St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-20
THE VALUE OF VOTES.
Senators Estimate Them by the Pass
age of Another Enormous PEN
sion Bill
Twenty-Five Million Dollars to be Taken
Yearly Out Of the Public
Treasury.
Men Who Have Seen Only a Three
Months Service Included Among
the Beneficiaries.
= Decrease in the Appropriation Bills
minnesota Surveyor General
ship Abolished.
Senate Proceedings.

Senate Proceedings.
WASHINGTON. May 19.-After the dis
posal of some business of a formal and
some OF an unintereSting character in the
senate to-day the pension bill was taken up,
the pending question being that of Mr. Nc
PherSon to recommend the bill to the com
mittee, with instructions to submit to the
senate an estimate of the expense that
would be incurred by its passage. Mr..
McPherSOn's motion to recommend was re-
jected-yeaS IA, nays %. The question re-
cured on Mr.. Blair'S amendment to Mr..
Van Wyck'S amendment. Mr.. Van Wyck'S
amendment is to add to the bill a section
providing that no soldier under this action
should receive pension of less than IS q
month. Mr.. Blair moved to make the
provision read. no pension paid under
any law to any soldier hereafter shall be
rated at less than 81 month. Mr.. Blair
modified his amendment so as to include
sailors. marines etc. Mr.. Logan gave no.
tice that when in order he would move to
make the amount So. Mr.. ingalls, said the
amendments would introduce great inc
qualities in the pension system. He thought
the senate had better adhere TO the original
purpose of the bill, namely: to pension the
men who were now disabled from earning
livelihood. Mr.. Van Wyck's idea was that
the bill was intended to cover the eases of
soldiers who, having served six months,
were now disabled from any cause. Mr..
Beck said the bill was wide departure
from any principles heretofore followed.
1t proposed to pension men who had been
six months in the army, who might never
have been on the field or heard shot fired.
and had not been injured in the service. He
thought it was carrying pensions to point
for which there was no warrant. The taxes
to paw these pensions fell heaviest on the
poor people of the country. He would like
TO see tax levied on large incomes for the
support of these pensions. There was no
more justifiable tax in the world than tax
on men who had made their
MONEY BY wATERED STOCK.
Mr.. Blair's amendment was agreed to. Mr..
Logan then moved the amendment already
suggested by him to make the minimum
pension hereafter payable under any law
not less than So a month. Mr.. salisbury
said the object of legislation in these times
seemed to be how we could most rapidly
spend the public money. We would hear
nothing of this constantly increasing pen
sion legislation if the soldiers had no votes.
There seemed no way to stop this class of
legislation except by providing by consti-
tutional amendment either to deprive the
cOIulcIS VI llltll NOlCS, NltlCH 4ni.
would not favor, or to provide that no man
who had ever served in congress should be
eligible to the presidency sof the United
States. He thought the latter proposition,
if adopted, would stop these raids ON
the treasurer The country had pro-
vided, or should provide. for all men
who had been wounded in the war. This
was bill for a different purpose and went
TO far after some further discussion. Lo-
CAMS amendment was rejected. Yeas 20,
nays u, The question recurring on the
amendment of Mr.. Van Wick as amended
by that of Mr.. Blair, Mr.. ingalls, moved to
lay it on the table. The motion was not
agreed to. The amendment as amended
was then agreed to. Mr.. Salisbury offered
an amendment providing that no money be
paid on pensions under the pending bill till
provision be made by law to meet the neces-
sary expenditures by tax on incomes,
specifically applicable for such payment.
On motion of Mr.. Blair this was laid on the
table. Yeas 90, nays Is. Mr.. Logan moved
all amendment extending the
PROVISION OF THE BILL.
so as to cover men who served three
months. He said he personally knew many
men who had served only three months who
were as much entitled to a pension as if
they had served three years. Mr.. Blair
hoped the amendment would be agreed to.
The amendment was agreed to by viva voce
vote. Mr.. Butler offered as an amendment
a provision for service pension for the
Mexican veterans. To this Nh. Conger Of
fered an amendment excluding persons
under political disability. Mr.. Blair, in
moving to lay Mr.. Buffers amendment OIL
the table, said the house had already passed
Mexican pension bill, which would be
pressed in the senate in due time. The mo-
ton to lay on the table prevailed. Yeas %,
nays II. Mr.. ingalls,, in suggesting an
amendment to strike out the word labor
and insert the word ''exertions," expressed
that without the change teachers, mer-
chants, lawyers or others who earned a
livelihood by intellectual eXertions would
not be entitled to any benefits of the bill.
Mr.. Blair accepted the suggested amend
ment and it was agreed to. After further
debate the pension bill passed, as follows: