, 1888-03-01
Long Debate Over the Pension
Bills.
Vest, of Missouri, Opposes the
Measure
And Displays His Love for the
Lost Cause.
CONCRE SSIONAL.
SENATE.

SENATE.
wAsHrSeToY Feb. 20-Sherman, from
committee on foreign affairs, reported u
resolution AS an amendment to the one
offered by Stewart requesting the president
Gn view of the difficulties and embarrass-
ment which have attended the immigration
of Chinese laborers under the limitation of
treaties with China to negotiate n treaty
with the Emperor of China to contain in
its provisions that no Chinese laborers
shall enter the United States. Laid over.
Mitchell offered resolution which was
agreed to, instructiug the committee on
public lands to inquire into the propriety
and advsablity Of having seven or eight
townships of the public domain, surround-
ing and including Mt. Hood, Oregon, set
apart as IA National Park.
The bill to provide for the compulsory
education OF Indian children, as
amended by Vest was passed 1t
makes it the duty of the Secretary
of the Interior to establish an industrial
boarding school on every Indian reservation
upon which there may be located an In
dian tribe numbering 800 or more adult
Indians. Pupils TO be taught in branches
useful labor in addition to the usual studies
in the primary schools. There is nothing
in the bill to prevent the education of In
dian children outside of reservations with
out the consent ot their parents or guar
dians, and no provisions of the acts is to
apply to the five civilized tribes of Usage,
The senate then resumed consideration of
the bill granting pensions to ex-soldiers
and sailors incapacitated for the pertorm-
ance of manual labor and providing for
pensions to dependent relatives of deceased
soldiers and sailors.
Wilson. of Iowa. moved an amendment
to insert the words From iniirmties of
age" so as to pension all ex-soldiers suffer
ing from iniirmities of age or mental or
physical disability"
ri 4.
delivered IN elegant eulogy.
Vest said they heard good deal about
the aims house and veteran soldiers.
In the State of Missouri here
were no Federal soldiers in
the aims house and he was proud to say
there were no Coniederates either. The
South to-day was covered with manned and
crippled soldiers who had been shot and
shelled for their honest convictions aud
they asked no pension and would not take
kit. God be blessed If they We're not in
Jslits hs1sss sn 4 ncvp Of them eylr'-l been
seen begging for bread whence then came
the talk OF Federal soldiers in aims houses?
They were not there He was tired and
sick of the insinuations of robbery and
pretense and hypocracy In the name of the
and gallant soldiers of the Union. He
would give every disabled or dependent
soldier of the Federal army and widows
aud orphans of those who have lost their
lives in the service the last acre OF land
and last dollar. He would have done the
same for the Confederate soldiers. If God
had blessed our cause Why this talk that
that congress has not done enough for sol
diers when the ecountry had paid
out since 1865, eight hundred and
eighty.three million dollars for PENSIONS
II liberalty unparalled in the history of the
world The great military and political
organization, the Grand Army of the
Republic, had thrown its lance into the
debates Of Congress and sent bills to their
accredited senators for the purpose of being
enacted When the president of the
United States had honestly and bravely
discharged his executive duty and vetoed
an cnactmat which he considered im-
proper he had been threatened by the
officers OF that organization with personal
insult If he dared to make his presence
known in the city where it held its annual
meeting There was limit to human
endurance. He (VesO voted Tor the pen
sion bills, coerced by his position, because
he had been confederate and because he
was honestly anxious for the honor and
glory of the country. He had voted for
them because he wanted the evidence to go
to the world that the men with whom he
had acted in the unfortunate strife, re-
spected the soldiers of the Union and were
willing to give them even more than they
demanded, "but there is u limit and have
reached it. 1 will be driven no further by
claim agents and plunderers in the garb of
soldiers. For honest and real soldiers L am
willing to vote any amount of pensions"
Vest went on to say that of the two mill
lion three hundred thousand men enrolled
rs soldiers during the four years of the war
there were applications from one million
two hundred thousand for pensions, on ac-
count of disability. Such military execu-
ton had never been known in the history
of the world. Who believed these pension
bills had not degenerated into political
abuse, which cried aloud for redress. He
had great regard for uany ol his friends ON
the opposite side ofthc chamber aud in the
words which he had spoken he had wished
TO give an Opportunity TO some of them
who lad hark.d hack in ront,st of the bill,
to throw his shluing lance among Con.
federate bngadiers' and Try to carry OFF the
republican, iIOIninutiou tor lrs don't A
recent dispatch from Paris had caused
political caud dates to brcame rs thick as
leaves III NuluIubrOsa. The Il .urS of the
Republican party are now open aud
presidential candidates were coming
10 the front without limit as
to the quality or To the locality.
The senate had been engaged for some
days past in a political auction for the SOL
dier's votes. First came his frend from
Nebraska (Manderson) backed by the G. \.
X. and lie (Vest) had listened with real
gratihcation, even that that senator's filings
at the President of the United States had
not detracted from the general merit of his
bid for the soldier vote, and when received
u floral tribute as a token of regprd from
his admiring constituents, he, (Ves,) had
but one sing suggestion to make and that
was that the lilies should have been en-
broidered over the portals of the White
House. When the senator from Nebraska
took his seat he, (VesD had thought the
bid was in his favor, bat the senator from
Maine, Frye), had caught the eye of the
auctioneer, G. A. r., and had gone zone
BITTER" That senator was prepared to vote
"A pension to every man whn had served
day In the federal army. He, (Vest), WAS