Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-07-06
CONGRESSIONAL.
The Veto Power JudiciOusly
Exercised.
THE PRESIDENT ON PENSIONS
The Pension List Should be q ROl
of Honor, Not an Alms-Giv-
ing Institution.

WASHINGTON, July SIN the Senate
the Conference report on the Agricul-
tural Appropriation bill was presented
and explained in detail by Plumb. On
one point the Committee had been un-
able to agree. The disagreement was on
the item inserted by the Senator, max
ing an appropriation Of 500, 900 for con.
tinuing experiments in the manufacture
of sugar from sorghum. The work here
tofore carried on in that direction had
been of the greatest possible value; very
great progress had been made-so great,
in fact, that there were to-day erected
and in process OF erection in Kansas four
large sugar factories, having an aggregate
capacity of 5 100000 pounds, and it was
confidentially believed that the work
would still further develop the fact that
the United States could in very short
period of time supply all the sugar that
its people consume.
| The conference report was concurred
in, and further conference asked on the
sorghum item.
Call offered resolution, which was
adopted, calling on the Secretary of the
Interior for information as to the improp-
er and unlawful selection of swamp and
overhowed lands.
| MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Was received, vetoing the bill granting a
pension to Mary Anne Doherty. The
President shows the bad character of the
woman, and that her husband, on &C
count Of whose death pension was de-
sired, is alive and is himself drawing a
pension. The President says he would
yield to no man in his desire to see those
who defended the Government literally
treated, but the pension list should be a
roll of honor, and not a matter of indis-
criminate alms-giving. The President
refers to the large number of special PEN
sion bills before him, and says: ''It
would be we'll if all our general pension
laws could be revised, with view oi
meeting every meritorious case. In the
absence of such revision, and if pensions
, are to be granted upon equitable grounds
and without regard to general laws, the
present methods would be greatly i'm.
proved by the establishment of some tri-
bunal to examine the facts in every case,
and determine upon the merits of the
application"
OTHER vEToEs.
The President also returned without
his approval the Senate bill to grant q
: pension to J. B. Morton, of Nebraska, as
! the dependent father of Calvin Morton
! who claimed that his son was killed ir
battle with the Indians in the Custer
massacre. The President says: ellis
name does not appear in any record oil
} soldiers engaged in that battle, ard con.
, sidering the list of casualties attending
; that battle, the death of the son of the
beneficiary is far from being satisfactorily
established
The Senate bill to pension Polly H
, Smith, widow of Lieutenant ]. III. Smith
! Second artillery, who served in the army
from 1854 TO 1870, was also returned
without Executive approval, on the
ground that his death had no connection
with the service.
WHEN LEAD ORE is NOT DUTIABLE.
Senator Edmunds presented to the
Senate the report of the Judiciary Com
mittee on laws relating to the importa
} ton Of lead in gold and silver ores. The
Senate, on June 11th, adopted a resolu
tion asking the committee to investigate
, the subject of importation, free of duty
of lead ore. The committee says tha
lead ore in its legal and commercial sense
is dutiable at ! 1a cents per pound, bu
from examination of papers on the sub
: ject referred to the committee, it appears
that the question involved is the i'm
portant one of what are known to the
Treasury Department as gold or silver
ores. In the case of ores of this char
octer, the committee inclines to the opin
ion that when they contain more leac
than gold or silver in quantity
but more of gold or silver in value, the
lead is not subject to duty. Prior to the
: act of 1883 these ores were known as golC
or silver ores and it is to be assumed tha,
Congress knew of this commercial inter
| probation when the law was enacted.
OTHER BUSINESS.
Senator Call proposed an amendment
to the Sundry Civil bill, to appropriate
$100, 900 for the repair and enlargement
of the Salt Lake, Utah Penitentiary.
Senator Turpie, in behalf of the Demo.
crat minority of the Committee on Pen
sions, to-day presented minority re.
port, dissenting from the views in regard
to the veto power, expressed by Senator
Davis in the majority report from the
Pensions Committee.
THE HOUSE.
Tp,n cox,uso un,.a SS~-,,~ E~~rose--n