The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1878-05-23

itAtissu
. Mr.. would with great plea
ure; think it would be er,inenily apprC
PIRATE 10 do il. There are plenty of ther
TO do II; and if there Is class of men j
this country that have earned the right @
recognition aud have earned the right {
civil promotion, it Is these men who hav
suffered the loss OF amb and of health il
the service OF their country
Mr.. PADDOCk-Does the Senator iron
Kansas think il is a wise declaration I
make that all classes except particula
class shall be excluded from 4 particular
class of Offices.
Mr.. INGALLS-TheU Union soldiers o
this country do not belong TO any particu
lar class; they embrace all sorts and condi
tons of men, from the highest to the lowest
lawyers and doctors and clergymen ant
merchants and artisans and all other con
ditions of men; and there will be no diff
Guilty, whatever may be necessary anC
whenever it may be necessary to find mar
in INV particular class, to get man who
was a soldier in the Union army
Mr.. PADDOCK-But there are a great
many lawyers and doctors and Others who
were not soldiers. Is it wise and proper
legislation 10 say that they should be ex'
Guided from any class of offices? Refer
ring to matter that has been somewhat a
subject OF controversy here in reference to
the Indian agencies. how would it do TO
apply 1t to the gentlemen who have been
appointed as agents TO the Indian agencies
under the present rule?
Mr.. ingalls, am in favor of turn
ing the Indian service over TO the War De-
partment. So that will dispose of that
question
MIR. PADDOCk-I have not asked the
Senator Tor an opinion on that subject: but
would he say it would be a wise provision
OF law that the President should berequired
to appoint to these agencies only clergymen
| OF the Presbyterian church, for instance, ex-
Guiding all the others? | only speak of
that to illustrate. Would it be constitu-
tionsl and proper?
Mr.. INGALLS-That would depend
very largely on the question of qualifca-
ton. There can be no questiC about the
qualification of Union soldiers to fill these
positions. and there can be no question
about the peculiar qualification and the pc
cnliar fitness and the peculiar propriety OF
the duties of these particular offices being
exercised by disabled Union soldiers. Ii
TIC sStttoh BiVIo-tfA W =
unconstitutional Elf it IS in violation of law
% in violation OF propriety, the amendment
that is proposed by the committee is none
the less so, and it has the additional adj
vantage in my mind OF a little attempt 10
evade by indirection what the committee
did not care to object to openly and above
Joasd. III it is Unconstitutional 10 pass the
seco.'l section of this bill as it came from
the House, it is equally unconstitutional,
and, TO a.certain extent, great deal more
improper, to pass the amendment proposed
by The committee. 1t attempts to do by in
direction what the othes does openly and
directly.
But, sir, kwish TO say one word further
in this connection; and that is, that in nv
judgment all pensions should be paid in
Washington. There is no good reason, that
have ever been able TO understand, why
the payment Of pensions to two hundred
and thirty thousand or tyo hundred and
forty thousand pensioners should lie dis |
tributed over different sections Of the coun- |
try, or why - in other cases these pay |
ments should not be made direct from this |
city where the office is located. The Com |
mittee on Pensions have under considera- |
ton at this time measure looking To that |
end and while this bill was not submitted |
to that committee, and OF course We have no |
to offer and no right TO sub |
init any, should be very glad if that sub
pet could have been considered here. al
though i suppose under the rules it would
be impossible.
The present. system OF paying pensions
costs somewhere between 500, 900 and $3.50,
300; and it is estimated by experts who
have calculated upon the subject and esti |
mated the number Of additional clerks that |
would be required here in the Department,
that not les than 100000 could be saved
by the. payment OF pensions direct from !
W ashington with no additional annoyance I
or delay to the pensioners. There might
be in inaugurating this system slight |
temporary difficulty that might perhaps re-
suit in deferring the payment OF one-tenth
Of the entire list Of pensioners ten days or
two weeks; but after the first payment,
when the system was fully adjusted, the
pensioners would receive their money Just |
as speedily as they do now, and the Treasu-
~ would be saved an amount Of not less
than S2GD, 900 per annum.
Mr.. SARGENT-Estimating on the ba-
sis of this bill?
Mr.. INGALLS-Estimating On the basis
Of this bill
Mr.. SARGENT-How much is the ap-
fer this purpose? Instead OF
being $3.50, 900 the amount is only SILT, 600.
Mr.. ingalls, am talking about all
the expenses.
Mr.. SARGENT-This covers all the ex-
pensss.
Mr.. INGALLS-Allt the expenses that
are paid by the pensioners themselves are
in the amount | have stated.
There are large sums paid by the pension
ers themselves that do not appear here.
am talking about the entire expense OF adj
the Pension Bureau.
Mr.. SARGENT-The entire expenses Of
the Pension Bureau would
simply be very largely increased by the
proposition so fully discussed in the Hcr,e
and to which the Senator alludes, that is to
say by having all the work done here in
stead of done at eighteen agencies.
Mr.. INGALLS-The discussion in the
House on this subject was very partial and
based on insufficient and inaccurate Stats
tics, and those statistics were furnished to
the committee by officers yho were hostile /
to the plan and who threw every obstacle /
that could be conceived in the way OF car
rving il out. ! am prepared TO show to the |
Senate when this bill can be reported, that
there is an annual saving TO the Govern
ment by the plan that i, proposed Of not
less than s2OO,OOD per year. But that Is /
widely apart from the proposition now be-
fore the Senate
| shall favor the amendment that il Of |
sered by the Senator from Arkansas be
lieye it TO be Just and wise and in accord |
ance with the Constitution and the law that |
these sums should b disbursed and that |
these offices should be exercised and these |
duties discharged by men who have shared |
in that great contest which rendered this |
enormous pension list part Of the annual |
burdens OF our country. l hope therefore
that if the section az reported from the |
House is not to be adopted, the amendment |
offered bv the Senator from Arkansas will |
he taken in its stead.
Mr.. HOAK-Mr President, il seems to |
me that this question before the Senate is |
one of good deal more difficulty thas y |
supposed by the Senator from Kentucky |
and the Senator from Michigan on the one |
side and the Senator from Kansas on the
other. i suppose it is clear thss no Senator
unless it be the Senator from Kansas, will
gainsay that we cannot constitutionaly
provide by Law that the President shall ap-
PORT to an Office from certain class OF cit
liens only. In the fret place that would
be an invasion of the appointing power
which is lodged in the executive depart
ment Of the Government; and in the next
place it would be giving to one class of cit
liens privileges which are denied to all
other classes of citizens. Ii we could con-
stitutionally provide that a certain class Of
citizens only should be eligible to one Office,
We couid with euual right provide cop.,;,,.