
against the United States Is. we con-
fidently submit, sufficient to dispose OF
the question without regard to the
unescapable conclusion that Com
missioner Of the District of Columbia
is not an officer Of the United States.
or a person holding any office or place
OF profit or trust under any executive
department or under either House Of
Congress Of the United States. and
as such prohibited from prosecuting
claims"
The brief calls attention to the testi-
ruony OF Mai Arnold of the Veterans