Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1886-03-04
NUMBER %.
WIDOWS PENSIONS
A Heated Discussion In the Lower
Honse Of Congress.

"A rather exciting debate occurred i'll the
House on the 25th during consideration If
the pensions appropriation bill A Washing
ton dispatch gives the following particulars
In Incommittee Of the whole the House con
sidered the pension appropriation bill
Mr.. Town ihenl (ill) who had charge of
the bill, explained its provisions IL appro-
priated, he said, S75, ,754, 200, on about $l5.-
OOO,OOO more than was carried by the law for
the current year. TLii increase was oc-
casioned by the accelerated work that was
being done in the pension Office, and for tlIis
work the commissioner OF pensions aad his
employees deserved commendation, and by
the larger number OF cases that were now
being disposed Of
Mr.. Henderson 4owa) went into an analy-
sis of the negative voteo on the bill to increase
the pensions of soldiers widows The total
vote in the negative, he said was B6 Tha
total Democratic nays were 81. The total
Republican nays were none. TIE total nays
from the South were o.. 1hs total nays from
the North were 2.
Mr.. Tillnan Is. C.)-Considering that tae
Confederate States pay about one-third Of the
taxes to the Federal government for pensions
and do not get lack three cents of it, ccnsid-
ering also that from the foundation Oh The
government to the present time So q month
was considered a sufficient pension for widows,
can the gentleman complain that Southern
members are trying to restrain the necessari-
ly large expenditures for tensions within the
rules that prevailed heretofore
Mr.. Henderson, never was more grateful
for an interruption. arraign no gentleman
on this floor for his vote; but I say this iii
reply to the gentleman: There is no section
Of this country that before God is under
deeper and more profound obligations
to pay every dollar Of its share
of that debt than the Southern States
Was it day of pleasure for Us
w 011s ftrrre rs1y.rI
marched southwards Was it something we
prayed for and desired when we turned our
backs on home and faced toward deaths For
one, fought for the South as well as the
North, and that my friends did not do 4
laid my life at his feet as much as I did tn
Keep roof over my own head. And
now that we can meet here to-
gether-the men who stood in serTied
columns against each other for four years-I
think that those who cast that negative vote
are under as profound a moral and legal OBJ
legation as we are to pay thatdebt. The time
has come when sectional lines should be
drop ed, and when sixty-four members OF
that side of the house said that twelve dollars
was too much to pay widow, the sectional
line was kept up and the bloody shirt was
waved
Mr. OATES (Ala.l inquired whether the
Southern members should not have the dis
cretion to vote as their consciences dictated.
Were they slaves and not permitted To use
their discretion?
Mr.. Henderscn-No not slaves. 1 wanta all
members ON the floor to stand as equals.
concede their constitutional right to vote as
they please. But there is more than one
way Of observing the Constitution and Of
trampling it under foot. To-day the Con-
stltutlOn is thrown in our face as shield
to cover an almost solid vote against the In
crease of pensons bill, and vet there is hard
" Constitution of the United States to be
IN hate
q my conviction, that il these gentlemen
re pected the Constitution, as they say, they
would not have control of this chamber.
If they represented the Constitution
instead of ballot box stntfing and
shot guns they would not have
control Of the executive of the nation. tAp-
plause on the Republican side and groans on
the Democratic side.) You may grOan,
gentlemen, bstr you yourselves do know aud
you boast of it, too, that you viii control this
government in spite of the Constitution.
And I tell you here and now in this chamber
that there are as grave crimes committed
under forms Of law and the constitution as
there were when Sumter was fired upon.
And for one / protest against sectional con
troll of this country with the Constitution
absolutely defeated. These are my senti-
ments, and / say that the gauntlet was thrown
down in that vote. In closing, desire to
say that sincerely trust that no gentleman,
especially those who were i'll the ranks
against me, misinterpretS me, for would
rather spend an eternity in hell with Con-
fe1erate than eternity in heaven with a
Northern Copperhead. daughter and ap-
plausel
Mr. Randall PENN desired to leave the
arena of politics for moment to assume the
ground OF history and t'uth. He was nm
willing that the sun should 20 down without
his expressing his recollection on this ques-
ton He had much experience on the
first time he had ever seen partisan politics
and sectionalisn thrEs into debate on the
pension appropriation bill He should, per-
haps, have remained silent notwithstanding,
except, whether inteude on not, there might
20 abroad through the country the statement
that the Democratic party, and more particu-
larly the Soathern element of that party, had
in any way shown any hostility whatever
to the payment of pensions. On the contrary,
his experience had shown that the Southern
element had developed a wonderful dispo-
sition to pension Union soldiers or the widows
Of Union soldiers He placed his experience
against the impression carried by the speech
of the gentleman from Iowa that there was
on the Democratic side any hostility to tie
payment Of what was Justly due to those who
were disabled in the war for the Union.
Mr. Morrison (lll.) said that for all the
years of war and for ten years thereafter the
Republicans had control of the governHsent
in all its branches. Skilled alike in STATES
manship and the display Of patriotism, the
Republican party had made ample provision
for the payment of pensions to soldiers. Since
his experience be did not recollect the name
Of Southern man who had ever failed to
vote to the last dollar what that party hal
provided by law should be paid to the sol
der
The discussion upon the question Of widows
pensions here ended, and the COMMITTEES soon
after rose. The debate throughout the day
was marked by much interest and some ex-
element though good nature was preserved
at all times. The chairman had much diff
Guilty in keeping the committee in order, but
succeeded well in his hard task, though at
times the confusion was SO great that the
voices Of the speakers were drowned in ap-
plause and laughter.