service of copies of the motion, or petition, and the supporting evidence upon the opposite party or his or her attorney.

Proof of service must be such as shall satisfy the bureau that the opposite party has been informed of the motion, or petition, and the supporting evidence, and may consist of, first, a written acceptance of service by the opposite party or his or her attorney of record; or second, a postal registry return receipt card signed by the opposite party or attorney of record, accompanied by an affidavit showing that on a certain date copies of the motion, or petition, and the supporting evidence were mailed in a registered letter, post paid, to the opposite party or the attorney of record, addressed to a certain post office (naming it), and that the card was returned in acknowledgment of receipt of such letter; or third, an affidavit, showing that on a certain date and at a certain place copies of the motion, or petition, and of the supporting evidence were personally delivered to the opposite party or his or her attorney of record.

Applications for reconsideration, or reopening, not conforming to the foregoing requirements, or showing satisfactory reason why personal service can not be made, shall not be considered by the bureau, but shall be promptly returned to the applicant or his or her attorney of record, for compliance therewith.

129. (a) Upon the filing of an application for reconsideration or reopening, conforming to the requirements of the foregoing rule, payment of the one-half pension in question shall be suspended pending the adjudication of such application.

RULES OF PRACTICE IN PENSION AND BOUNTY-LAND APPEALS.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Washington, D. C., January 11, 1915. (240) RULE I.-Except as herein otherwise provided, an appeal may be taken to the Secretary of the Interior from the final action or order of the Commissioner of Pensions in all matters relating to pensions or bounty land, and a separate appeal must be filed in each claim.

(241) RULE II.-Appeals must be filed with the Commissioner of Pensions. The Commissioner will thereupon, within 30 days from the filing of said appeal, consider and determine whether the action or order from which the appeal is taken shall be adhered to; and if he shall determine not to recede therefrom, he shall, within said period of 30 days, forward said appeal, together with the record in the case and a report stating his reasons for the action or order complained of, to the department; and said appeal shall thereupon be entered upon a docket kept for that purpose. Upon the perfection of such appeal, by transmission and docketing aforesaid, the jurisdiction of the Commissioner shall cease and determine, and the case will be decided by the Secretary on the record. Copies of the decision of the Secretary shall be transmitted with said record to the Commissioner of Pensions for action in accordance therewith. One copy of the decision shall be transmitted by the Commissioner to the appellant or his duly accredited attorney.

(242) RULE III.-(a) Except as hereinafter ordered the time for filing an appeal shall be one year from the date of notice of the final action or order of which complaint is made.

(b) In simultaneous contesting claims, where one is admitted and one rejected, the time allowed for the filing of an appeal shall be 30 days from the date of mailing of notice of the bureau action to the claimant to whom the action is adverse. In such claims the Commissioner of Pensions will promptly notify all parties in interest of the action taken, by registered letter, inclosing a copy of this rule and expressly inviting attention to the fact that an appeal will not be entertained unless filed within the period of 30 days herein prescribed.

(c) Upon the filing of an appeal all parties whose interests may be adversely affected by the decision shall be notified by registered letter of the filing of the appeal and of the substance thereof and allowed 30 days from the date of the mailing of such notice within which to file brief or argument in answer thereto before the papers are forwarded to this department.

The return of a registered letter, unclaimed, containing notice, addressed to the last known post-office address, shall constitute sufficient evidence of notice.

(243) RULE IV.-In each appeal the name and service of the soldier on account of whose service the claim is based must be stated, together with the number of claim, the law under which the claim is prosecuted, and the date and substance of the action from which the appeal is taken.

(244) RULE V.-No appeal will be entertained from the refusal of the Commissioner of Pensions to recognize attorneys or agents in prosecuting claims for pensions or bounty land under any law wherein the payment of a fee for such service is prohibited.

(245) RULE VI.-An appeal by an attorney will not be entertained unless he has filed a duly executed power of attorney for this purpose from the appellant or is entitled under the rules to recognition; and no appeal, brief, motion, pleading, or other paper or communication relative to a case on appeal, filed by a firm of attorneys or agents, shall be received or docketed unless the same be signed individually by one or more duly qualified members of such firm.

