º, 4 / . A
Aſ Zºº
PENSIONS AND BENSION APPEAL.S.
R. E. P. O. R. T.
On
ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHN M. REYNOLDS
TO THE
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,
ºo R THE
FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1894.













H. S. 44% A % cº- 4-CºA-ce'. .
PENSIONS AND PENSION AIPPIEALS. ,
REPORT
O
OF
ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOHN M. REYNOIDS
TO THE
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR,
IFOR THE
FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1894.
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs
MoTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION.
TABLE II.-Statement showing disposition of motions for
1893, to June 30, 1894.
/
\
reconsideration from July 1,
& w.
~~~,



TABLE III.-Statement showing disposition of appeals relating to
from July 1, 1893, to June 30, 1894.
FEE APPEALS.
Fee & IReconsid- Total fee.
Yº. . º, º º §§ by #ºn #.
- pending e -- . OI Jºe Il- e Pen- appeals dispose
Month. on the 1st i. º: Total. sloºse sion Office'sion Office is- of during
of the ... tº.d, reversed. pending missed. the
month. & g appeal. month.
1893.
July----------------- 99 38 137 35 2 18 2 • 57
August.------------. 80 23 103 19 *; 2 9 |---------. 30
September - - - - - - - - - - - 73 62 135 42 2 15 l.--------. 59
October.------------- 76 26 102 18 1 2 || --------- 21
November - - - - - - - - - -. 81 57 138 30 l. --------. 9 3. 42
December ... -------. 96 43 139 16 2 8 ---------- 26
1894. r
January ------------- *113 30 143 20 3 17 1 Sá1
February'-- - - - - - - - - -. 102. 73 175 27 4 lº 6 ---------. 37
March --------------- 138 32 170 26 2 8 |---------. 86
April ---------------. 134 36 170 33 1. 11 1 46
ay - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 124 45 169 65 5 | . 8 3 81
June----------------- 88 35 123 27 2 8 l 38
Julys s sº sº e ºs e º sº e sº * * g tº gº tº 85 ----------|------------------|----------|----------|----------|----------
Total ----------|---------- 500 | . . . . . . . . 358 26 119 11 514
Motions — tº º Mo- Mo- Recon- Total *
for re- * tions | tions sidered #. motions Lºers
consider-|cºsider. for Fé for re; and al | fj for £9; ferred |, ...
Month ation .* |Total. consid consid: lowed | c.si: |consid: ; ; Letters
- * - pending, fileir. * | era- era. | by the jn |eration | Co. sent.
on the 1st “... the tions | tion Qm dis. dis- mis- -
of the #. Af OWOI'- SU18- mis- missed posed Sioner
month. Oſlº Il. ruled. tained. Sioner, "| Of. e
1893.
July ----------- 148 5 153 11 1 -------- 2 14 1, 165 855
August -------. 139 27 146 21 1 -------- 2 24 | 1,062 777
September . . . . . 122 5 127 10 1. ------. 2 - - - - - - - - 12 687 594
October. - - - - - - - 115 9 124 16 1. 1 - - - - - - - - 18 795 585
November - - - - - 106 8 114 16 1 ||-------- 1 18 1,430 1, 100
December.-----|. 96 11 107. 14 2 -------- 2 18 1,020 770
1894. *
*January 3.----- 89 _2 91 15 --------|-------- 2 17 | 1,334 910
#; s sº e º º sº 74 11 85 10 --------|--------|-------- 10 | 1, 205 890
March - . . . . . . . . 75 15 90 29 1 --------|-------- 30 1, 170 945
April ---------. 60 14 74 26 3 1 -------. 30 1, 285 1,055
by - - - - - - - - - - - 44 25 69 58 3 |---------------- 61 1,585 1,240.
June.---------. 8 25 33 28 1 |--------|-------- 29 | 1,020 725
July ----------- 4 -----------------|--------|----------------|--------|--------|--------|--------
Total ----|---------- 137 - - - - - - - 254 14 4 9 281 || 13,758 || 10,446

attorneyship and fee8


SUPPLEMENTAL STATEMENT.
ORIGINAL APPEALS.
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALS. 5
- - JRECAPITULATION.
- ORIGINAL APPEALs.
Appeals pending July 1, 1893 -------------------------------------------------------------- 4, 457
Appeals filed from July 1, 1893, to June 30, 1894-------------------------------------------- 2,627
Total …~ 7,084
Appeals wherein Pension Office was sustained-------------------...------------------------ –4, 683
Appeals wherein Pension Office was reversed.----...------------------------------------- 335
Appeals reconsidered by Pension Office pending appeal.--------------------... • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 96
Appeals dismissed ........ ----------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 398
Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5, 512
Appeals pending July 1, 1894-------------------------------------------------------------- 1, 572
MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION. -
Motions for reconsideration pending July 1, 1893........ -------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 148 .
Motions for reconsideration filed from July 1, 1893, to June 30, 1894. . . . . . . ... --- - - - - - - - - - -. 137
Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 285
Motions for reconsideration overruled.---------------------------------------------------- 254
Motions for reconsideration sustained.------------------------------------ ----------------- 14
Motions for reconsideration allowed by Pension Office................--------............. 4.
