TRANSMISSION OF PENSION CHECKS. SECTION 4765, REVISED STATUTES. Upon the receipt of such voucher, properly executed, and the identity of the pensioner being established and proved in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, the agent for the payment of pensions shall immediately draw his check on the proper assistant treasurer or designated depositary of the United States for the amount due such pensioner, payable to his order, and transmit the same by mail, directed to the address of the pensioner entitled thereto; but any pensioner may be required, if thought proper by the Commissioner of Pensions, to appear personally and receive his pension. NOTE. See sections 3646 and 3647, Revised Statutes, as amended by act February 23, 1909 (35 Stat. L., 643), relative to issue of duplicate checks. PAYMENT TO PENSIONER, OR TO WIFE OR GUARDIAN IN CERTAIN CASES. ACT AUGUST 8, 1882. AMENDING SECTION 4766, REVISED STATUTES (22 STAT. L., 373). "SEC. 4766. Hereafter no pension shall be paid to any person other than the pensioner entitled thereto, nor otherwise than according to the provisions of this title; and no warrant, power of attorney. or other paper executed or purporting to be executed by any pensioner to any attorney, claim agent, broker, or other persons shall be recognized by any agent for the payment of pensions, nor shall any pension be paid thereon; but the payment to persons laboring under legal disabilities may be made to the guardians of such persons in the manner herein prescribed, and pensions payable to persons in foreign countries may be made according to the provisions of existing laws: Provided, That in case of an insane invalid pensioner having no guardian, but having a wife or children dependent upon him (the wife being a woman of good character), the Commissioner of Pensions is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to cause the pension to be paid to the wife, upon her properly-executed voucher, or in case there is no wife, to the guardian of the children, upon the properly-executed voucher of such guardian, and in like manner to cause the pension of invalid pensioners who are or may hereafter be imprisoned as punishment for offenses against the laws to be paid while so imprisoned to their wives or the guardians of their children. And pensions to Indian pensioners residing in the Indian Territory may be paid in person by the pension agent, upon a suitable voucher, at some convenient point in said Territory, which, together with the form and manner of identification of the pensioners, may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior; such payments to be made in standard silver, at least once in each current year. And payments in person shall be made to the pensioner, in cash, by the pension agent whenever in the discretion of the Commissioner of Pensions such personal payment shall be by him deemed necessary or proper to secure to the pensioner his rights; and the necessary and actual expenses of such pension agent in making such payments shall be paid by the Secretary of the Interior upon properly-executed vouchers, out of the contingent fund appropriated for the use of the Pension Office. The commissioner may, when in his judgment it shall be deemed necessary or proper, visit in person, for the purpose of examination and inspection, or may send any one or more of the officers of his bureau for that purpose, any of the pension agencies 1 or medical examining boards or surgeons; and the necessary and actual expenses of such visits shall be paid by the Secretary of the Interior upon properly executed vouchers, out of the contingent fund of said bureau." 1 HALF PENSION TO WIVES OR CHILDREN. ACT MARCH 3, 1899 (30 STAT. L., 1379). That section forty-seven hundred and seventy-six (4766), Title fifty-seven, of the Revised Statutes of the United States be, and the same is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following additional provisions and provisos, to wit: Provided further, That in case a resident pensioner of the United States shall for a period of over six months desert his lawful wife, she being a woman of good moral character and in necessitous circumstances, or if he have no lawful wife, shall desert his legitimate minor child or children under sixteen years of age, or his permanently helpless and dependent child, the Commissioner of Pensions is hereby directed, upon being satisfied by competent evidence of such desertion, to cause one-half of the pension due or to become due said pensioner during the continuance of such desertion to be paid to the wife, or in case there is no wife, to the legal guardian of the child or children: Provided further, That when a soldier or sailor enters into a State home for soldiers or sailors as an inmate thereof, one-half of his pension accruing during his residence therein shall be paid to his wife, she being a woman of good moral character and in necessitous circumstances, or if there be no wife, then to his child or children under sixteen years of age, or his permanently helpless and dependent child, if any, unless such wife and children shall also be inmates of the same institution or of some home provided for the wives and children of soldiers and sailors: Provided further, That if any such pensioner is or