Rule 14. Same-Estoppel.-When a claimant during the disbarment of his agent or attorney of record employs another, who prosecutes the claim to final adjudication, no fee will be certified the disbarred agent or attorney upon his restoration to practice, but his disbarment will operate by way of estoppel to bar any claim for fee.

Rule 15. No Fee to Guardians.-No fee will be allowed to a guardian who prosecutes the claim of his ward, nor to a firm of attorneys of which the guardian is a member.

Rule 16. Failure to Furnish Evidence-Estoppel.-When an agent or attorney is called upon by the Commissioner of Pensions to furnish evidence in any claim, he will be allowed ninety days within which to furnish same or to give reasons why he fails to do so: Provided always, that before such agent or attorney is dropped or another recognized, at any time within one year, he shall be given thirty days' notice to show cause why he is not guilty of laches. In the event that such answer be not filed within thirty days from the mailing of such notice. or that the answer thereto be held by the Commissioner of Pensions to be insufficient, claimant shall be notified of such failure and may file the same, either by himself or by such other attorney as he may elect; and upon the recognition of such other attorney the former agent or attorney will be estopped from claiming any fee.

Rule 17. Call Slips. To call up a case will not be held of itself a substantial compliance with any specific requirement of the Commissioner of Pensions.

Rule 18. Effect of Neglect.-An agent or attorney will be required. to exercise due diligence in all cases in which he is recognized. Neglect to prosecute a claim for one year will be held, in default of cause shown, conclusive evidence of the abandonment of a claim by the agent or attorney, and claimant will be so advised.

Rule 19. Rejection-Reconsideration-Appeal.-Upon the rejection of a claim for pension or bounty land the agent or attorney of record will be notified of such rejection and the reason therefor, and will be allowed ninety days from the date of such notice within which to file a motion for reconsideration, supported by material evidence, or within which to enter an appeal to the Secretary of the Interior; and on his failure to do either he will be held to have abandoned the case, and the claimant may employ any other duly qualified agent or attorney further to prosecute the claim.

Rule 20. Order of Consideration of Claims. No claim pending in the Bureau of Pensions will be considered out of its regular order upon the request of an agent or attorney, or any other person whomsoever, except for good cause shown and upon the order of the Commissioner of Pensions.

Rule 21. Circular Letters, etc., to be Approved by Commissioner Before Use. Every agent, attorney, or other person recognized by the Department of the Interior as entitled to practice before the Bureau.

of Pensions, shall submit to the Commissioner of Pensions copies of all proposed advertising matter framed and intended to solicit business before the Bureau of Pensions, and if the same be not disapproved by the Commissioner of Pensions and the agent or attorney so notified within ten days from the date of filing them, they will be held, prima facie, approved.

Advertising matter may contain clear, correct, and explicit statements of the law, the name and address of the attorney, and the information that he prosecutes claims for pension and bounty land.

The use by an agent or attorney of the characters "U. S.," or the words "United States," as a part of his title or of the title of his business is misleading and will not be permitted.

Rule 22. Increase Claims not in Prohibited Class.-A claim for increase of pension will not be considered or held as a claim pending within the prohibition of section 190, Revised Statutes of the United States.

Rule 23. Solicitation of Services of United States Officers in Aid of Prosecution of Claims, Prohibited. Every agent, attorney, or other person who shall, directly or indirectly, request of any member of either House of Congress, or of any United States government official or representative (other than one whose duty it is under the law to supervise and administer the laws, rules and regulations governing the granting of pensions and bounty land) aid or assistance in the prosecution of a pension or bounty land claim, or who shall, directly or indirectly request or advise a claimant to seek such aid in the prosecution. of a pension or bounty land claim, will be held to have abandoned the claim as agent or attorney and will thereby forfeit his agency or attorneyship in such claim.

Rule 24. Penalty for Violating Above Rule.-Every agent, attorney, or other person recognized by the Department of the Interior as entitled to practice before the Bureau of Pensions who shall violate the provisions of Rule 23, above, will be held thereafter incompetent to prosecute claims before said Bureau within the meaning of section 5 of the act of July 4, 1884, and will thereby subject himself to suspension or disbarment from practice before the Bureau of Pensions.