Motions for reconsideration dismissed ----------------------------------------------------. 9
Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 281
Motions for reconsideration pending July 1, 1894... ---------------------...... ------------- 4
FEE APPEALS.
Fee appeals pending July 1, 1893...... -- = • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 99
Fee appeals filed from July 1, 1893, to June 30, 1894. ........................................ 500
Total.…~~~~~ 599
Fee appeals wherein Pension Office was sustained ---...----------------------------------. 358
Fee appeals wherein Pension Office was reversed. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -..... 26
. Fee appeals reconsidered by Pension Office pending appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ------..2... 119
Fee appeals dismissed --------------------------------------------------------------------. 11
Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 514
Fee appeals pending July 1, 1894----------------------------------------------------------- 85
CORRESPONDENCE.
- Letters referred to the Commissioner of Pensions........................... * * * * * * * * * * = ± & º ºs º º ºs º ºs 13, 758
Letters sent -----------------------.. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10,446
TABLE HV.-Statement showing disposition of pension claims from July 1, 1894, to
November 1, 1894.

.. Recon-
; Apºlº º Action | sidered Total * *
º led Pensiºn | .9f the by the Appeals anºis
Month. 1st of during | Total. Öğ." |Pension Pension is- P.
º the the ... Officere. Office missed. pos ea of
moºth. month. tained. | Versed. º: •I* -
1894, - - *
July ----------------. 1, 572 445 2,017 354 65 -------------------- 419
August -------------- 1,598 226 1,824 291 114 12 ---------- 417
September------- - - - - 1 407 , 252 | 1.659 393 113 1 ---------- 507,
October. --------...--. 1, 152 261 1, 413 505 176 4 ---------- 685
November ----------. 728 --------------- * = - I - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * --------------------|---------.
Total..........…. 1, 184 - - - - - - - - 1,543 468 17 ---------- | 2,028
| -
6 . PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs.
f
- " . ~ ! -
Motions FoR RECONSIDERATION. . -- .
TABLE V.—Statement showing disposition of motions for reconsideration from July 1,
- 1894, to November 1, 1894. - * - ... •

" Recon- . . .
e sidered Total | Letters
Motions Motions Mo- Mo- and al- Mo- motions/referred
for recon- for recon- tions | tions lowed tions for re- to the
sideration sideration for re- for * | by the for * | consid. Com. | Letters
Month. pending file s Total. consid- consid- § Collsid- |****** | ** ~
an ed dur- * * ODIl- ..., |erationS) mis- sent.
|on the 1st “. g the |eration |eration º |eration “..." si...r -
of ; month. ºi tººd sioner nº d posed of Pen-
In ODI tººl. ruled tained offen. of. sions.
S10D S.
| -
1894. ~ 2. *-
July ----------- 4 3 7 --------|--------|----- ------------------- 1,300 915
August -------. 7 30 37 2 |. ----3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 658
September-...-. 35 10 45 15 1. -------|--------|-------. 15 825 600
October - - - - - - - - 30 25 55 40 4 |-------- 4 48 1, 190 805
November ..... 7 -----------------------------------------|------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Total -------------- 68 1. -- - - - - 57 4 -------- 4 65 4,305 2,978
FEE APPEALS.
TABLE VI.-Statement showing disposition of appeals relating to attorneyship and fees
from July 1, 1894, to November 1, 1894. .

<--- . Reconsid-
I' . ls Fee Action | Action ered by º
. appeals of the of the the Fee ap- §.
Month. Fº 1st filed dur- Total. Pension | Pension | Pension peals dis- º
*.*.**ing the Oñºs...Qiº |, º, missed. | #.
month. month. tained. reversed. º: month. -
1894. *.
July----------------- 85 57 142 15 l 5 3 24
August-------------- 118 37 155 36 4 12 1 58
September - - - - - - - - - - - 102 41 143 25 2 9 3 39
October.----------- * - 104 62 166 67 4 25 2 98
November - - - - - - - - - - - 08 ----------------------------|----------|----------|----------|----------
Total ----------|---------- 197 - - - - - - -. 143 11 51 9 214
RECAPITULATION.
- ORIGINAL APPEALS.
Appeals pending July 1, 1894 -------------------------------------------------------------- 1, 572
Appeals filed from July 1, 1894, to November 1, 1894........................................ 1, 184
Total ------------------------------------------------------------................… 2,756
Appeals wherein Pension Office was sustained . . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1, 543
Appeals wherein Pension Office was reversed ............................................. 468
Appeals reconsidered by Pension Office pending appeal................................... 17
Appeals dismissed.------------------------------------------------------------------......
Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,028
Appeals pending November 1, 1894 ------------------...-------............................. 728


MOTIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION.
Motions for reconsideration pending July 1, 1894................................ !--------- 4
Motions for reconsideration filed from July 1, 1894, to November 1, 1894. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 .
Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 72
Motions for reconsideration overruled . . . . . . ------.................... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 57
Motions for reconsideration sustained ..................................................... 4 .
