Chapter 181. making appropriations for the payment of invalid and other pensions of the United States for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes
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CHAP. 181.— An Act making appropriations for the payment of invalid and other pensions of the United States for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes.July 4, 1884.Pensions.Appropriations. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, That the following sums be, and the same are hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the payment of pensions for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and for other purposes, namely:
For Army and Navy pensions as follows: For invalids, widows, minorArray and Navy pensions. children, and dependent relatives, and survivors and widows of the war of eighteen hundred and twelve, twenty million dollars; and any balance Unexpended balance of appropriation reappropriated.of the appropriation for the above purposes for the current fiscal year that may remain unexpended on the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, estimated at sixty-six million dollars, is hereby reap-propriated and made available for the service of the year ending June *Proviso:* income of Navy pension fund to apply to appropriation for Navy pensions.thirtieth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five: *Provided,* That the appropriations aforesaid for Navy pensions shall be paid from the income of the Navy pension fund, so far as the same may be sufficient for that 99 FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS.
SESS. I. CH. 181. 1884. purpose: *And provided further,* That the amount expended under each of the above items shall be accounted for separately. For fees and expenses of examining surgeons, five hundred thousandFees of examining surgeons. dollars. For pay and allowances of pension agents : For salary, fees for preparingPension agents. vouchers, rent, fuel, lights, and postage on letters to the Executive Departments and to pensioners, three hundred thousand dollars: *Provided,* That from and after July first eighteen hundred and eighty- four*Proviso.* agents for the payment of pensions shall receive only twelve dollars and fifty cents for each one hundred vouchers, or at that rate for a Pay of agents.fraction of one hundred, prepared and paid by any agent in excess of four thousand vouchers per annum.
For contingent expenses of pension agencies, ten thousand dollars.Contingent expenses at agencies.Attorneys’ fees in pension cases; act relating to, repealed.20 Stat., 213.*Proviso.* That the act entitled “An act relating to claim agents and attorneys in pension cases,” approved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, is hereby repealed: *Provided however,* That the rights of the parties shall not be abridged or affected as to contracts in pending cases, as provided for in said act; but such contracts shall be deemed to be and remain in full force and virtue, and shall be recognized as contemplated by said act.
Sec. 2. That sections forty-seven hundred and sixty-eight, forty-seven hundred and sixty-nine,R. S. 4768, 927, R. S. 4769, 927, R. S. 4786, 929 made applicable in certain cases. and forty seven hundred and eighty-six of the Revised Statutes are hereby made applicable also to all cases hereafter filed with the Commissioner of Pensions, and to all cases so filed since June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, and which have not been heretofore allowed, except as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 3. That section forty-seven hundred and eighty-five of the Revised Statutes is herebyre-enactedR. S. 4785, 929. reenacted a n d amended.Fees of attorney for prosecuting claims. and amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 4785. No agent or attorney or other person shall demand or receive any other compensation for his services in prosecuting a claim for pension or bounty land than such as the Commissioner of Pensions shall direct to be paid to him, not exceeding twenty-five dollars; nor shall such agent, attorney or other person demand or receive such compensation, in whole or in part, until such pension or bounty-land claim shall be allowed: *Provided,* *Proviso.*That in all claims allowed since June twentieth eighteen hundred and seventy-eightFees not paid in certain cases to he deducted from pension. where it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Pensions that the fee of ten dollars, or any part thereof, has not been paid, he shall cause the same to be deducted from the pension, and the pension agent to pay the same to the recognized attorney.
" Sec. 4. That section forty-seven hundred and eighty-six of the RevisedR. S. 4786, 929. Statutes is hereby amended so as to read as follows: " “Sec. 4786. The agent or attorney of record in the prosecution ofAgreement for amount of fee to be filed. the case may cause to be filed with the Commissioner of Pensions, duplicate articles of agreement, without additional cost to the claimant, setting forth the fee agreed upon by the parties, which agreement shall be executed in the presence of and certified by some officer competent to administer oaths.
