CHAPTER XXXIX.THE PENSION BUREAU—HOW GOVERNMENT PAYS ITSSERVANTS.
The Generosity of Congress to Itself—How Four Hundred Acts of Congress were Passed—How Pensions have Increased and Multiplied—Sneering at Red-Tape—The Division of Labor—Scrutinizing Petitions—A Heavy Paper Jacket—The Judicial Division—Invalids, Widows, and Minors—The Examiner of Pensions—The Difficulties of his Position—Unsatisfactory Work—How Claims are Entertained and Tested—What is Recorded in the Thirty Enormous Volumes—How many Genuine Cases are Refused—One of the Inconveniences of Ignorance—The Claim-Agent Gobbles up the Lion’s Share—An Extensive Correspondence—How Claims are Mystified, and Money is Wasted—The “Reviewer’s†Work—The “Rejected Filesâ€â€”The “Admitted Filesâ€â€”Seventy-Five Thousand Claims Pending—Very Ancient Claimants—The Bounty Land Division—The Reward of Fourteen Days’ Service—The Sum Total of what the Government has Paid in Pensions—How the Pensions are Paid—The Finance Division—The Largest and the Smallest Pension Office—The Miscellaneous Branch—Investigating Frauds—A Poor “Dependent†Woman with Forty Thousand Dollars—How “Honest and Respectable†People Defraud the Government—The Medical Division—Examining Invalids—The Restoration-Desk—The Appeal-Desk—The Final-Desk—The Work that Has Been Done—One Hundred and Fifty Thousand People Grumbling—Letter of an Ancient Claimant—The Wrath of a Pugnacious Captain.
Compared to the generosity with which it rewards itself, Congress doles out most scanty recompense even to the Government’s most faithful and long-suffering servants. Nevertheless, that it does not neglect or ignore them altogether, the annals of the Pension Bureau accurately attest.
The first Act promising pensions to those disabled by war, was passed in the next month after the Declaration of Independence, August 26, 1776. On September 16, 1776, specified grants of land were promised to those who should enter the service, and continue to its close; and in case of their death, to their heirs.
Under these early enactments, the mode prescribed by law, to decide who were entitled to pensions, was to leave the State Legislatures to decide who should justly receive pensions. Having decided, the State Legislatures paid the pensioners, and were reimbursed by the general Government.
Afterward, this method gave way to another, requiring the Judges of district, and circuit-courts, to decide the equity of the demand, and to pay it, as had formerly been done, by the Legislatures of the several States. These payments were not made, however, until after the lists reported by the Judges had been verified by comparison with the rolls on file in the War Department, when they were reported by the Secretary of War to Congress, and placed on the pension-lists, by a resolution of that body. This mode was found to be too slow in detecting frauds, and February 25, 1793, an Act was passed, prescribing rules to be observed by the courts in the investigation of claims, and providing that the evidence upon which the decision was based should accompany the report. This Act prevailed, with slight modifications, until March 3, 1819, when an Act was passed, authorizing the Secretary of War to place on the pension-rolls, without reporting the lists to Congress.
This authority was exercised by the Secretary of War, until March 2, 1833, when a distinct Bureau of the Government was established for the adjustment of pensionclaims. It was provided for in the section of a bill, which made an appropriation for the civil and diplomatic expense of the Government, for the year. This section said: “A Commissioner of Pensions shall be appointed by the President and the Senate, who shall receive a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars, which is hereby appropriated.†This office was perpetuated for many years by biennial enactments, the last providing that it should continue until further legislation on the subject.
Since the passage of the first Act, by the old Congress in 1776, there have been over four hundred distinct Acts relating to pensions for military and naval services, and for bounty-land rewarding such services, enacted by Congress. Instead of the small pension-lists transmitted by the courts of the country, through the Secretary of War to Congress, the tens of thousands of pension-claims, presented to the Government, under the various laws which relate to them, now require the constant services of more than three hundred clerks in the Pension Bureau, supervised by the Commissioner of Pensions.
