The National tribune., 1882-08-12
INVALID PENSIONS
An Amendment to the Bill Regulating Invalid
Pension Claims.


Pension Claims.
In the Senate on Friday, Mr.. Platt, upon Sc
curing the floor, said
The Committee on Pensions have instructed
me to report an original bill, and to ask for its
present consideration.
The bill Is. No. 2172) to amend section 4702,
title 81 Revised Statutes of the United States,
and for other purposes, was read the first time
by its title.
Mr.. DAVIS, of West Virginia. Let the bill
| be read for information.
/ The bill was read the second time at length,
! as follows
! the Revised Statutes of the United States is hereby
amended SO as to read as follows:
! SEC 1902. If any person embraced within the
provisions of sections 1862 and 1893 has died since
the 4th of March, 1861, or hereafter dies by reason
! of any wound, injury, or disease which under the
conditions and limitations of such sections would
have entitled him to an invalid pension had no
been disabled, his widow, or If there be widow
! or in of her death without payment to her of
any part of the pension hereinafter mentioned his
child children under sixteen years ofage shall be
entitled to receive the same pension as the husband
or father would have been entitled to had he been
| totally disabled, TO commence from the death of
I the husband father, to continue to the widow
during her wldowhood, and to his child children
until they severally attain the age OF sixteen years.
/ and no longer; and if the widow re-marry, the
child children shall be entitled from the date of
re-marriage except when such widow has continued
to draw the pension money after her re-'narriage,
in contravention of law and such child children
have resided with and been supported by her, their
| pension will commence at the date to which the
| widow was last paid"
| SEC. . That marriages, except such as are men,
toned in section 4705 of the Revised Statues shall
be proven pension cases to he legal marriages
coriing to the law of the place where the parties
| resided at the time of marriage or Mt time when
| the right to pension accrued, and the open and
notorious adulterous cohabltatlon OF a widow who
| is pensoner shall operate to terminate her PEN
! sion from the commencement OF such coha6ita-
/ ton.
! By unanimous consent the Senate, as in Com
| mittee of the Whole, proceeded to consider the
/ bill.
/ Mr.. PLATr. If any explanation is desired,
| I can make it in few words.
| Mr.. INGALLS,. Is this a House bill?
| Mr. PLATT, No; it is an original bill, re-
| ported by the Committee on Pensions. viii
| state the only change it makes from the pres
| ent law.
/ Where a widow, in violation of law, after the
| death of her husband, has continued TO draw
/ the husbands pension, and has supported the
/ children in the meantime, if there are any,
the bill provides that the children shall take
from the time when the widow ceased to draw
the pension, which we think is right if she
has supported the children.
The second change is a provision that noto-
rious and adulterous cohabitation by a widow
shall terminate the pension. The Secretary
OF the Interior has decided that under the
present law it does not terminate the pension.
| The committee think it ought to terminate
the pension.
hope there will be no objection to the bill
Mr. DAVIS of West Virginia. / should like
to ask the Senator how much will be the addi-
tional expenditure?
Mr. PLATT. Nothing.
Mr. DAVIS, of West Virginia. Oh, yes, there
must be an additional expenditure.
Mr. PLATT. On the other hand it dimin-
ishes the expenditure.
Mr. DAVIS, of West Virginia. In what way2
I understand the second section, but the first
section, which the Senator explained, GER
tainly gives additional pension.
Mr. PLATr. 1t does not give any additional
pension. If i had made myself clear the Sem
ator would have understood it. There are
eases now where the widow when her hus-
band dies, goes forward in violation of law,
saving nothing about the death OF her hus-
band and draws the pension. The only
remedy now is to bring suit to recover that
amount. The object of the bill is to make the
children's pension date from the time when
the widow ceased to draw the pension in vio-
lation of law; that is, from the time of dis
covcry, when her pension is stopped, provided
she has in the mean time supported the chill
dren.
Mr.. INGALLS,. Take the $72 rate, which
lapses at the death of the person entitled to
Continued on Eighth page.)