In all cases where application isFee in case of fa i1n re to file agreement. made for pension or bounty land, and no agreement is filed with the Commissioner as herein provided, the fee shall be ten dollars and no more. And such articles of agreement as may hereafter be filed with the Commissioner of Pensions are not authorized, nor will they be recognized except inArticles of agreement, etc., recognized in certain claims only. claims for original pensions, claims for increase of pension on account of a new disability, in claims for restoration where a pensioner’s name has been or may hereafter be dropped from the pension rolls on testimony taken by a special examiner, showing that the disability or cause of death, on account of which the pension was allowed, did not originate in the line of duty, and in cases of dependent relatives whose names have been or may hereafter be, dropped from the rolls on like testimony, upon the ground of non-dependence, and in such other cases of difficulty and trouble as the Commissioner of Pensions may see fit to 100 recognize them: *Provided,* That no greater fee than ten dollars shall*Proviso* be demanded, received, or allowed in any claim for pension or bounty Fee for bounty- land, etc.land granted by special act of Congress, nor in any claim for increase of pension on account of the increase of the disability for which the pension had No fee allowed for arrears of pension, etc.been allowed: *And provided further,* That no fee shall be demanded, received, or allowed in any claim for arrears of pension or arrears of increase of pension allowed by any act of Congress passed subsequent to the date of the allowance of the original claims in which such arrears of pension, or of increase of pension, may be allowed.
The articles of agreement herein provided for shall be in substance as follows, to wit: Articles of Agreement.Form of articles of agreement. Whereas I, —, late a——in company—, of the —regiment of —volunteers, war of eighteen hundred and sixty-one (or, if the service be different, here state the same), having made application for pension under the laws of the United States: Now, this agreement witnesseth, that for and in consideration of services done and to be lt;loue in the premises, I hereby agree to allow my attorney, of—, the fee of—dollars, which shall include all amounts to be paid for any service in furtherance of said claim; and said fee shall not be demanded by or payable to my said attorney (or attorneys), in whole or in part, except in case of the granting of my pension by the Commissioner of Pensions: and then the same shall be paid to him (or them) in accordance with the provisions of sections forty-seven hundred and sixty-eight and forty - seven hundred and sixty-nine of the Revised Statutes.
(Claimant’s signature.) (Two witnesses’ signatures.) State of—1 *County of—*J “ Be it known that on this, the —day of—, anno Domini eighteen hundred and eighty-—, personally appeared the above- named —, who, after having had read over to—, in the hearing and presence of the two attesting witnesses, the contents of the foregoing articles of agreement, voluntarily signed and acknowledged the same to be—free act and deed. (Official signature.) And now, to wit, this —day of—, anno Domini eighteen hundred and eighty—, I (or we) accept the provisions contained in the foregoing articles of agreement, and will, to the best of my (or our) ability, endeavor faithfully to represent the interest of the claimant in the premises.
Witness my (or our) hand, the day and year first above written. (Signature of Attorney.) State of— *County of—*88. Personally came—, whom I know to be the person he represents himself to be, and who, having signed above acceptance of agreement, acknowledged the same to be—free act and deed. (Official signature.) And if in the adjudication of any claim for pension in which such Amount paid, etc., to be deducted from foe.articles of agreement have been, or may hereafter be, filed, it shall appear that the claimant had, prior to the execution thereof, paid to the attorney any sum for his services in such claim, and the amount so paid is not stipulated therein, then every such claim shall be adjudicated in the same manner as though no articles of agreement had been filed, deducting from the fee of ten dollars allowed by law such sum as claimant shall show that be has paid to his said attorney. 101 FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS.
SESS. I. CHS. 181, 182. 1884. Any agent or attorney or other person instrumental in prosecutingPenalty for violation of act relating to fees or compensation. any claim for pension or bounty land, who shall directly or indirectly contract for, demand or receive or retain any greater compensation for his services or instrumentality in prosecuting a claim for pension or bounty land than is herein provided, or for payment thereof at any other time or iu any other manner than is herein provided, or who shall wrongfully withhold from a pensioner or claimant the whole or any part of the pension or claim allowed and due such pensioner or claimant, or the land warrant issued to any such claimant, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall for every such offense be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor not exceeding two years, or both, in the discretion of the court.
" Sec. 5. That the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe rules and regulations governing theSecretary of Interior to prescribe rules for government of agents, etc., in prosecution of claims. recognition of agents, attorneys, or other persons representing claimants before his department, and may require of such persons, agents, and attorneys, before, being recognized as representatives of claimants, that they shall show that they are of good moral character and in good repute, possessed of the necessary qualifications to enable them to render such claimants valuable service, and otherwise competent to ad vise and assist such claimants in the presentation of their claims and such Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend or exclude from further practice before Ills department any such person, agent or attorney shown to be incompetent, disreputable, or who refuses to comply with the said rules and regulations, or who shall with intent to defraud in any manner deceive, mislead, or threaten any claimant, or prospective claimant, by word, circular, letter, or by advertisement.
Sec. 6. The Commissioner shall have power, subject to review by the Secretary, to reject orCommissioner of Pensions may reject contracts for fees, etc. refuse to recognize any contract for fees, herein provided for, whenever it shall be made to appear that any undue advantage has been taken of the claimant in respect to such contract. Approved, July 4, 1884.