It is the dual duty of this Bureau, to protect private interests, and to secure the enforcement of the law. The claims are infinite and often conflicting; the provisions of law manifold; and people unfamiliar with the immense demand upon such an office, sneer or smile, or weep over the length of the “red-tape†routine, through which its cases are so often “long drawn out.†Persons waiting outside the Bureau, can not comprehend the requirements or exigencies of a business demanding the employment of so large a force of actors, or touching the springs of so many public and private interests. Says one who knows: “Far better the delays of red tape, than the inextricableconfusion, and total inability to transact business, which would be the inevitable result of a business system less minute and stringent.â€
The Pension Bureau is divided into four divisions, viz: the Mail Division, the Judicial, the Financial, and the Miscellaneous.
The Mail Division is charged with the receiving, reading, distributing to the proper desks, all the mail. Every original application, every piece of additional evidence, every communication, of whatever nature, is stamped with the date of receipt, and, with the exception of letters of inquiry, they are entered on the records, which show from whom received, when received, and to whom delivered.
“It requires careful examination of the papers, a thorough knowledge of the office, and the closest analysis, to determine the proper destination of each communication. Many writers are obscure, many misstate their business, through ignorance or carelessness, and to quickly comprehend the import of all papers, requires a keen eye and a ready mind.
“Persons communicating with the Office, should remember this, and to insure a correct distribution of their mail, should, in all cases, indorse upon the outside of the envelope, the number of the claim referred to, the name of the claimant, and the nature of the claim.
“In this Division, claims are also prepared for the files, by having a heavy paper jacket placed round them, upon which is indorsed the Act under which it is filed, the description of the party claiming, their address, also the address of the attorney, if one appears in the claim.â€
The Judicial Division is charged with an application ofthe law to the evidence, and the determining of the right of the applicant to the pension. This office is divided into three grand divisions—invalid, widows, and minors. The first embraces all claims preferred by surviving soldiers; the second, all claims based upon the service and death of soldiers and sailors; the third, those of minors.
An Examiner of Pensions does not sit upon a bed of roses—or, if he does, it is full of thorns. So various and minute are the provisions of law, applicable to the cases under his consideration, so numerous are the rulings of the office, and the decisions of the Heads of Departments, and of the Bureau, with the opinion of the Attorney-General added, all bearing upon this claim, it demands the most exhaustive examination, the keenest discrimination, and the most wise judgment, to reach a final just conclusion. And when his conclusion is reached, it is not final.
In the Judicial Division, are filed all pending claims. These files are arranged with reference to the initial letter of the soldier’s surname, and are divided into sections proportioned to the magnitude of the letter of the alphabet. Upon the receipt of jacketed claims from the mail division, the first step is to see if the party, making application, ever filed a claim before, and this is ascertained by examining the “original records.â€
These records fill thirty enormous volumes, and contain three hundred and eighty-three thousand applications that have been filed under the act of July 14, 1862. All entries are made therein with reference to the first three letters of the soldier’s surname, and only by this subdivision of names, affording two thousand eight hundred combinations, can convenient reference to any given claimbe had; and even when so divided, the examination of the greater combination requires considerable labor. For instance, in two hundred thousand entries under W. I. L., there will be three thousand two hundred and fifty entries; and under S. M. I. you will find two thousand seven hundred and fifty Smiths. If the result of this examination affords no evidence of a prior application by the same person, after noting all other applications based upon the service of the same soldier, the claims are numbered in numerical order and placed upon the record, which includes a full description thereof, and the recorded claims are then placed in the files, to await examination in the order of their receipt.
When they are reached, the examiner’s duties begin. He first searches for such recorded evidence as can be found in any of the Departments of the Government. From these he notes all omissions, and points unsupported, and calls upon the claimant, or his attorney, for corroborative evidence of the statements made in the declaration. He is guided in his requirements by the hundreds of rulings applicable to the smallest details of the various kinds of claims. All the evidence furnished in response must comply with the minutest demand of the law; the law of evidence as applied in courts, and the express requirements of the law under which the pension is claimed, are both brought to bear in the consideration of the points to be met, and the testimony offered in proof.
