St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-07-04
PENSION We FOES.
Tn 3 Senate Com n,ittee Has a Griev.
ance Against the President.

WASHINGTON, July 3.-Ihe senate
committee on pensions in Its report recon-
mending the passage over the presidents
veto of the bill granting pension to Mary
j. Nottage says:
So great has become the number of such
vetoes interposed by the present executive,
all within few weeks past, and so extraor-
binary the censure, sometimes rudely ex-
pressed, in nearly every instance severely
implied, OF the action of the two houses of
congress and their committees upon which
has devolved the wearisome and generally
unappreciated labor of Investigating these
claims, accompanied in many cases by such
ridiculous and evident disgust with the
claims themselves, that your committee feel
that they are justified in a brief review of the
circumstances involved. In DING this d
strong effort will be made to restrain
natural feeling of indignation
which if permitted to assume tae proper
tons which the provication justiies would
wholly destroy those respectful forms of ex-
preston which must be maintained in official
intercourse between the different officers and
departments of the government. This be-
comes the more necessary in proportion as
1t is rendered the more difficult by reason of
the unjust and unexampled style in which
some OF the messages of the president are
expressed. 1t shall be the effort of the COM
mittee to get on in this difficult matter with
out violating the courteses of official inter-
as we are aware, is without precedent, and
which so far as we are concerned, shall re-
main so. The committee proceeds to show
that 20 per cent. of the senate bills and only
So per cent. of the house bills submitted to
the president have been vetoed, and says it is
not insensble to
THE SPECIAL CONDEMNATION
which this disparaging contrast inflicts.
Much criticism the report continues, has
been INDUCED in by the president of the
methods of legislation pursued by the two
houses of congress, and however uninformed
he may be upon the subject, and however un-
Intentionally by reason of want of knowledge
he may have mSIepreSented to the country
the methods of legislation which have been
pursued in like cases ever since congresses
and parliaments have existed, and which
have since parliamentS became free been
safe from kingly and presidential interior
ence, all the same the people are misled by
the unwarranted statements Of the president
to the manner which legislation upon pen
sion claims and the like.is and of necessity
must be conducted.
The pension business of the senate has never
been better done than during this session.
Those members of the committee who have
performed the most work have been as care
ful as any, and derisiOn of their patient, con-
scientious labors to help along these nobleSt
and
BEST PORTIONS OF GODS POOR
only in wise and noble nature which is
misled, or in one that, if informed, sadly
needs reconstruction or recreation. The re-
port embodies copy of the instructions by
the assistant secretary of the interior to the
commissioner of pensions, as follows:
''Please cause the same to be critically exam
| ined and report to this department W neither,
in your opinion, any objections to their ap-
prevail are known to exist. In cases where
objections exist they should be specifically
set forth" This indicates the committee
says, Enthusiastically that the president relies
upon his commissioner for his facts. The
report continues: Why the president should
initiate this game of Shuttlecock and pelt 4
coordinate department Of the government
with vetoes based upon the review of the
actions of congress by some subordinate of
the commissioner of pensions is a topic which
may bear thought but perhaps may be left
without discussion, Why the finding
of the two houses of congress should
be discredited and attributed to unworthy
| motives. Indifference or incapacity, while tn e
reassertion of the pension clerk that he is
right and congress wrong is
ACCEPTED AS THE BASIS OF FACT
in these numerous vetoes, it is hard to per-
ceive. But all through these vetoes there
seems to run the fallacy that the power of
congress to grant pensions is limited to what
may already be done by the pension Office I'M
der the general law. 1t is Sufi cient to OBJ
serve that the jurisdiction OF the Legislative
power of this government is larger than that
of the commissioner Of pensions, and that
sooner or later, although it may cost the
country prolonged and steady effort, this
truth will become apparent. But it should
be remembered that in very large number
of these bills passed by congress important
original written evidence is filed with the
committees or presented verbally, as in hear
ings before other committees upon all public
questions which come before legislative bod
les and often the applicant is present with
his statement and his palpable disabilities.
This evidence is not available TO the execu-
tive, at least without the asking, and never
has been in possession of the pension Office,
consequently in nearly every case the con-
gressional statement stands upon stronger
proof than the finding of facts which the
president sets up in disapproval of the BILL"