Motions for reconsideration allowed by Pension Office . . . . . . . . . . . . '* * * * ~ * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - *
Motions for reconsideration dismissed .................................................... 4
* -------------------------------------------------------------........................: 65
. . Motions for reconsideration pending November 1, 1894..................... • * * * - - - - - - - - - - - —;
s: : * * * * * * : :
* ~ * : • * e s • :
*
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs. 7 -
FEE APPEALs.
Fee appeals pending July 1, 1894..................…........................... e is sº tº dº ſº tº dº tº ſº 85
Fee appeals filed from July 1, 1894, to November 1, 1894........ • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------- 197
Total...….. & & ‘º & tºº." - tº tº --------------- -------------------------------. … 282
Fee appeals wherein Pension Office was sustained.............. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 143
Fee appeals wherein Pension Office was reversed.------...----...--------------------------. 11
Fee appeals reconsidered by Pension Office pending appeal..................... - - - - - - - - - - - 51.
Fee appeals dismissed.-------------------------------------------. ------------------------- 9
Total --------------------------------------------------------------------------------. 214
Fee appeals pending November 1, 1894.----------------------------------------------- 68
CORRESPONDENCE.
Letters referred to the Commissioner of Pensions....................................... tº E tº e º E & 4,305
Letters sent ------------------------------------ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ... 2,978
ſt will be observed from the foregoing tables that the hope expressed
in my last report, that by the end of a year from that date (November
1, 1893) the large accumulation of appeals then appearing upon the
docket would be disposed of and the business brought up to date, has
been more than realized. Since the expiration of the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1893, there have been considered and determined 8,614 appeals
and motions for reconsideration. The small balance of arrears shown by. .
the foregoing tables to be standing upon the docket is more nominal than
read, consisting almost entirely of claims which are undergoing further
investigation and adjudication in the Pension Bureau, and in which the
papers are not at present obtainable, and of some other claims which
for their final decision await the determination of some important legal
Questions that will be decisive of all. Had it been possible to obtain
the papers in all appealed claims the docket would have been clear of
even the slight nominal balance appearing thereon at this date.
The great volume of work disposed of during the past year bears
striking testimony to the commendable industry, zeal, and efficiency
with which the regular and detailed members of the Board of Pension
Appeals have seconded my efforts and responded to my wishes to bring
this work up to date, and to clear away the accumulation of the past
five or six years, so that appeals in pension cases could be heard and
determined with reasonable celerity, and without subjecting claimants
to long and exasperating delay, as in the past, a result which has now
been attained for the first time since the close of the administration of .
Secretary Vilas. It presents, furthermore, a record for work which in
volume is exceptional, and in merit I am content that it shall speak for
itself. That the work has been carefully, faithfully, and conscientiously
performed is evidenced by the fact that the decisions of the Depart-
ment have met with the general commendation of both claimants and
attorneys, and by the exceedingly small number of errors which have
ibeen called to the attention of the Department in the disposal of this
large number of cases. This fact, as well as the importance and value
\
8. - PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs.
to claimants and attorneys of a large number of rulings that have been
made, will more fully appear by the following necessarily brief and
incomplete review and statement of the
CHARACTER OF THE WORK.
The rulings which have been made in cases arising on appeal since
entering upon my duties as Assistant Secretary may be divided into
four groups, as follows: - {
(1) DECISIONS BY WHICH ERRONEOUs PRACTICES IN THE ADJUDICATION of PEN-
SION CLAIMS BY THE BUREAU OF PENSIONS HAVE BEEN CORRECTED. .
Under this head probably the most important and prominent deci-
sion rendered was that in the case of Charles T. Bennett (7 P. D., 1),
decided May 27, 1893, laying down the proper rules of construction and
the legal basis for pension under section 2 of the act of June 27, 1890,
and overruling and correcting the former illegal and indefensible con-
struction placed thereon by order No. 164 of the Commissioner of Pen-
sions of October 15, 1890. As this decision was mentioned and fully set
forth in my last report, it will be unnecessary to more than men-,
tion it here. The same may be said with reference to the decision in
the case of Timothy L. Carley, rendered August 18, 1893 (7 P. D., 13),
which fixed the proper date for commencement of pension, under the sec-
ond section of the act of June 27, 1890, and corrected the illegal practice
which had obtained in the Pension Bureau relative thereto.
By a decision rendered in the case of John P. Besser (7 P. D., 146)
an order of the late Commissioner of Pensions of September 6, 1892, by
which the illegal rate of $18 was retained in the cases of certain pen-
sioners then upon the roll, was abrogated. This rate had been, by an
unbroken line of former departmental decisions, declared to be abol-
ished by the passage of the act of March 3, 1883, and to be an illegal
rate from and after that date. .
In the case of John Spencer (7 P. D., 152), decided December 23, 1883,
it was held that money benefits granted to sailors in the Navy, under
sections 4756 and 4757, Revised Statutes, were pensions, and a decision
of the preceding administration (6 P. D., 167) holding a contrary view
was overruled.