Rule 25. Itemized Account of Expenses to be Filed Before Demanding or Receiving Payment.-Where an agent, attorney, or other person incurs any expense in the prosecution of a claim before the Bureau of Pensions, he must file a sworn itemized account of such expense with the Commissioner of Pensions and secure the approval thereof, before demanding or receiving reimbursement from the claimant or pensioner. Rule 26. Accrued Claims-Fee Limited. In a claim under the act of March 2, 1895, for the accrued pension due in an admitted case from the date of last payment to pensioner's death, the agent or attorney of record is permitted, upon the allowance of the claim, to receive as a fee, direct from the claimant or beneficiary, ten per centum of the amount of the accrued pension paid; but in no event will such agent or

attorney be permitted to demand, receive, or retain a fee in excess of ten dollars in any one claim.

Rule 27. Attorney must Refund Fee Erroneously Paid.-Where, through a mistake of fact or fraud on the part of an agent or attorney, a fee to which he is not entitled has been paid to him he will be required to refund the same on demand by the Commissioner of Pensions; and his failure or refusal to refund, after such demand, will render him liable to suspension or disbarment from practice before the Bureau of Pensions.

Rule 28. Increase Claims-Neglect to Furnish Evidence Called for, Effect of. When in an invalid claim for increase the Commissioner of Pensions issues a call for evidence to show that claimant's disability has increased, as a prerequisite to a medical examination, and no evidence is filed in response to such call within ninety days, or thereafter before there is presented on behalf of claimant another declaration for increase, then the claim in which said call was issued is to be held rejected without ordering a medical examination, unless there was on file. in the claim at the time of the issue of said call, medical evidence which had not been considered, tending to show that the claimant's disability had increased.

Any declaration for increase filed within ninety days from date of a call, under a prior declaration, for evidence to show increase of disability, will be held a duplicate of such prior declaration.

Rule 29. Repeal.-All rules and orders inconsistent with the foregoing are hereby abrogated.

RULES OF PRACTICE IN PENSION AND BOUNTY LAND APPEALS.

Rule I. Appeals. 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.

Rule II. Filed With Commissioner of Pensions-To be Acted on Within Thirty Days-If Action be Adhered to, the Appeal, Report Thereon, and Record to be Sent to Department-Docketing-Decision to be on the Record-Copy of Decision to be Sent to Appellant or His Attorney.-Appeals must be filed with the Commissioner of Pensions. The Commissioner will thereupon, within thirty 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 thirty 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. The decision of the Secretary shall be in duplicate and the same 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.

Rule III. Limitation as to Filing. No appeal will be entertained unless filed within one year from the date of notice of final action or order of which complaint is made.

Rule IV. Will not Lie for Refusal to Recognize Attorney in Case Where Law Prohibits Fee. No appeal will be entertained from the refusal of the Commissioner of Pensions to recognize attorneys or agents in prosecuting claims for pension or bounty land under any law wherein the payment of a fee for such service is prohibited.

Rule V. Grounds to be Specified (See Rule XI).-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.

Rule VI.-Attorney, When Recognized in Case on Appeal. 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.

Rule VII. Attorney, Suspended or Disbarred-Appeal by, not Entertained. An appeal taken on behalf of a claimant by or through a suspended or disbarred attorney will not be entertained.

Rule VIII. Attorney Fee-Refundment of.-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.

Rule IX. Commissioner of Pensions to Return Defective Appeal to Appellant. 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.

Rule X. Appellant may Apply to Secretary for Order Directing Commissioner of Pensions to Certify Record, etc., to Department for Consideration When Said Commissioner has Decided Adversely as to Appellant's Right to Appeal.-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 said 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.

Rule XI. Appeal must Contain Specific Assignments of Alleged Mistakes of Fact or Errors of Law (See Rule V).-Each appeal must contain specific assignments of the alleged mistake or error of law or

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

Rule XII. Reconsideration of Departmental Decisions, Motions for -Limitations.-A motion for reconsideration of any departmental decision may be filed with and entertained by the Secretary, in his discretion, if filed within six months from the date when such decision was rendered. 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 of fact.

Rule XIII. Division of Pension, Act March 3, 1899-PracticeLimitation. 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 thirty days from receipt 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 thirty days from receipt of said notice, the bureau action shall be deemed to be final to the extent that all payments of divisions of pension in accordance with such bureau action will not, in the absence of fraud or mistake of fact, be disturbed: 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.

Rule XIV. First, Second, and Third Provisos of Act March 3, 1899-Proof of Service of Notice on Appellee Prerequisite.-Appeals from bureau action in cases under the first, second, and third provisos of the act of March 3, 1899, should be accompanied by due proof of service of a copy of the appeal upon the appellee or his or her attorney of record.

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 a certain postoffice (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 certain place a copy of the appeal was personally delivered to the appellee or his or her attorney of record.

Appeals in this class of cases unaccompanied by due proof of service, or a satisfactory reason why personal service cannot be made, will not