You will not be astonished to be told that very often they are not met, or that in thousands of just cases the testimony is unequal to the gradgrind requirements of the law. A want of a knowledge of the provisions of the law—more than of willful knavery—is the greatacknowledged difficulty with which the Office has to contend. Many a poor sinner, who lost his leg or arm, or carries a bullet in him, received in his country’s battles, knows all about the minus members, the battles, and the bullet, and not an atom about “the provisions of the law,†or the inextricable windings of official red-tape. Because his knowledge is of so one-sided a character, he finds it no easy matter to get the governmental reward for that buried leg or arm; and by the time all “the requirements of the law†have been slowly beaten into his brains, the greater portion of his pension is pocketed by the claim-agent who showed him how to get it.
All these provisions and safeguards of the law are said to be necessary, to protect the Government against fraudulent claims. Perhaps they are; but that makes them no less hard, or ofttimes unjust “to the soldier and widow†who, in writing a letter, are as ignorant as babies of “the requirements of the law.†Under these requirements, and with the utter ignorance of common people of technical terms, and judicial statements, it is not strange that “a large percentage of the evidence offered, is imperfectly prepared.†A great deal more is deficient in substance, or suspected of fraud.
The correspondence from this Division, stating objections, requiring further proof, and elucidating doubtful points, amounts to hundreds of letters a day. The long delay inevitable, is said to be the fault of the system. “Ex-parteevidence is the criminal.†“Were means afforded for a cross-examination of all applicants and witnesses, these difficulties and delays would disappear. One-half of the amount now taken from the pockets of pensioners, to compensate agents for procuring their pensions,would pay the entire cost of such a system, to say nothing of the thousands of dollars paid from the Treasury upon fraudulent claims, that would be saved.â€
When the examiner has ended his researches, he prepares a brief of the evidence, on which he bases his admission, or rejection, of the claim. He closes it with a statement of his decision, showing from what date, and at what rate admitted, or, if rejected, the cause therefor, and signs his name, as examiner.
This action is entered in a record. The case is taken from out the file of pending claims, and is placed in the hands of a clerk, who is called the “Reviewer.†He is selected for this task, for his superior judgment, and for his familiarity with the law, and the rules of office. He “begins again,†goes over the entire action of the examiner, goes through the entire evidence, in order to be able to approve, or disprove, the examiner’s decision. If he approves, the case passes on to the Chief of the Division, forhisapproval, which, except in unusual cases, ispro forma. From his desk the case goes to the Certificate Section, for issue. There it receives its certificate and approved brief, decorated with which it departs to the Commissioner’s desk, there to receive his final and crowning signature, and the grand seal of the Department. If the claim is a rejected one, and its rejection receives the approval of the receiver, it is cast into the outer darkness of the “rejected files.†Here it is subject to an appeal to the Secretary, and may be borne forth again to the light, upon the presentation of new and material evidence.
After the triumphant claim has received its certificate, it is treated to a new coat of a wrapper, upon whoseback a certificate-number, and its history, is endorsed. It is then entered upon the admitted records. After it has been reported to the Pension Agent, Finance Division, to the Third Auditor of the Treasury, and to the Second Comptroller, it is placed on the “admitted files.â€
Seventy-five thousand pending claims are now on file in these two divisions. They are slowly reduced in number, and the receipt of new claims equals the disposal of the old ones. This statement does not include the adjustment of claims filed under the act of February 14, 1871, granting pensions to survivors of the war of 1812, who served sixty days, and to their widows. Their claims have been organized into a separate division, in which a force of fifty clerks has been constantly employed since its organization, May, 1871. This division is known as the “1812 Division,†and strenuous efforts are made to reach very early decisions in all its cases, the extreme age of the applicants making it necessary—if their pension is to reach them “this side of Jordan.â€
In this division, the claims are carried through their entire process, from the application to the placing of the pensioner’s name on the rolls.
The Bounty-Land Division forms a part of the Judicial branch. Herein all claims for bounty-land, filed under the act of March 3, 1855, which is the latest general provision, are adjusted. Themodus operandiof obtaining land-grants is nearly identical with the process of obtaining a pension.
Under the act of 1855, all persons who served fourteen days, either in the army or navy, are entitled to one hundred and sixty acres, and those who were actually engaged in battle, though their services were less than fourteen days, are entitled to the same.
