The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-07-06
A SENATORIAL REPLY
TO THE PRESIDENTS ANIMADVER-
SiONS ON PENSION LEGISLATION. F,

SiONS ON PENSION LEGISLATION.
Congress Warming Up with the Weather
and Rolling Up It's Sleeves for Business
"A Relief Bill vetoed-A Call on
Anti-Butterine Unconditional Capital
Notes.
WASHINGTON CITY, July 6-The senate com.
mittee on pensions, in their report recon-
mending the passage over the presidents
veto of the bill granting pension to Mary
A. Nottage says;
$50 great has become the number of such
vetoes interposed by the present executive,
ali within a few weeks past, and so extra
ordinary the censure, sometimes rudeiy ex-
pressed and in nearly every instance Sc
verely implied of the action of the two
houses Of congress and of their committees
upon which has devoved the wearisome and
generally unappreciated labor of investigat-
ing these claims, accompanied in many
cases by such ridicule of, and evident dis.
gust with, the claims themselves, that your
committee feel that they are Justified in a
brief statement of the circumstances in
volyed. In doing this strong effort will
be made TO restrain any natural feeling
of indignation, which, if permitted to as
sumo the proportions which the provocation
justities, would wholly destroy those re-
spectful forms of expression which must be
maintained in official intercourse between
the different officers and departments of the
government This becomes the more noe.
essary in proportion as it 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 committee to get
on in this difficult matter without violating
the courtesies of Official intercourse by imi-
tating an example which, so far as we are
aware, is without precedent and which, SO
tar as we are concerned, shall remain So -
The committee proceeds to show that 70
per cent. of the senate bills and only Sc per
cent of the house bills submitted to the
president have been vetosd and says it is
not insensibe to the special condemnation
which this disparaglng contrast infiicts.
The report continues:
much criticism has been iudulged in by
the president of the methods of legislation
pursued by the two houses of congress, and
however uniformed he may he upon the
subject, and however unntentionaly, by
reason OF want of knowledge, he may have
misrepresented TO the country the methods
OF legislation, which have been pursued in
like cases ever since congresses and parlia-
ments have existed aud which have, since
parliaments became free, been safe frcm
kingly and presidential interference, all the
same the people have been misled by the
unwarranted statements of the president as
to the manner in which legislation upon
pensions claims and the like is, and of ne
cessity must be, conducted The pension
business OF the senate has never been better
done than during this session. Those MEM
bers of the committee who have performed
the most have been as careful as any, and
derision OF their patient, conscientious, and
eXhausting labors to help along these noblest
and best portions OF Gods poor and the
country'S benefactors can originate only in
wise and noble nature which is misled or
in cns that, if Informed, sadly needs recon
struction or recreation.
The report embolies copy of instruc-
tons by the assistant secretary OF the into.
rlor to the commissioner of pensions, as
follows.
Please cause the same to be critically ex-
amined and report to this department
whether, in your opininion, any objections
to their approval are known to exist In
cases where objections exist these should
he specifically set FORTH
The committee then say:
Government with vetoes based upon the
review of the action of congress by some
subordinate of the commissioner of pen
sions, is topic which will bear thought,
but perhaps may be left without discussion.
Why the finding of the two houses of con
gress should be discredted and attributed
to unworthy motives indifference, or inca
pacity. while the Ieassertion by the pen
sion clerk that no is right and congress
wrong is accepted as the basis of fact in
these numerous vetoes, it is hard to per
ceive. But ali 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 under the gen.
eral law. 1t is difficult to write in that rudi-
mentary way upon the nature of pensions
and the various grounds of compensation,
charity, and public policy which is neCes-
sary in order to remove this impression. It
is sufficient TO observe 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
1t may cost the country a prolonged and
steady effort, this truth will become ap-
parent. But it should be remembered that
in very large number of these bills passed
| by congress important original written evil
dence is filed with the committees or pre-
| sented yer bally, as in hearings before other
| committees upon all public questions which
come before legislative bodies; and often
the applicant is present with his statement
and his palpable disabilities. This evidence
! is not available to the executive, at least
| not without the asking, and never has been
in possession of the pension office Conse
quently in nearly every case the coDgres
sional statement stands upon stronger proof
| than the finding of facts which the presi
dent sets up in disapproval of the bill