In the case of William T. Coburn (7 P. D., 182), decided February
24, 1894, the nature and character of a deserter's release, granted by
the War Department under the provisions of the act of May 11, 1890,
was defined. It was held, contrary to the view which had previously
obtained in the practice of the Pension Bureau, that such a release
was in no sense a discharge from the service such as is required to give
pensionable status under the law. -
In the case of James A. Hayes (7 P. D., 190), decided February 7 -
1894, the pensionable dependence of a father under the provisions of
Section 1, of the act of June 27, 1890, was defined, it being held that the
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALS. 9
provisions of said section must be considered in connection with the
provisions of section 4707 Revised Statutes, and that a person could not
be pensioned as a dependent father thereunder who was shown to be
amply able to provide for his own subsistence. z s
(2) RULINGS BY WHICH FORMER ILLEGAL DEPARTMENTAL DECISIONS HAVE BEEN .
MODIFIED OR OVERRULED. •
This class embraces quite a large number of cases which have been
decided on appeal, but only a few of the more important can be here
mentioned. ... "
In the case of Andrew J. Shannon (7 P. D., 64), decided November 24,
1893, it was held that provost marshals and all other persons who were
not regularly enlisted, mustered, or included in the military or naval
service of the United States during the war of the rebellion, but for
whom pension is provided by the second, third, fourth, and fifth subdi-
visions of section 4693, Revised Statutes, were not entitled to pension
under the act of June 27, 1890. This ruling set aside a number of
decisions of the preceding administration, under which such persons
had been admitted to the rolls under said act.
In the case of Alvin West (7 P. D., 74), decided October 26, 1893,
the Department overruled a former decision in the case of Louisa S.
Norris (5 P. D., 42), and clearly pointed out the distinction to be drawn
between persons serving in militia organizations which were included
in the Army of the United States by proclamation of the President, and
those who were never in the military service of the United States even
temporarily. -
In the case of Ezra R. Reed (7 P. D., 95), decided December 13, 1893,
and of Milo B. Osterhout, decided July 1, 1894 (in press), several deci-
sions of the preceding administration which led to most anomalous
results, were overruled. These erroneous decisions referred to—Russell
S. Cole (4 P. D., 141), John R. McCoy (5 P. D., 69), Charles F. Kibler
(No. 492353), and Louis Pereles (No. 571677)—had announced a rule
that a prisoner of war who deserted to the enemy and joined the Con-
federate army and afterwards returned and succeeded in obtaining a
discharge from his previous service in the Federal Army, should be
given a pensionable status upon his own unsupported Statement that
his conduct was intended as a device or plan to escape from prison and
rejoin his original command, and this statement should be accepted as
sufficient to avoid the provisions of section 4716, Revised Statutes,
which prohibit the payment of pension to any person who voluntarily
aided or abetted the rebellion. This view necessitated the holding that
such persons are in line of duty for pensionable purposes during the
whole period that such alleged scheme or plan of escape and return
was in progress, even though during a portion of that time they had
been actually serving in the ranks of the enemy.
10 FENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs.
In none of these cases, nor in any other similar ones adjudicated under
said decisions by the Pension Bureau, did it appear from the proof or
the circumstances of the case that the claimants had acted in good
faith and deserted their country and their flag and joined the enemy
for the purpose of escaping and returning to their commands. Said
rulings operated as a marked injustice to those soldiers who had faith-
fully served without a stain upon their military records and who were
required, in order to establish a pension claim, to produce proof of the
necessary facts other than their own statements. It frequently
resulted, as in the case of Pereles above mentioned, in the granting of
pension to persons where it was conclusively established that the disa-
bility on account of which pension was granted had been incurred
while actively serving against the Government in the ranks of the
enemy. The ruling in the Reed and Osterhout cases, while not deny-
ing that in some very exceptional case it might be possible to prove
the good faith of a person who had thus acted, held that such fact
must be established by the most conclusive and positive testimony, and
that not only direct proof, but all the circumstances of the case must
join to show that the desertion was not only for the purpose claimed,
but that it was followed by as early an escape and return to his com-
mand as the circumstances surrounding the claimant could reasonably
justify. . .* -
Somewhat similar in their results were the rulings made by my pred-
ecessor in the cases of Garrison (6 P. D., 289), decided March 11, 1893;
Coffey (4 P. D., 285), decided December 16, 1890; Martin (6 P. D., 107),
decided September 28, 1892; Collins and Gilleland (6 P. D., 27), decided
January 28, 1893, and others, holding that the act of June 27, 1890,
was legislation of such an independent and special nature that it was
not controlled or affected by, nor to be construed in connection with
any of the prior and general provisions of the pension law, but was to
be executed in accordance with its own terms exclusively. This neces.
sitated the holding, in some of the cases above mentioned, that appli-
cants for pension under said act were not affected by the provisions of
section 4716, Revised Statutes, prohibiting the payment of pension to
those who had voluntarily aided or abetted the rebellion, thereby pen-
sioning those who had served for ninety days in the Union Army and
obtained an honorable discharge even though it appeared that the ina-
bility to earn a support, which was the basis of their claims under said
act, had resulted directly from disease or injury incurred while actively .
serving against their country in the ranks of the Confederate army.