shall become an inmate of a National Soldiers' Home one-half of the pension drawn in his behalf or to which he may become entitled during his residence therein shall be paid by the treasurer of that institution to such pensioner's wife, she being in necessitous circumstances and a woman of good moral character, or, if there be no wife, to the legal guardian of the minor child or children, or the permanently dependent and helpless child or children of such pensioner, on the order of the Commissioner of Pensions: * * * In all cases the questions of desertion, entrance into a home, necessitous circumstances, and of good moral character shall be ascertained and determined by the Commissioner of Pensions under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, and the treasurers or governors of the several soldiers' and sailors' homes shall be advised of such action from time to time. 1Abolished by act Aug. 17, 1912 (37 Stat. L., 312). (See p. 83.) 12089°-16-7 NO FOREIGN PENSION PAID ON POWER OF ATTORNEY. Provided further, That hereafter no pensions shall be paid upon power of attorney from pensioners residing in foreign countries. PROVISION AGAINST PAYMENT TO CERTAIN NONRESIDENTS REPEALED. ACT MARCH 2, 1895 (28 STAT. L., 703). And provided further, That so much of the fourth proviso of an Act entitled "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 ninety-four, and for other purposes," approved March first, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, which reads as follows: "That from and after July first, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, no pension shall be paid to a nonresident who is not a citizen of the United States, except for actual disabilities incurred in the service," be and the same is hereby repealed. PENSIONERS IN SOLDIERS' HOME, WASHINGTON, D. C. ACT MARCH 3, 1883 (22 STAT. L., 564). SEC. 4. That any inmate of the Home1 who is receiving a pension from the Government, and who has a child, wife, or parent living, shall be entitled, by filing with the pension agent from whom he receives his money a written direction to that effect, to have his pension, or any part of it, paid to such child, wife, or parent. The pensions of all who now are or shall hereafter become inmates of the Home, except such as shall be assigned as aforesaid, shall be paid to the treasurer of the Home. The money thus derived shall not become a part of the funds of the Home, but shall be held by the treasurer in trust for the pensioner to whom it would otherwise have been paid, and such part of it as shall not sooner have been paid to him shall be paid to him on his discharge from the institution. The board of commissioners may from time to time pay over to any inmate such part of his pension-money as they think best for his interest and consistent with the discipline and good order of the Home, but such pensioner shall not be entitled to demand or have the same so long as he remains an inmate of the Home. In case of the death of any pensioner, any pension money due him and remaining in the hands of the treasurer shall be paid to his legal heirs, if demand is made within three years; otherwise the same shall escheat to the Home. 1 The Soldiers' Home at Washington, D. C., was established by the act of March 3, 1851. Under sec. 4821, R. S., the following persons are entitled to admission: First, every soldier of the United States who served or may serve honestly and faithfully 20 years in the same. Second, every soldier and every discharged soldier, whether Regular or Volunteer, who has suffered or may suffer by reason of disease or wounds incurred in the service and in the line of his duty, rendering him incapable of further military service, if such disability was not occasioned by his own misconduct. Third, the invalid and disabled soldiers, whether Regular or Volunteer, of the War of 1812 and of all subsequent wars. Applications for admission may be obtained from the Board of Managers of the Soldiers' Home, Washington, D. C, PENSIONERS IN NAVAL HOME AT PHILADELPHIA OR A NAVAL HOSPITAL. ACT MAY 4, 1898 (30 STAT. L., 377). And whenever any officer, seaman, or marine entitled to a pension is admitted to the Naval Home at Philadelphia' or to a naval hospital, his pension, while he remains there, shall be deducted from his accounts and paid to the Secretary of the Navy for the benefit of the fund from which such home or hospital, respectively, is maintained; and section forty-eight hundred and thirteen of the Revised Statutes of the United States is hereby amended accordingly. PENSIONS OF INMATES OF NATIONAL SOLDIERS' HOME. ACT FEBRUARY 26, 1881 (21 STAT. L., 350). SEC. 2. All pensions payable or to be paid under this act, to pensioners who are inmates of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers 2 shall be paid to the treasurer or treasurers of said home, upon security given to the satisfaction of the managers to be disbursed for the benefit of the pensioners without deduction for fines or penalties under regulations to be established by the managers of the home, said payment to be made by the pension agent upon a certificate of the proper officer of the home that the pensioner is an inmate thereof and is still living. Any balance of the pension which may remain at the date of the