The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1880-12-04
WASHINGTON.
ouR SPECIAL LETTER.
wAsnIsoroN. D. G. Nov. 30, lsso.

OUR SPECIAL LErIhh.
wAsniSoroN, D. C. Nov. 80, 1880.
II is so near to the assembling Of Congress
that the probable business Of the session is
leading topic. Quite a number Of Congress
men are here, but the majority have fingered
at home to spend Thanksgiving with their
families. Within a week the hotels, the
committee rooms and other Congressional
haunts,wil look more like business. Among
the members now here there is some diviFion
Of opinion as to what the session will bring
forth, but the prevailing Judgment Is that
very little miscellaneous legislation will be |
effected. The House calendar contains
nirety-one pages Of measures that have come
over from the last session. Each member
will be anxious to get his particular measure
through and the result will be a sort Of "dog
in the nanger" policy. That is to say, if
the gentlemen from somewhere can't get his
bill for public building, or a pension or
other claim through, for his constituents, he
will object to the gentleman from somewhere
else being favored. The only way that any
number of bills ever get through at a short
session is by unanimous consent,fo it would
be matter of physical impossibility to take
up the calendar and go through the business
in regular order. The private calendar a
lone covers over fifty pages, embracing a
thousand bills. Each one gives rise to more
or less discussion, and the calendar could
not be intelligently disposed Of if the whole
time was devoted to it. Bills Of a general
nature occupy still more time, and there are
scores of them already reported. Hence, the
belief is growing that very little will be done
other than the consideration of the appro
priatiou bills Revenue bills may bc dis
cussed, but there is very little hope express
ed Of their passage, as there are too many
conflicting interests involved. The Repub-
lican members as a rule express themselves
as opposed to any tariff legislation at this
session.
II is understood that Secretary Schurz and
Commissioner of Pensions Bentley are to
come before Congress with a strong appeal
for some notifications and improvements
in our pension system. The Commissioners
annual report already prepared is an In
teresting exhibit Of the amount Of money
paid as pensions, and the number of recip-
tents thereof, but the most important branch
Of it relates to the mass of unadjusted cases
pending before the Office and the difficulties
involved in determining upon them. There
are $50 900 names now on the roll 10 whom
the aggregate annual payment is $25,9l7,-
9O6,6O, or an average of SlO3S4 each. But
there are 100000 applications still unde-
| cided, many of the cases being equally as
just, perhaps, as any already allowed. The
difficulty, from Mr.. Bentley's standpoint, is
to ascertain the real merits of the cases and
prevent fraud, the immense labors Of these
investigations being too much for the capa-
city of his establishment. He has a bill
pending in the Senate which he hopes will
be passed at this session. 1t provides for the
appointment Of commission, consisting of
one lawyer and one surgeon ofreputed abil-
ty, whose duty it shall be to visit several
times every year the county seats in the
Congressional district for which they are
appointed, and take the testimony of wit
nesses and hear the claim ofthe person ask
ing pension, in public manner. An
other merit which the Commissioner claims
rest Wholly with the claimant, whose inter-
est would dictate that he must have his evil
| danpe and witnessas raadv tphan tho Cop,
mission meets to hear his claim, and upon
whom the burden of proof alone rests. The
scope of the bill is, in fact, to divide the
LABOR of the Pension Office among 200 com.
missions, or as many as are necessary, which
are to ascertain in the vicnage of the appli
cant whether his claim is well established.
Others interested in pension matters and
familiar with the subject find objections to
this bill, Of which | shall give you more
hereafter. At any rate, all agree that this
question is one of the most important to be
considered by Congress this winter.
President elect Garfield arrived in the city
Tuesday evening, and went quietly to his
residence without any demonstration what
ever. The reception and serenade proposed
by the various Republican organizations
here was declined. The visit is one ofbusi-
ness and perhaps by the time this is in print
the object of SO much solicitude will have
+ returned TO Ohio.
The weather has been exceedingly cold
here for some days-about the coolest have
known during five years residence at the
capital. 1t is a regular freeze-out, without
the redeemng feature of snow AMI sleigh.
ing. DON PEDRO.