(246) RULE VII.-An appeal taken on behalf of a claimant by or through a suspended or disbarred attorney will not be entertained. (247) RULE VIII.-No appeal pertaining to the allowance of a fee when the refundment has been called for will be entertained unless refundment as required shall have been made.

(248) RULE IX.-The Commissioner of Pensions shall return to the appellant any appeal not in conformity with the provisions of Rules III to VIII, inclusive, stating wherein the appeal is defective.

(249) RULE X.-In proceedings before the Commissioner in which he shall decide that a party has no right to appeal to the Secretary or that said appeal may not be entertained under the provisions of the foregoing rules, such party may apply to the Secretary for an order directing the Commissioner to certify such action, together with the record in the case, to the department, and such application shall be in writing, under oath, and shall fully and specifically set forth the grounds upon which the same is based. If upon a hearing of the application the Secretary shall grant a writ of certiorari under this rule, the jurisdiction of the department shall be ample for the correction of any error appearing in the record.

(250) RULE XI. Each appeal must contain specific assignments of the alleged mistake of fact or error of law in the adjudication of

said claim by the Commissioner of Pensions, and any appeal insufficient in this respect may be dismissed by the Secretary.

(251) RULE XII.-(a) A motion for reconsideration of any departmental decision may be filed with and entertained by the Secretary, in his discretion, if filed within 30 days from the date of mailing a copy of such decision to the last known post-office address of the claimant or his attorney of record. It must be shown in said motion that some material feature of the case has not been considered in said decision or that there was error of law or material mistake of fact.

(b) And in any case involving conflicting claims of two or more parties wherein, under either Rule III or Rule XIII, the right of appeal is limited to 30 days, there shall be a stay of execution of the departmental decision until the expiration of the period within which a motion for reconsideration may be filed, unless for especial cause mandate forthwith shall issue.

(252) RULE XIII.-Upon the adjudication of a claim for division of pension under the act of March 3, 1899, in the Bureau of Pensions both parties will be promptly notified by the bureau, by registered letter, of the action taken. Each party will, in the absence of waiver, be allowed 30 days from the mailing of said notice to appeal from said action, the appeal to be accompanied by due proof of service of a copy thereof upon the appellee, as required by Rule XIV. Unless such bureau action is appealed from within 30 days from the mailing of said notice, the bureau action shall be deemed to be final.

Provided, The unexplained failure of a pensioner to appear, answer, or in any way plead to the claimant's application, after due notice thereof by the bureau, will be deemed a waiver of his right to appeal to the extent that, if the claim be allowed, final orders for division of pension may issue at once.

(253) RULE XIV.-(a) Appeals from bureau action in cases under the first, second, and third provisos of the act of March 3, 1899, must be accompanied by due proof of service of a copy of the appeal upon the appellee or his or her attorney of record.

(b) Proof of service must be such as will satisfy the Commissioner of Pensions that the appellee has been informed of the appeal and the contents thereof, and may consist of, first, a written acceptance of service by the appellee or his or her attorney of record; or, second, a postal registry return receipt card, signed by appellee or attorney of record, accompanied by an affidavit showing that on a certain date a copy of the appeal was mailed in a registered letter, postpaid, to the appellee or the attorney of record, addressed to the appellee or his attorney of record at his last known post office (naming it), that the card was returned in acknowledgment of the receipt of such letter; or, third, an affidavit showing that on a certain day and at a cetrain place a copy of the appeal was personally delivered to the appellee or attorney of record.

(c) Appeals in this class of cases unaccompanied by due proof of service, or a satisfactory reason why personal service can not be made, will not be filed or considered, but will be promptly returned to the appellant, or attorney of record, for compliance with this rule. The failure to comply with this rule shall not operate to enlarge the time within which appeal may be taken.