pensioner's discharge shall be paid over to him, and in case of his death at the home the same shall be paid to the widow, or children or in default of either to his legal representatives. PENSIONS PAYABLE TO TREASURER OF NATIONAL HOME FOR DISABLED VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS. ACT AUGUST 7, 1882 (22 STAT. L., 322). That all pensions and arrears of pensions payable or to be paid to pensioners who are or may become inmates of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers shall be paid to the treasurers of said home, to be applied by such treasurers as provided by law, under the rules and regulations of said home. Said payments shall be made by the pension agent upon a certificate of the proper officer of the home that the pensioner is an inmate thereof on the day to which said pension is drawn. The treasurers of said home, respectively, shall give security, to the satisfaction of the managers of said home, for the payment and application by them of all arrears of pension and pension-moneys they may receive under the aforesaid provision. 1 The Naval Home at Philadelphia, Pa., was instituted under the provisions of sec. 4810, R. S., and qualifications for admission thereto may be obtained from the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. 2 Admission to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers is governed by the provisions of sec. 4832 and amendatory acts (act May 16 1900; act Jan. 28, 1901; act May 27, 1908; act Mar. 4,1909) and is limited to all honorably discharged soldiers and sailors who served in the Regular or Volunteer forces of the United States in any war, the provisional army authorized by the act of Mar. 2, 1899, in any of the campaigns against hostile Indians or who have served in the Philippines, in China, or in Alaska who are disabled by disease, wounds, or otherwise and who have no adequate means of support, are not otherwise provided for by law, and by reason of such disability are incapable of earnings a living. Applications for admission may be obtained from the Board of Managers, National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, Commerce Building, Kansas City, Mo., or from the governor of the nearest branch home. And section two of the act entitled "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 eightytwo, and for deficiencies, and for other purposes," approved February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, is hereby revived and continued in force. NO PAYMENT TO TREASURERS OF STATE HOMES. ACT MAY 28, 1908 (35 STAT. L., 419). That from and after the passage of this Act all pensioners who may be inmates of any soldiers' and sailors' home, or other institution maintained by any State for the benefit of dependent or other disabled volunteer soldiers, shall have their respective pensions paid to them directly instead of to the treasurer or other officer of the home or institution at which they may be respectively located. PENSION OF INMATES OF GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE. ACT FEBRUARY 20, 1905 (33 STAT. L., 731). That the proviso in the Act approved August seventh, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, appearing on page three hundred and thirty of the Twenty-second Statutes at Large, and relating to pensions of inmates of the Government Hospital for the Insane, is hereby stricken out and the following inserted: "Provided, That in addition to the persons now entitled to admission to said hospital, any inmate of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers who is now or may hereafter become insane shall, upon an order of the president of the Board of Managers of the said National Home, be admitted to said hospital and treated therein. During the time that any pensioner shall be an inmate of the Government Hospital for the Insane all money due or becoming due upon his or her pension shall be paid by the pension agent to the superintendent of the hospital, upon a certificate by such superintendent that the pensioner is an inmate of the hospital and is living, and such pension money shall be by said superintendent disbursed and used, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, for the benefit of the pensioner, and, in the case of a male pensioner, his wife, minor children, and dependent parents, or, if a female pensioner, her minor children, if any, in the order named, and to pay his or her board and maintenance in the hospital; the remainder of such pension money, if any, to be placed to the credit of the pensioner and to be paid to the pensioner or the guardian of the pensioner in the event of his or her discharge from the hospital; or, in the event of the death of said pensioner while an inmate of said hospital, shall, if a female pensioner, be paid to her minor children, and, in the case of a male pensioner, be paid to his wife, if living; if no wife survives him, then to his minor children; and in case there is no wife nor minor children, then the said unexpended balance to his or her credit shall be applied to the general uses of said hospital: Provided further, That in the case of pensioners trans ferred to the hospital from the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, any pension money to his credit at said Home at the |