Under the various laws governing these land grants, warrants representing 73,932,451 acres have been issued, which, estimated at $1.25 per acre, amounts to $92,415,563.75, which, added to $313,170,412.77 that has been paid since the beginning of the Government, as pension, makes a total expenditure of $405,585,976.52, which has been paid in gratuities to the defenders of the Republic.
Where the Judicial Branch ends in the certificate of a pension, the Financial Branch begins. The rolls reported by those divisions are entered in the agency registers, which are arranged to show payments for several years, and the agents’ quarterly accounts of disbursements are compared with these registers, and errors noted.
There are now upon the United States pension rolls the names of 232,229 pensioners, who are paid quarterly through fifty-seven pension agents. When we remember that the accounts of all these agents, for these tens of thousands of names, are adjusted and reported within the short space of three months, it is not difficult to realize the amount of labor involved.
The Finance Division is charged with all correspondence with the pension agents, to suspend and resume payments, to drop from the rolls (in which case the auditor and controller must also be notified), the payment of accrued pensions to heirs and legal representatives; restorations, under the act of July 27, 1868, where a pension has been unclaimed for three years; the transfer of payments from one agency to another; the issue of duplicate certificates in lieu of those lost or destroyed. All these, and many, many other things are required at the hands of the gentlemen employed therein. The act of June 8, 1872, granted increase to pensioners of the first, second andthird grades; and this Division, after the passage of the Act and before the quarterly payment of September 4, following, received, examined and issued 9,237 certificates granting the increase. Of the agencies disbursing pension-money, there are ten whose payments exceed $100,000,000 per annum. Of these, Boston is the largest, paying out more than $1,800,000. The smallest amount paid by any agency is that at Vancouver, Washington Territory, which disburses less than $2,500 per annum.
The Miscellaneous Branch covers many features too minute to be brought into this sketch. Among the more important is its Special Service Division. This is occupied with the investigation of all claims in which fraud is suspected. It prosecutes and convicts all persons whose guilt is proved. Congress annually appropriates a considerable sum to pay the expenses of such investigations, which tends largely to lessen fraudulent practices against the Government. By means of this fund the Office is enabled to keep a large number of special agents employed, who are charged with the investigation of all suspected frauds perpetrated within their respectivedistricts.districts.
This division requires clerks who are thoroughly familiar with all laws which the Office is called upon to execute, as well as a general knowledge of the criminal laws of each State. Its efforts are: first, to secure the pensioner in all his rights; second, to prosecute all persons where it is thought a conviction can be had; and third, to secure a return to the Government of all money unlawfully obtained. The amount saved in reducing pensions illegally rated, in dropping from the rolls those found not to be entitled, and in sums refunded, largely exceed the cost of the work, while the effect upon the public is beneficial indeterring others from criminal practices. Cases have been found which were allowed on the clearest proof of dependence upon the part of mothers of soldiers, where an investigation proved that that same dependent mother owned property in her own right to the amount of forty thousand dollars!
Such cases are not confined to the classes usually engaged in unlawful acts. Nothing is more remarkable than the number of persons—in the average transactions of life deemed honest and honorable—who are ready and eager, under one pretext or another, to “gouge†and defraud the revenues of the Government; and these persons are by no means confined to the seekers of pensions, but may be found every day in the highest class that can reach the hard-earned treasure of the National Treasury.
The Medical Division of the Pension Bureau acts conjointly with the Invalid Division in deciding the degree of disability of claimants for original, and the increase of invalid pensions. This division is supervised by medical gentlemen thoroughly trained in their profession. All invalid claims, after having been briefed by the examiner, and before passing into the reviewer’s hands, are referred to this division. The Examining Surgeon makes a personal examination of the applicant, and from his medical testimony, endorsed by the Chief of the Medical Division, the Chief of the Invalid Division bases his final opinion and action.
The Restoration Desk is devoted to all claims, which are to be restored to the rolls, of parties who have been dropped for cause—principally those who were residents of the States in rebellion at the beginning of the late war. These are only placed upon the rolls upon incontestible proof of loyalty.
The Appeal Desk is the recipient of all cases in preparation for reference to the Secretary, where an appeal from the action of the Office is taken.
The Final Desk is the extensive one of the Commissioner of Pensions.
