CHAP. 733.- An Act Granting pensions and increase of pensions to certain soldiers, sailors, and marines of the Civil and Mexican Wars, and to certain widows of said soldiers, sailors, and marines, and to widows of the War of 1812, and Army nurses, and for other purposes.
| Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That every person who served ninety days or more in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States during the Civil War, and who has been honorably discharged therefrom, or who, having so served less than ninety days, was discharged for a disability incurred in the service and in the line of duty, and every person who served sixty days or more in the war with Mexico, or on the coasts or frontier thereof, or en route thereto, during the war with that nation, and was honorably discharged therefrom, and who is now in receipt of or entitled to receive, under existing law, a pension of less than $72 per month, shall be entitled to and shall be paid a pension at the rate of $65 per month; that in case such person is now, or hereafter may become totally helpless or blind shall be entitled to and shall be paid a pension at the rate of $90 per month.
SEC. 2. The widow or remarried widow of any person who served in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States during the Civil War for ninety days or more 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 in the line of duty, such widow or remarried widow having been the wife of such soldier, sailor, or marine during the period of his service in said war, she shall be paid $50 a month. SEC. 3. That the rate of pension for the widow of any person who served in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States in the War of 1812, or for sixty days or more in the war with Mexico, on the coasts or frontier thereof, or en route thereto, during the war with that nation, and was honorably discharged therefrom, shall be $50 per month. SEC. 4. All Army nurses of the Civil War 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 $50 per month. SEC. 5. That the pension or increase in the rate 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 on the fourth day of the next month after 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 a pension under existing law, but who may be entitled to a pension under the provisions of this Act, such pensions shall commence from the date of filing application therefor in the Bureau of Pensions after the approval of this Act in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That no one while an inmate of the United States Soldiers’ Home, or of any National or State soldiers’ home shall be entitled to, or be paid the increased rates provided in this Act; and the issue of a check in payment of a pension for which the execution and submission of a voucher was not required shall constitute payment in the event of the death of the pensioner on or after the last day of the period covered by such check, and it shall not be canceled, but shall become an asset of the estate of the deceased pensioner. SEC. 6. That no claim agent, attorney, or other person shall contract for, demand, receive, or retain a fee for services in preparing, presenting, or prosecuting claims for the increase of pension provided for in this Act; and no more than the sum of $10 shall be allowed for such services in other claims thereunder, which sum shall be payable only on the order of the Commissioner of Pensions; and any person who shall directly or indirectly otherwise contract for, demand, receive, or retain a fee for services in preparing, presenting, or prosecuting any claim under this Act, or shall wrongfully withhold from the pensioner or claimant the whole or any part of the 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. SEC. 7. That all Acts and parts of Acts in conflict with or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby modified and amended only so far and to the extent as herein specifically provided and stated: Provided, That the provisions of this Act shall in no way, manner, or substance modify, limit, or impair the soldier, sailor, or marine’s right and title to the rate of $72 provided in the second section of the Act of May 1, 1920. Approved, July 3, 1926. |