These rulings, and those just previously mentioned, are the only known
instances where this Department has ever held that disabilities result-
ing from service in the cause of the rebellion were legally pensionable,
but they have been set aside by the decisions rendered by me Septem-
ber 6, 1894, in the cases of Sarah M., widow of G. W. H. Ozborn, and
Job White (in press), and a doctrine, welcome to every tried and true
- PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs. 11
soldier of the Republic, announced instead, that inability to earn a sup-
port by manual labor due to disability inóurred while aiding and abet-
ting the late rebellion confers no title to pension. -
It was held by the last administration in the cases of Falkenburg (3
P. D., 336), Van Fossen (3 P. D., 347), Taft (5 P. D., 310), and Wempe
(3 P. D., 339), that where a claimant for pension had deserted from one
command and joined another command, and received an honorable dis-
charge from his last enlistinent, he occupied a pensionable status not.
withstanding the refusal of the War Department to recognize his sec-
ond service as legal. These rulings were contrary to all former decisions
and have been overruled by a decision rendered April 6, 1894, in the
case of Joseph C. Williams (7 P. D., No. 98). - -
In a number of decisions rendered by my immediate predecessor,
involving the question of line of duty, the rule laid down upon that
subject in the opinion of Attorney General Cushing, of May 17, 1855,
which had been accepted from that date up to the incoming of the last
administration as the correct guide in all such questions, was ignored,
and many wholly indefensible rulings were made, by which large num-
bers of persons not entitled to pension under the law were admitted to
the rolls. A few instances will be sufficient to give an idea of these
rulings. In the case of the widow of Andrew McNeil (3 P. D., 26), a
Soldier, injured in a Wrestling match with a comrade, was held to have
been in line of duty. In the case of James E. Harrison, a soldier,
wounded by the accidental discharge of his gun while absent from his
command and engaged in hunting for his own recreation, was held—by a
decision rendered July 27, 1892, overruling two former departmental
decisions to the contrary—to have been injured in line of duty and
pensionable. This decision-was overruled December 22, 1893(7 P. D.,97).
In the case of the widow of James Ellason, (3 P. D., 100) it was held that
a soldier was in line of duty while absent from his command on indi-
vidual furlough, visiting his family. In the case of Alfred C. Taft (5 P.
D., 110), it was held that disabilities, incurred while the soldier was
absent, in desertion, from his command were incurred while in line of
duty and pensionable. In the case of Henry A. Helmer (3 P. D., 111),
overruling a former decision in the same case, it was held that a sol-
dier injured by being thrown from a horse which he was riding for his
own pleasure, and which he had been warned not to ride by his captain,
to whom the horse belonged, had incurred disability while in the line of
duty. The same disregard of all the rules which had theretofore gov.
erned in considering the question of line of duty was exhibited in many
other instances too numerous to mention here, but all such have been
overruled, and the rule, as formerly laid down in an unbroken line of
decisions by this Department, has been reannounced, and the views
expressed by Attorney General Cushing in such cases adhered to.
A number of decisions based upon a most unwarrantable and unrea-
sonable construction of the provisions of the act of August 7, 1882,
- \,
12 PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs.
relative to the forfeiture of the pensions of widows guilty of “open
and notorious adulterous cohabitation,” were rendered during the last
administration, which tended to completely subvert the object and
purpose of said provisions and to nullify the law, and resulted in the
placing on the pension roll of unworthy and profligate women. These
decisions have been overruled in the cases of Ann Manning and Sarah
J. Grooms (7 P. D., 205 and 207), and it is now held, in harmony with
the construction placed upon said act by all previous administrations,
that notorious illicit intercourse on the part of a soldier's widow, after
the passage of said act, is a bar to pension, whether she be a pen-
sioner or merely an applicant for pension, and may be proved by her
conduct in habitually, openly, and notoriously consorting with one or
more persons of the opposite sex under circumstances which would
lead the guarded discretion of a reasonable and just man to infer from
such relation, as a necessary conclusion, that it was illicit. -
(3) DECISIONS BY WHICH ForMER DEPARTMENTAL RULINGS AND THE PRACTICE of
THE PENSION BURIEAU HAVE BEEN RENDERED MORE DIBERAL TO CLAIMANTS.
A. great many decisions have been rendered by me, embraced in the
third group, by which a more liberal construction has been placed
upon the pension laws, and the practice of the Pension Bureau ren-
dered more in accord with the spirit of justice and liberality in which
they were enacted by Congress.
One of the earliest of these, rendered June 27, 1893, relating to the
construction of the act of August 5, 1892, conferring pension upon
Army nurses, was mentioned in my last report to you. It is not neces-
sary, therefore, to make further reference to this ruling, except to call
attention to the fact that it met with prompt recognition and commen- .
dation on the part of those most interested, and especially from Mrs.