From the beginning to the end of this busy Bureau, charged with the comfort, the very subsistence of so many bereaved and disabled fellow-creatures, the Commissioner must see all things, anticipate all wants, supply all needs; upon him rests the entire administration of this vast and potent Bureau. His position is not easy or his burden light.
To fill so important a trust with honor, a Commissioner needs not only clear judgment and business training, but should also be a man of positive administrative talents, large information, thorough education, and broad, comprehensive mind.
These qualities are all possessed in a pre-eminent degree by the present Commissioner of Pensions.
General J. H. Baker was born in Lebanon, Ohio, 1829. He is the son of a Methodist clergyman, and was graduated from the Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, taking the Latin honors of a large class in 1852. He was Secretary of the State of Ohio during Chief-Justice Chase’s term as Governor of that State. He moved to Minnesota, and was Secretary of the State when he resigned to take command of the Tenth Minnesota Volunteers. He served with distinction in the Indian expedition under General Sibley, and, on his return, was ordered South. At St. Louis he was placed in command of the post, and soon after was made Provost-Marshal General of the Department of Missouri. At the close of the war he becameRegister of Public Lands in Missouri, and, resigning this position, in 1868 he returned to Minnesota, was candidate for the United States Senate, and defeated by a very small majority. In 1871 be was appointed Commissioner of Pensions.
General Baker is a tall, commanding looking gentleman, with dark hair, complexion and eyes. He is of nervo-motive temperament, quick, prompt, energetic in action, yet courteous and genial in his bearing to a very marked degree.
Since the passage of the Act of July 4, 1862, nearly 400,000 claims for pensions have been filed in and considered by the Pension Office. Of course, in the examination of so vast a number of cases, errors have been committed, matters of fact misinterpreted, and in many instances, through carelessness, ignorance and neglect, injustice has been done.
The clerks of this office have always compared favorably, both in industry and capacity, with those of other Bureaus; but, among so large a number, worthless and inefficient ones will be found, and the still greater evil of employing men who, though capable, take no interest in their official duties, and, through the want of that spur to well-doing, fail to make themselves of value to the Government, and render aid to those whom the Office was organized to protect and assist. The percentage of claims affected by these causes, small though it may have been, would amount to thousands in the aggregate, and these, distributed throughout the country, would give an enlarged color to their complaints, and lead the people to believe that the evil was general and unusual in its extent. When we add to this class of complainants the150,000 who, in some shape, have had claims before the office for increase, arrears, etc., and which, not coming within the law under which they filed, were rejected, and who, not understanding what the law did provide, but deriving their information from unscrupulous agents who would not or could not instruct them in the matter, they feel seriously aggrieved, and loudly complain. Two dependent mothers, equally poor, and who were alike aided by their respective sons, reside in the same village. They apply for a pension for the services and deaths of their sons. The records of the War Department show that one of the soldiers died of a disease contracted in the service and in the line of duty, and that the other soldier died of a disease, though contracted in the service, yet itdid notoriginate while he was in the line of duty. These are distinctions which neither this poor woman nor the community can understand. Yet the claim last described must be rejected, as it is barred by the law. The whole community cries out about the great injustice practiced by the Pension Office, while, in fact, thelawis responsible, andnotthe office.
Again, invalid pensioners, suffering from a partial or total disability, are strongly urged, by theirpecuniary interests, to believe that they are entitled to a total or special rating. They apply for increase, and are referred to an examining surgeon for a personal examination, and a report as to nature and degree of disability. The surgeon fails to conform to the applicant’s estimate as to the extent of his disability, and the claim for increase is rejected, and here is another case of “great injustice.â€
Biennial examinations of all invalid pensioners are required, except in cases of permanent disability. At suchtimes the surgeon finds they are partially or entirely recovered from the disability that existed at the date of last examination, and notwithstanding the firm conviction of the pensioner that he is just as much disabled as ever, he is reduced or dropped. He at once joins the army of grumblers, and complains of injustice.
The office acknowledges its imperfections, but respectfully declines to admit the correctness of a tithe of the grievances reported. There is some show of injustice in the delay frequently experienced in the settlement of claims, and yet the Office is responsible to a slight degree only. As heretofore intimated, thesystemis largely accountable for this. The suspicion, warranted by experience, attaching to every piece of testimony received, and necessitating a close scrutiny and reconciliation of the slightest discrepancies before final action can be had. The hundreds of points going to make up a case must be found in proofs, and the affidavits offered, three times out of five, fail to cover the point.
Here is another cause for complaint. “The Pension Office called three times for the same evidence.†It must be admitted that, some years ago, there was an entire neglect of correspondence. “Letters of inquiry,†asking condition of claim and countless questions, arrived by thousands. Examiners were ambitious to pass (admit or reject) a large number of claims, during the month, and these letters proved nothing, and required time and labor to answer them, and were cast aside. This has all been changed by the present Commissioner, and these letters are confided to clerks who engage in nothing but correspondence, and who are required to keep their desks up to date; and in this connection it is proper to add that a magicalchange has been made in the style and completeness of the letters. Some years ago, a fac-simile of the Commissioner’s signature was stamped upon the out-going mail. Now, each letter is subjected to a careful review by the Chiefs of Divisions, and goes thence to the Commissioner’s room for his signature and a frequent review by him; and the occasional return of a letter, with a sharp reminder, suffices to keep the letter writers on the alert. And this idea of a careful surveillance is not confined to correspondents, but it has been carefully impressed upon the whole force by frequent illustrations. By judicious, yet not burdensome reports, and by frequent reference thereto by the Commissioner, which is forcibly brought to the knowledge of a careless clerk, theemployéshave been taught that no trifling will be allowed.
It has also been realized by theemployésof this Bureau that meritisnoted, anddemerit will insure dismissal. It is the policy of General Baker to hold his subordinates strictly responsible for the proper performance of their individual duties, and to look to those having charge of others to secure the desired results, or to report the delinquent. The result of two years’ growth in this direction has been gratifying. The increased industry of the Office, the improvement resulting from a thoughtful and careful performance of its duties, and the elevation of the standard which all seeking appointments must come up to, and a careful weeding-out of the inefficient ones, are rapidly tending to secure commendation from those having business with the Bureau, rather than censure.
An aged claimant for a pension, who served in the war of 1812, residing in Illinois in December, 1871, wrote tothe Office as follows: “Oh! can it be true that I am going to get $100? That news is too good! I’m so hungry, and I love coffee so, but I can’t get any! All I have to eat is corn-bread and sour milk. I can’t believe that I am to get so much money, but I pray God it may be true.†It is needless to say that this claim was made “special,†and the octogenarian had “coffee†for his Christmas breakfast.
A Captain B., of Havre-de-Grace, Maryland, a claimant for pension under Act of 1871, for services in the War of 1812, had his claim rejected, it appearing that he served less than sixty days, as required by that Act; whereupon the Captain grew wrathy, and wrote as follows:
“N. B.—Any man that will say that I was not a Private soldier in Capt. Paca Smith’s company before the attack of the British on the City of Baltimore, and during the attack on said City in Sept., 1814, and after the British dropped down to Cape Henry, I say he is a dastard, a liar, and a coward, and no gentleman, or any man that will say that I got my Land-warrant from the Hon. Geo. C. Whiting, for 160 acres of Land, for 14 days’ services in Capt. Paca Smith’s company, is the same, as stated above, and I hold myself responsible for the contents of this letter; and if their dignity should be touched, a note of honor directed to Capt. Wm. B——, Havre-de-Grace, Harford Co., Md., shall be punctually attended to.“Wm. B——.â€
“N. B.—Any man that will say that I was not a Private soldier in Capt. Paca Smith’s company before the attack of the British on the City of Baltimore, and during the attack on said City in Sept., 1814, and after the British dropped down to Cape Henry, I say he is a dastard, a liar, and a coward, and no gentleman, or any man that will say that I got my Land-warrant from the Hon. Geo. C. Whiting, for 160 acres of Land, for 14 days’ services in Capt. Paca Smith’s company, is the same, as stated above, and I hold myself responsible for the contents of this letter; and if their dignity should be touched, a note of honor directed to Capt. Wm. B——, Havre-de-Grace, Harford Co., Md., shall be punctually attended to.
“Wm. B——.â€