(254) RULE XV.-Appeals from bureau action in cases under the first, second, and third provisos of the act of March 3, 1899, when accompanied by due proof of service of a copy thereof upon the appellee, will be filed, and the parties promptly notified thereof. The appellee will be allowed 30 days from the date of filing the appeal in which to file answer, brief, or argument in opposition to the appeal or in support of the action from which the appeal is taken. An appeal duly filed will operate to continue the suspension of the one-half pension in controversy.

(255) RULE XVI.—(a) Appeals from the bureau action in cases under the first, second, or third provisos of the act of March 3, 1899, must be confined to cases under that act, and not joined with an appeal from action in an invalid claim or claims under other acts of Congress. When perfected by due proof of service upon the appellee, as required by Rule XIV, the appeal should be transmitted to the Commissioner of Pensions. The appeal should state the postoffice address of the appellant and appellee, and the certificate number and the service (company and regiment, etc.) of the pensioner, and should briefly but specifically state the error of law or mistake of fact complained of and the grounds relied upon for reversing or modifying the action appealed from.

(b) No additional evidence upon the merits of the claim filed by either appellant or appellee will be considered on appeal.

(256) RULE XVII.-Motions for review of departmental decisions in cases for division of pension under the act of March 3, 1899, will hereafter be governed by the provisions of Rule XII. If the motion be allowed, the opposing party will be notified thereof and allowed 30 days in which to file answer, brief, or argument.

(257a) RULE XVIII.-All cases on appeal will be considered and decided in regular order, according to their places upon the docket, unless, for cause shown, a case may be advanced on motion for earlier hearing and determination. Every such motion shall set forth succinctly the grounds upon which it is based, and must be supported by the affidavits of at least two disinterested parties cognizant of the facts upon which the motion is based. No such motion will be granted except in cases involving points of pension law of general application affecting other claims, unless it appears that the appellant is in extreme indigent circumstances or is ill without reasonable hope of recovery.

(257b) RULE XIX.-In all cases appealed to the Secretary of the Interior a copy of the decision shall be mailed to the party in interest or his or her attorney of record, and the mandate of the same shall be carried into effect, within 15 days from the date of the receipt of the decision by the Commissioner of Pensions, unless the decision shall sooner be recalled by the Secretary of the Interior.

The above rules governing the practice in appealed claims before the department relating to pensions and bounty lands shall become effective on and after the date hereof, and all rules and orders heretofore promulgated inconsistent with the foregoing are hereby abrogated.

Bo SWEENEY, Assistant Secretary.

CHAPTER VII.

PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS.

MEDICAL REFEREE AND HIS DUTIES.

SECTION 4776, REVISED STATUTES.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to appoint a duly qualified surgeon as medical referee, who, under the control and direction of the Commissioner of Pensions, shall have charge of the examination and revision of the reports of examining surgeons, and such other duties touching medical and surgical questions in the Pension-Office, as the interests of the service may demand; and his salary shall be two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. And the Secretary of the Interior is further authorized to appoint such qualified surgeons (not exceeding four) as the exigencies of the service may require, who may perform the duties of examining surgeons when so required, and who shall be borne upon the rolls as clerks of the fourth class; but such appointments shall not increase the clerical force of said Bureau.

APPOINTMENT OF CIVIL EXAMINING SURGEONS.

SECTION 4777, REVISED STATUTES.

The Commissioner of Pensions is empowered to appoint, at his discretion, civil surgeons to make the periodical examinations of pensioners which are or may be required by law, and to examine applicants for pension, where he deems an examination by a surgeon appointed by him necessary; and the fee for such examinations, and the requisite certificates thereof in duplicate, including postage on such as are transmitted to pension-agents, shall be two dollars, which shall be paid by the agent for paying pensions in the district within which the pensioner or claimant resides, out of any money appropriated for the payment of pensions, under such regulations as the Commissioner of Pensions may prescribe.

SPECIAL PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS.

SECTION 4775, REVISED STATUTES.

Examining surgeons duly appointed by the Commissioner of Pensions, and such other qualified surgeons as may be employed in the Pension-Office, may be required by him, from time to time, as he deems for the interest of the Government, to make special examinations of pensioners, or applicants for pension, and such examina