The National tribune., 1886-04-22
TIE 10TH CONGRESS.
An Epitome Of the Proceedings of the
Past Week.
:. SENATOR BLAIR ON PENSIONS.

| SENATOR BLAIR ON PENSIONS.
| In the Senate Mr. Blair On. H. called up
Senate Bill 1886, for he relief Of soldiers of the
| late war honorably discharged after six months
| service, who are disabled and dependent upon
| their owneJsbor for support and of dependent
parents OF soldiers VINO died in the service or
| from disabilities contracted therein. Mr. Blair
| said:
| The Senate will remember that in the last Con-
gress general bill was passed by this body cover
ing substantially all the inequalities and defcien-
cies existing in pen SION laws in the admins
tration of them That > i had been prepared with
| great care the advice OF the Pension Office had
been taken great amount of data had been col
,a s aa !, Val the ny we &c,
ratified by that of the Senate also that the bill
| included substantially all the legislation that
| seemed to he necessary bearing upon the inter-
ests and doing justice to the soldiers of the coun-
try in whatever war they may have been engaged.
That bill passed the Senate and went to the House.
where it failed. 1t was introduced at the beginning
Of this session in the Senate and also in the House.
but difficulties arose in regard to dealing with the
bill q whole, and 1t was thought best to report
separate bills covering the leading features that
were embraced in the that have referred to |;
and this bill now before the Senate contains few
sections eliminated from that BILL This is Ia
the same and its merits have already been discussed
and considered.
It was estimated that the bill to which have re-
ferred would have added to the annual burden of
the country in the way Of the pension-list about
$50 O00GOO In the nature of things it imposs-
De 10 compute the lHcTSlSe Oh the PUBIC eXpenui-
ture with absolute accuracy. but from che best
information that could be obtained the sum would
| have been about S5o0o0.0Co. l think the amount
called for by this BILL should it become law would
| he somewhere from fifteen to twenty-dv million
dollars.
| This bill includes all those soldiers who being
honorably discharged are now suffering from any
disability, however contracted. provided the disa-
bity is not the result of any fault of their own.
ent upon their own labor for support. 1t also in
cludes dependent parents. Where both parents
are living il includes the mother Where the mother
is dead and the father Is dependent, he Is embraced
| in the provisions Of the bill.
There many reasons that could be assigned
why this bill should becore law. i may advert
perhaps to one of them. The Senate Is aware that
for many years what Is known the Mexican
pension bill has been pressed, and think merito-
riously and with great persistence, upon the atten
ton of the country. IL nag. however. always en-
braced one feature which, while adding very largely
to the expense perhaps Of administration should
| the Mexican pension bill become u law. would
have been exceedingly dangerous to the Treasury
of the country by reason of the precedent which it
would contain for the almost immediate application
of the principle of service pension to the soldiers
of the late war. That principle and the PROPOSE
ton TO apply ii to the soldiers of the late has
already obtained great deal Of consideration in
It may be that Senators will remember. those
who were here during the last Congress- that very
large number of the Grand Army Posts Of the
country memorialzed both Houses In favor of the
passage of a service pension law embracing the
soldiers OF the war for the Union. II would be Inn
possible for any one probably to estimate the
pense of such a law, because no one can tell how
many of the soldiers Of the war for the Union
still surviving; but do not think if it should be-
come a law it would add any less than one million
names to the pension-roll of the country. do not
think that the expenditure under such q law would
be less than $50 Geo, and hardly think less
than 500 OG0 COO annually.
Notwithstanding this immense expenditure, this
great burden which by such a law would be east
on the finances of the country. there has grown up
very strong feeling that something like justice
demands the passage of this bill and there is still
stronger feeling that il is the duty of the country to
that those engaged in the war for its preserva-
tion and who are now for any cause disabled, pro-
yded IL Is not cause attributable to their vice
or their own wrong practices and who are also de-
pendent upon their own labor for support, should
receive from the country itself that assistance which
must mus, come from somebody, either from their
selves; from local charity from the ordinary charity
provided for the paupers In the various States, or
through the Grand Army of the Republic, which
has undertaken the support Of this class Of SOL
diery 70 as great extent possibly it is able to
bear.
Other measures having ct the time the right
of way" in the Senate, the pension bill was
laid aside for future'eonsideratiOn.
AMENDMENT no PENSION LAWS.
Mr. Townshend Qll) introduced BILL e.
r. 1867, authorizing the granting of pensions
to parents of deceased soldiers upon proof that
they are without other-present means of sup
port than their own manual labor.
FOR LOSS OF A LEG.
Senator Miller introduced proposed amend
ment to the bill recently reported from the
Senate Committee on Pensions, to increase the
rate of pension to $45 month for the loss of a
leg SO near the hip joint as to prevent the use
of an artificial limb.
PRISONERS OF WAR PENSIONS.
The House Committee on Invalid Pensions
agreed to amend the bill to pension ex-prison-
ers of war, a favorable report upon which has
already hnnn OrdarpG IN mako the nerina
of confinement necessary to secure tho benefits
of the act 30 days instead of go days, as origi-
nally agreed upon.
RELIEF OF CERTAIN VOLUNTEER OFFICERS.
Representative Laird's bill, which the House
Committee on Military Affairs has decided to
report fayorably, provides that all soldiers Of
the late war of the rebellion who, having re-
enlisted as veteran volunteers received COM
missions as officers in the army, shall be paid
all instalments of veteran bounty, with inter-
est which were withheld from them respect
lively on being so commissioned and mustered;
provided, that all soldiers Of the late war who
were discharged to receive promotion shall be
entitled to receive the same bounty, with in
terest, that they would have been entitled to
had they served as enlisted men for the full
term of their enlistment; provided further,
that all volunteer soldiers sailors of the late
war who were honorably discharged on account
of disease contracted in the line of duty shall
receive the same bounty that they would have
been entitled to had they been discharged on
account of wounds.
The committee submitted favorable report
upon this bill on Monday. Its passage is
strongly urged as a measure Of justice. The
bill will be called up the first time the commit
tee gets the floor, and Mr.. Laird thinks there
is no doubt of its passage. The report of the
committee shaves off the allowance Of interest
on the amounts that have been withheld for 90
years, which Mr.. Laird included in his bill. 1t
would break Uncle Sans heart to pay that!
TELEGRAPH OPERATORS DURING THE WAR.
Mr. Viele IN. ", from the Committee OF
Military Affairs, reported, as substitute for H.
r. 23S, a bill Oh L. 1856 for the relief of tele-
graph operators during the war, which was read
a first and second time referred to the Com
mittee of the Whole House, and, with the &C.
companying report, ordered to be printed.
nth KAN. CAV.
Mr.. Ryan (Kan.) also introduced bill (H. e.
the heirs and legal representatives of certain
recruits for the l4th Kan. Cav who were killed
at Lawrence, Kan, Aug. 81, 1868, by guerrillas.
WAR OF 1912.
Bills were introduced in the House by Mr..
Davis (Mass.), and in the Senate by Mr.. Hoar
(Mass. J. for the relief of certain surviving wild
ows of soldiers who served in the last war with
Great Britain in ISl2II5.
CONDEMNED CANNON.
In the House bills were introduced granting
condemned cannon and cannon balls for monu-