Annie Whittenmeyer, who, in conveying the thanks of the National
Woman’s. Relief Corps of the Grand Army of the Republic for the
“wise and generous rulings in regard to the Army nurses' pension
law,” stated, “You have by your generous rendering of the law greatly
helped me in my difficult duties.” -
The actof June 27, 1890, declared that all pensions theretofore granted
to insane, idiotic, or helpless minor children should continue during the
life of such child or for the period of such disability. My predecessor held,
however, in the case of Schuyler Kephart (4 P. D., 419), that pensions
in such cases, which had ceased before the passage of said act, could
not be revived. This ruling has been reversed, and all such claimants
restored to the rolls, by the decision, rendered March 24, 1894, in the
case of the minors of Jacob Loeb (7 P. D., 163).
Following the conclusions by which Confederate soldiers were held
to be pensionable under the act of June 27, 1890, upon the view that
said act was independent legislation not subject to the general provi-
Sions of the pension law, the last administration also held that said act
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALS. – 13
was not subject to the provisions of the Revised Statutes regulating
the payment of accrued pensions to the date of the death of the pen-
sioner, or applicant, and denied the same to the widow or children of
the soldier, and to the person who bore the expenses of his last sickness
and burial, and claimed reimbursement. This harsh ruling was reversed
by a decision rendered, May 14, 1894, in the case of Adolph Bernstein
(7 P. D., 229), and the accrued pension was directed to be paid, since.
September 18, 1892, the date of the former decision, to the widow and
children of the dead soldier, or to the person who nursed him in his last
sickness and bore the expenses of his decent burial. The effect of
the former rulings, which held that the act of June 27, 1890, was inde-
pendent legislation, had been to withhold from their widows or orphans
the accrued pension due upon the death of faithful Union soldiers, and
to require the payment of pension to persons who had actively engaged
in rebellion against the Government, and, frequently, on account of
disability incurred while serving in the Confederate army. -
In the case of Sarah A. Morris, decided August 30, 1893, it was held
that where, at the date of his death, a soldier leaves a divorced wife
and a child over 16 years of age his dependent mother would have a
pensionable status under section 4707, other statutory requirements
being shown. This had formerly been denied. -
In the case of Thomas S. Strange it was decided on September 21,
1893 (7 P. D., 36), that, while long delay of a pensioner in alleging a .
new disability as a basis for increase would create an adverse presump-
tion, such presumption was open to rebuttal by testimony of officers,
comrades, and neighbors, thus promulgating a more liberal rule than
had been previously announced in former decisions (3-P. D., 23; 5 P.
D., 881, and 6 P. D., 54), wherein it was held that said presumption
could only be rebutted by record or medical evidence.
The acts of March 4, 1890, and July 14, 1892, providing the rates of
$72 and $50, for disability requiring regular and periodical aid and
attendance, respectively, have been construed and the terms thereof
more liberally interpreted and generously defined in the interest of
claimants by decisions rendered December 3 and December 22, 1893,
in the cases of Beers (7 P. D., 113) and Hill (7 P. D., 142). *
A more liberal ruling than had theretofore obtained for estimating
the length of service in Indian wars of claimants for pension, under
the act of July 27, 1892, was announced in the case of David J. Bailey,
decided March 30, 1894 (7 P. D., 173). -
It was held by the last administration that where a soldier had served
for ninety days and was honorably discharged and had reenlisted
and died while in the service, his death not being in line of duty, his
widow was not pensionable under the act of June 27, 1890, for the
reason that he had not received a final honorable discharge from his
service during the war of the rebellion. This unjust and illiberal rul. .
ing was reversed in the case of Mary E., widow of Samuel H. Walker -
14 PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs.
(7 P. D., 197), in which I held that death should be considered a final'
and honorable release from the service, and the widow entitled to
pension. - . . . . . . . . .
Prior to the incoming of the present administration no ruling had
been made clearly defining the language of the act of August 4, 1886,
providing the rate of $36 per month for an amputation “at or above
the knee,” it having been generally held that such amputations should
not be lower than at the joint to entitle to that rate. In the case of
Lawrence Gates (7 P. D., 200), a decision was rendered April 6, 1894,
enlarging and extending the meaning of the term “at the knee,” and .
fixing the lower limit of the knee at the base of the tubercle of the
tibia, thereby increasing to $36 the pensions of many maimed soldiers,
formerly rated at $30 per month. - - - sº
In several decisions recently rendered the practice of the Bureau
has been materially modified with reference to the date of the com-
mencement of pensions filed in behalf of insane persons and minors.
Prior to the rendition of said decisions, such pensions had uniformly
been made to commence only from the date of an application filed by
a regularly appointed legal guardian. It is now held that such pen-
sions should commence from the date of a declaration filed either by
the claimant, himself, or any person for him, although such application
might have been filed prior to the appointment of a guardian.
A number of decisions on appeals by attorneys in the matter of fees
have been rendered by which the interests of claimants have been pro-
tected and large amounts of money have been saved to them which
were formerly paid to attorneys under previous rulings. One of these
was referred to in my last report by which the fees of attorneys in
claims for increase of pension under the act of June 27, 1890, were lim-
ited to $2. The same rule has since been applied to claims for the
increase of pension provided by the act of January 5, 1893, for survivors
of the Mexican war. It has been held that the claim for pension by a
widow for herself and her own children, and also for a child of the sol-
dier by a former marriage, constituted but one claim and but one fee
could be paid. So, also, that a claim for straight increase and for
increase on account of a new disability constituted but one claim and
Would entitle an attorney to but one fee. - -
The decisions rendered by me number hundreds in which, on various
points, the rights of the pensioner have been protected against every
form of extortion.
