Year: 1875

AaEETs-ovER TEN THOUSAND CASES IN


voLvnp-rHE MATTER BEING INVESTIGATED


AT wAsHrNGroN-Is IT THEFT OR ONLY


IRREGULARITY


PHILADELPHIA, Dec H. 1875


The discovery OF irregularities in the papers Of four
well known claim agents OF this city, practising before
the Pension Bureau is probably only the beginning.
The same discoveries likely 10 be made in other
cities where ii may be found that the practices have
been going for years, they have been hero.
Whether any considerable amount OF money viii be
lost 10 the remains to be seen The United
States pension agents seem TO be free from all blame
The history Of this latest development in the way Of
irregularities" with which the press is flooded
folows:-


SUSPENSIONS


About the LIST OF the month the Commissioner OF
Pensions at Washington by order of the Secretary OF
the Interior suspended from practising before the Pen
sion occ, and from all government departments, the
claim agency firms OF Joseph L. Dewitt & Co.,
Matthew'S Poulson Co., Francis Register and Charles
7. Schvey. All OF these men do business In this city
through United States pension offices hero which
two In number-one under the charge OF Major David
B. Nevin, United States pension agent for widows
and orphans and the other directed by General Horao
G. sckel for the payment OF pensions to nvads from
the army and all navy claims


PROPER WAY.


In prosecuting claims upon the government for PEN
sions II Tor invalid 1t is necessary prove by two
witnesses that the applicant in the military
naval service Of the United States and that dis
ease wound or other injury received or contracted by
the applicant while in the has disabled him
since his discharge. If the claims are for widows or
orphans OF deceased soldiers sailors the claimants
must also prove their relationship with the deceased
and their dependence upon him for support In order
to procure pension the assistance Of claim agent is
not at all a necessity merely convenience tor the ap
plicants for which they sometimes too heavily
taxed. Any intelligent person transact the bus
ness for himself The Pension Bureau willingly fur
nshes those who desire to apply for pensions blank
forms OF application and full instructions how 10 pro-
ceed These claim agents, however, nearly always
employed as attorneys by the claimants, who gen.
orally ignorant enough in the matter to believe that
they are somehow officers of the government whose
Intervention is necessary confounding them with
tho United States pension agents, who are
bonded officers for the disbursement Of the money.
It will be observed that these attorneys commonly
advertise themselves in the newspapers as "Unitcd
States Claim Agents." an ambiguous title which is not
properly understood by the masses. Hence the i'm
mense business which these private individuals have
been building up since the war; acting entirely
official agents in way connected with the govern
ments, to transact affairs which any man do for
himself


A CLAIM AGENTS DUTY.


The prescribed legal for a claim agent to pur-
sue is follows in bref-Having been engaged by an
applicant tor pension, he files q declaration by the
claimant executed in the Office of tho Commissioner of
Pensions, at Washington. The law exacts that this
declaration shall be sworn to before IAN officer OF
court OF record, having possession of the seal
thereof" and in the presence of two wit
nesses who identify under oath the claimant TO be the
person he represents himself be- The nature of this
evidence required support of the claim varies
cordlng to the records OF the War Department If
these records do not show the origin of the disability
in the line of duty In the service the claim must be
established from parol evidence-that is to say, the
testimony Of officers or comrades supplemented by
the testimony OF the attending physician that the dsa
by has existed since the discharge The rate of the
disability, which fixes the amount of the pension, is
determined by examining surgeons appointed by the
Commissioner of Pensions In Philadelphia there are
three constituting the Board of Examining Surgeons.
Widows and dependent relatives of dead soldiers or
sailors must also their relationship with the de-
ceased that the widow has not remarked and their de-
pendencc on him for support.


THIS PARoL EVIDENCE,


the testimony of two witnesses to identity will bc
TO be very important and, OF course, the law
qures that Il shall be taken in the presence of the
claimant and the clerk deputy clerk of the court
who thereupon swears that they personally appeared
before him.


II is in the preparation of this evidence that the ir
regular practices have been pepetratcd by the agents
and the manner of its discovery this:-The
Commissioner of Pensions has q number of en-
ployes assigned special agents. kind OF detectives
whose duty 1t Is to investigate claims that
at all doubtful or suspicious One Of the Washington
agents, in looking up certain originating in
Philadelphia in which the evidence supposed to
be OF an improper character found from the admis
sions OF the witnesses themselves that they had
appeared before the proper officer and TO the den
THY of the claimants, although it set forth
They innocent OF criminal intent In the matter
being unacquantcd with the law. This led TO further
investigation and the discovery that the four claim
agents whose suspension has been ordered had been
guilty OF this practice II was soon learned that
MANNER FRAUD


for the agent TO make out the adavits and send
them to the deputy clerk of of the State courts
who would afix the official seal OF the court to the
vouchers and sign the blank form certifying that tho
claimant and the two witnesses had personally ap-
ing the applicant and the witnesses, the law
qures, without requiring their presence.
1@s baS sen discovery gv that bs
their suspension from practice was ordered on
the I'd inst, and two special agents came to this
city to obtain list OF the pension cases in which they
acting attorneys In looking over the books Of
the two pension Offices in Philadelphia IL found
that they were the agents for about 500 claims the
payment OF ali or which once stopped pending
investigation These claims about equally di-
vided between the two Offices those filed through the
Widows' Agency, however, being rather more than in
the Inyalids' Agency


ALL THE AGENTS IMPLICATED


except Schivey among the Oldest In the business
Dewitt h Co. said TO have been the first claim
agents established in Philadelphia having begun busi-
ness in the rst year or the war The suspended firms
understood to admit the practices they are ac-
cusod of and attempt to justify it by argument
which still further damages their case-namey, that
they have been doing the Same for years They claim
that it only slight nformaty that its intention and
result has been to time and trouble, and that
fraud has been committed in the way OF bogus claims


THE INVESTIGATION


into the character OF the filed by the suspended
firms Is being made in Washington and rs rapidly as
possible, II Is assured, the claims decided upon
that the deserving applicants, who innocent of all
blame in the matter viii not be delayed day longer
than is necessary in receiving their money. At General
Sickes office up to to day notification had been re-
ceived from Washington TO replace upon the rolls about
100 names Of applicants These mostly those
OF persons residing out Of tho city in which rreg
larity occurred. Every day the suspension Of sQme
new is ordered but the new snBbcn-
sons not numerous as the requirements
The investigations have thus far been prosecuted
trely in Washington where the records Of all the
ever presented by the suspended firms being ex-
amined, both those pending and those adJudicated.
Nearly 10 600 said to be involved in this
pension. II is probable however, a committee will
visit this city very soon 10 take testimony in many Of