CHAP. 302.- An Act Granting relief to soldiers and sailors of the War with Spain, Philippine insurrection, and Chinese Boxer rebellion campaign, to widows, former widows, and dependent parents of such soldiers and sailors; and to certain Army nurses; and to amend section 2 of an Act entitled “An Act to pension the survivors of certain Indian wars from January l, 1859, to January, 1891, inclusive, and for other purposes,” approved March 4, 1917.
| Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the widow of any officer or enlisted man who served ninety days or more in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States during the War with Spain, the Chinese Boxer rebellion, or the Philippine insurrection, between April 21, 1898, and July 4, 1902, inclusive, service to be computed from date of enlistment to date of discharge, and was honorably discharged from such service, or, regardless of the length of service, was discharged for or died in service of a disability incurred in the service and line of duty, such widow having married such soldier, sailor, or marine prior to the passage of this Act, shall, upon due proof of her husband’s death, without proving his death to be the result of his Army or Navy service, be place upon the pension roll from the date of the filing of her application therefor under this Act, at the rate of $20 per month during her widowhood. And this section shall apply to a former widow of any officer or enlisted man who rendered service as hereinbefore described, and who was honorably discharged, or died in service due to disability or disease incurred in the service, such widow having remarried either once or more than once after the death of the soldier, sailor, or marine, if it be shown that such subsequent or successive marriage has or have been dissolved, either by the death of the husband or husbands, or by divorce without fault on the part of the wife; and any such former widow shall be entitled to and be paid a pension at the rate of $20 per month; and any widow or former widow as mentioned in this section shall also be paid $4 per month for each child of such officer or enlisted man under the age of sixteen years, and in case of the death or remarriage of the widow leaving a child or children of such officer or enlisted man under the age of sixteen years, such pension shall be paid such child or children until the age of sixteen years: Provided, That in case a minor child is insane, idiotic, or otherwise mentally or physically helpless, the pension shall continue during the life of such child, or during the period of such disability; and this proviso shall apply to all pensions heretofore granted or hereafter to be granted under this or any former statute: Provided further, That in case of any widow whose name has been dropped from the pension roll because of her remarriage, if the pension has been granted to an insane, idiotic, or otherwise helpless child, or to a child or children under the age of sixteen years, she shall not be entitled to renewal of pension under this Act until the pension to such child or children terminates, unless such child or children be a member or members of her family and cared for by her, and upon renewal of pension to such widow, payment of pension to such child or children shall cease.
SEC. 2. That the benefits of the Act of Congress approved June 5, 1920, entitled “An Act to pension soldiers and sailors of the War with Spain, the Philippine insurrection, and the China relief expedition,” be, and are hereby, extended to include any woman who served honorably as an Army nurse, chief nurse, or superintendent of the Nurse Corps, under contract for ninety days or more between the beginning of the War with Spain and February 2, 1901, when the Nurse Corps (female) was declared by law a component part of the Army, an any such nurse who was released from service before the expiration of ninety days because of disability contracted in line of duty in said service: Provided, That the release from service of any nurse, chief nurse, or superintendent shall operate as if she had received an honorable discharge, it being the intent and purpose to give to said nurses, chief nurses, and superintendents of the Nurse Corps (female) the same status in all respects as members of said corps who served after February 2, 1901: Provided, That no person shall receive more than one pension for the same period: Provided further, That all dependent parents of any officer or enlisted man who served in the War with Spain, the Philippine insurrection, or the Chinese Boxer rebellion, whose names are now on the pension roll, or who are now entitled to pension under any existing law, shall be entitled to and shall be paid a pension at the rate of $20 per month. SEC. 3. That from and after the approval of this Act, all persons whose names are on the pension roll and all persons hereafter granted a pension, who while in the military or naval service of the United States under the provisions of this Act and all other Acts relating to pensions of soldiers who served in the War with Spain, the Philippine insurrection, or the Chinese Boxer rebellion and in line of duty shall have lost both hands or both feet or been totally disabled therein, or who while in such service and in like manner sustained injuries that proved the direct cause of the subsequent total disability of both hands or both feet, shall receive a pension at the rate of $100 per month. SEC. 4. That the pension or increase of pension herein provided for, as to all persons whose names are now on the pension roll, or who are now in receipt of a pension under existing law, shall commence at the rates herein provided from the date of the approval of this Act; and as to persons whose names are not now on the pension roll, or who are not now in receipt of pension under existing law, but who may be entitled to pension under the provisions of this Act, such pensions shall commence from the date of filing application therefor in the Bureau of Pensions in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 5. That in the adjudication of claims arising under section 1 of this Act, and claims arising under the provisions of the Act entitled “An Act to pension soldiers and sailors of the War with Spain, the Philippine insurrection, and the China Relief Expedition,” approved June 5, 1920, all leaves of absence, and furloughs under General Orders, Numbered One hundred and thirty, August 29, 1898, War Department, shall be included in determining the period of pensionable service: Provided, That as to any claimant who filed an application for pension under the Act of July 16, 1918, or the Act of June 5, 1920, and whose application is still pending in the Bureau of Pensions or has been rejected on the ground that ninety days’ service was not shown exclusive of the leave of absence or furlough under the order herein referred to, the pension shall commence from the date when the original application was filed in the Bureau of Pensions, and as to claims under the Act of July 16, 1918, the pension shall be at the rate provided in that Act, with increase at the rate provided herein from the date of the approval of this Act: Provided further, That persons who are now receiving pensions under existing laws, or whose claims are pending in the Bureau of Pensions, may, by application to the Commissioner of Pensions, in such form as e may prescribe, showing themselves entitled thereto, receive the benefits of this Act; and nothing herein shall be so construed as to prevent any pensioner thereunder from prosecuting his claim under any other general or special Act: And provided further, That this Act shall not be so construed as to reduce any pension under any Act, public or private: Provided, however, That no person shall receive more than one pension for the same period. SEC. 6. That the second section of the Act entitled “An Act to pension the survivors of certain Indian wars from January 1, 1859, to January, 1891, inclusive, and for other purposes,” approved March 4, 1917, be so amended as to read as follows: “SEC. 2. That the period of service performed by beneficiaries under this Act shall be determined: First, by reports from the records of the War Department, where there are such records; second, by reports from the records of the Treasury Department showing payment by the United States, where there is no record of regular enlistment or muster into the United States military service; and third, when there is no record of service or payment for same in the War Department or the Treasury Department, by satisfactory evidence from muster rolls on file in the several State or Territorial archives; fourth, where there is no muster roll or pay roll on file in the several State or Territorial archives showing service of the beneficiary or same has been destroyed by fire or otherwise lost, and no record of service has been made in the War Department or Treasury Department, the applicant may make proof of service by furnishing evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner of Pensions: Provided, That the want of a certificate of discharge shall not deprive any applicant of the benefits of this Act.” SEC. 7. That no claim agent or attorney or other person shall he recognized in the adjustment of claims under this Act except in claims for original pension, and in such cases no more than the sum of $10 shall be allowed for services in preparing, presenting, or prosecuting any such claim, which sum shall be payable only on the order of the Commissioner of Pensions; and any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this section, or shall wrongfully withhold from the pensioner or claimant the whole or any part of a pension allowed or due to such pensioner or claimant under this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall, for each and every such offense, be fined not exceeding $500 or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. Approved, September 1, 1922. |