(4) DECISIONS BY WHICH FoRMER IMPORTANT DEPARTMENTAL RULINGS HAVE
BEEN AFFIRMED. .
It is unnecessary to specify particular decisions in which former impor-
tant rulings have been affirmed, for the reason that in a vast majority,
of the cases decided by me the former rulings and decisions of the
Department have been followed, and in no instance have they been
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs. 15.
disturbed or modified, except where it appeared that the plain require-
ments of the law, the dictates of justice and sound reason, or the good
of the service demanded such action. - -
It may be stated, in general terms, that in passing upon the cases
which have been submitted to me on appeal I have endeavored to look
—to the law, as written on the pages of the statute books, and to that
alone, for guidance, and I believe that the work performed will com-
mend itself from its own merit and inherent justice to the pensioned,
soldier, his widow, his orphan, and the entire people of the Republic,
and this belief is confirmed by the action of the United States Maimed
Soldiers' League declaring, through its board of officers, September 7,
1894, “your various decisions in pension appeal cases have done justice
to the soldier and his widow and orphan.” ~.
REGoGNITION AND FEES OF ATTORNEYs IN PENSION CASEs.
Before leaving this subject I desire to call attention to the fact that
upon assuming the duties of this office I found the decisions of the
Department and the rulings of the Commissioners of Pensions, relative
to the recognition of attorneys in pension cases and the adjustment of the
fees to which they were entitled under the law, in a state of inextricable
confusion. No settled policy appears to have governed the depart-
mental holdings in this class of appeals, but each case appears to have
been decided in accordance with the view which obtained at the time,
without reference to either previous rulings on similar questions or to
its effect in the future. The consequence was that authority on both
sides of almost any question arising in matters of attorneyship and fee
could be found and cited from the rulings of the Department, and, of
necessity, the practice of the Pension Bureau in such matters was
equally as uncertain and inconsistent. On the one hand, it was impos-
sible for an honest and reputable attorney to so conduct his business as
not to run Some risk of being deprived of his fee by reason of the effect
of some inconsiderate ruling or decision, and, on the other hand, an
unscrupulous practitioner might generally be enabled to find some
precedent in support of his unjust demand. -
To remedy this evil I at once commenced the promulgation of á line
of decisions announcing a fixed, definite, and consistent departmental
policy, formulating and establishing clear and certain rules of practice,
based solely upon the law, by which I have endeavored not only toº
protect the rights of claimants, but to do exact justice to attorneys.
. These decisions will appear in volume 7 of Decisions of this Depart-
ment in Appealed Pension Claims, now in course of preparation. They
have resulted in establishing a definite, consistent, and intelligible prac-.
tice in the adjustment of such questions in the Pension Bureau, and, in
a very great degree, have corrected the confusion, uncertainty, and
errors which formerly marked their adjudication, meeting with general
16 PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs. .N.
commendation from claimants and attorneys alike, and, it is believed;
furnish a basis for an equitable and satisfactory practice in such cases
in the future. - -
$ LEGISLATION RECOMMENDED.
It having been held that the provisions of section 4718 Revised Stat-
utes, providing for the disposition of accrued pension were applicable
only to the pensions of soldiers and not to those of widows, minors, or
dependent relatives, you were pleased, on a communication from me set-
ting forth sufficient reasons to transmit to Congress at its last session
a recommendation for the passage of a bill amending the law so as to º
extend its provisions to the cases of widows and dependent relatives .
of Soldiers, and thus remedy the injustice of the present law in forfeit-
ing the accrued pension of this class of pensioners, and permit payment ^s
to be made from the accrued pension to the persons who bore the
expenses of their last sickness and burial. I again suggest that this
matter be brought to the attention of Congress.
I also believe it important that power should be conferred by law
upon the Commissioner of Pensions to order that where a soldier in
receipt of a pension unlawfully abandons his family and neglects to pro-
vide for them, such pension or a part thereof might be paid to his
wife, or to some one in trust for his helpless minor children under
pensionable age; and I suggest that such legislation be recommended.
to Congress, thereby applying the law to the case of a father that is
now applicable, under like circumstances, to the mother.
Attention is also directed to the fact that by the third section of the
act of June 27, 1890, provision is only made for pensioning the minors
of a soldier under 16 years of age in the event of the death or remar-
riage of the soldier's widow, their mother, there being in said section
no direct and positive grant of pension to such minors in case of the
death of the Soldier leaving no widow, and the authority for pensioning
under said section, minors so situated, has rested solely upon implica-
tion and departmental construction, such being the evident intention
of Congress, but without any direct authority of law to sustain it. I
think that the pensionable rights, under said section, of this class of
minors, should not be permitted to rest upon so uncertain and precari-
ous a foundation, liable to be modified or destroyed at any time by a
change of opinion and construction on the part of those having in charge
the execution of the law, and I, therefore, recommend that Congress be
urged to so amend said section as to provide therein a direct grant of
pension to the soldier's children under 16 years of age, upon the death
of the father leaving no widow surviving, thus establishing the rights
of such minors as have already been granted pension thereunder
beyond question or the possibility of change, and also, definitely and .
finally determining the pensionable status under the law of those whose
claims may be hereafter adjudicated. *
2'
PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALs. 17
I also invite your attention to a manifest inequality in the laws gov-
erning allowance of pension to soldiers' widows, to the end that Cong-
ress may be advised of the same. You are aware that by statutory
enactment and decisions of the courts, the various States of the Union,
, save perhaps three, have recognized and applied the rules of the com-
mon law governing marriage. A valid marriage in these States may
be contracted per verba depraesenti and, upon the holding that marriage
is a civil contract, such a marriage may be proved by evidence of acts of
recognition, matrimonial cohabitation, general reputation, and the dec-
larations and conduct of the parties. The Supreme Court of the
United States has gone so far—in the case of Meister v. Moore (96 U.
S., 76)—as to hold that even though a State statute prescribes direc-
tion as to solemnization of marriage, a marriage contracted at common
law shall be valid unless the statute contains eaſpress words of nullity.
That a marriage must be proved according to the laws of the State
where it was contracted is a rule that governs in the adjudication of
pension claims (sec. 2, act of August 7, 1882). As early as March 3,
1873, Congress realized that the application of the above rule to claims
filed by alleged widows of negro soldiers would lead to manifest injus-
tice, since the widow in Tennessee would be pensionable, while the
widow in Kentucky, with even better proof of marriage, could not be.
Hence Congress enacted section 4705 of the Revised Statutes, mak-
ing a marriage law which is universally applicable to the widows
of colored or Indian soldiers in every State in the Union. But Congress
has not been so considerate of the widows of our white soldiers, and I
hereby invite your attention to the anomalous and lamentable fact that
under exactly the same conditions the widow of a white soldier in
Maryland has no pensionable status, while in the same State the widow
of a negro soldier has. This is also true as to the States of Massa-
chusetts and Kentucky, and I suggest that there should be enacted
such a law as will make proof of marriage in the prosecution of pen-
sion claims universal throughout the United States, removing thereby
this discrimination and injustice. - -
RULES OF PRACTICE.
In my last report I stated that there had been prepared and pro-
mulgated, with your approval, a new code of rules regulating practice
before this Department and the Bureau of Pensions in appealed pen-
Sion cases. I am happy to State that the practical application of these
rules for the past year has proved their efficacy and usefulness in ren.
dering the practice of the Department more certain, specific, and expe-
ditious in disposing of the business before it, and has fully realized the
hope then expressed as to their usefulness and benefit.
PRESENT oRGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF PENSION APPEALS.
I am also gratified to be able to state that the plan upon which I
reorganized the Board of Pension Appeals, as fully set forth in my last
8368—2.
-18 PENSIONS AND PENSION APPEALS. ^.
report, has more than met the expectations then expressed, and has
resulted in rendering the decisions of the Department more harmonious
and consistant than formerly, and has contributed in no slight degree.
to the accomplishment of the large amount of business disposed of
during the past year. * -
CONCLUSION.
In conclusion I desire to call attention to the fact that, upon taking
charge of the office of Assistant Secretary in April, 1893, I found
4,965 appeals pending on the docket, with the work of the Board .
of Appeals more than two years behind. In eighteen and one-half
months, with 5,847 additional appeals entered during that period, the
current appeals are being decided, and tardy justice no longer follows
an appeal to this Department by any deserving soldier, widow, or .
orphan. Thus 10,000 cases have been considered on appeal and finally
ruled upon, a greater number than was ever before disposed of in the
same length of time, and more than double the number considered in
any like period under my predecessor. This statement is more than
borne out by a comparison of the amount of work disposed of per
month by the Board of Pension Appeals during the four years from
March, 1889, to April, 1893, and the amount disposed of per month
from the latter date to the present time, which shows that during the
former period the average number of appeals acted upon per month
was less than 350, and during the latter period more than 550. ^*.
I would also call attention to the fact that in the whole number of
cases decided on appeal during the four years of the incumbency of .
my predecessor those in which the action of the Commissioner of Pen-
sions adverse to the claimant was affirmed amounted to 88.86 per cent
and those in which such action was reversed to 11.14 per cent. During
the period since I entered upon the duties of this office the cases in
which the action of the Commissioner of Pensions has been affirmed
have amounted to 90.68 per cent, and those in which such action has
been reversed in favor of the claimant to 9.32 per cent of the whole
number decided on appeal. - * . . -
It is but fair that I should call attention to the fact that such grati-
fying results could not have been accomplished had it not been for the
industry, efficiency, and earnest effort of the regular and detailed mem-
bers of the Board of Pension Appeals and the clerks and typewriters
employed upon this work, and I hereby tender them my thanks, and
take great pleasure in calling to your attention the praiseworthy zeal
which has characterized their devotion to the public business upon
which they have been employed. s
Respectfully submitted. .
- JNo. M. REYNoLDs,
. . . . Assistant Secretary.
Hon. HoKE SMITH. -
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