Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-08-04
The House.

! WASHINGTON, August 2.-The House to
day proceeded to the consideration Of tn,
,aDendments to the army appropriation
bill, and they were non-concurred in, and g
conference ordered. The House then went
into committee OF the whole on the def
cheney appropriation bill.
In speaking to formal amendment
Hovey, of Indiana, replied to speech pub.
lisied in the Congressional Record'' oil
Sunday last purporting to have been deliver.
ed in the House the preceding Saturday by
Representative. Matson, of Indiana, on the
subject OF pensions. It was not necessary,
said Hovey, to remind the gentleman that
no such speech had ever been delivered.
Hovey then proceeded to make an extreme
~ lively attack on the Democratic pension
policy and on President Cleveland.
Hovey, said the gentleman, had labored
to show that the Democratic party was,
and had been friend of ex-soldiers OF the
United States. In tesafft teesafftlemen s,an. TASK it
than to meet With z t6sb 6tbe reBaee reBaee ID rathep at s
assertions. There could not be found an
intelligent man who did not fully know
and understand the attitude OF the re-
spective parties on this subject, and that
the Democratic party, from President
pension legislation; that there had
been studied and systematic
course taken by the Democrats
OF the House against all general pensions
legislation, could not be honestly denied.
He criticised the committee on rules for not
reporting a resolution assigning a day for
the consideration of pension legislation, and
he declared that the petitions and prayers
of thousands OF soldiers remained unread
and disrega rded. The history oflegislation
presented no parallel to this outrage on the
rights OF the people. Democrats did not
dare to vote on these general pension bills
because they knew every Northern Demo-
crat who voted against them would sign
his own death knell; they knew they would
be in danger OF veto either from the presi
dent or their constituents.
He then proceeded to argue that the
Mills bill, should it become a law, would
destroy all hopes that the soldiers might
have Of pension legislation. There would
be no surplus on hand to pay pensions.
He analyized several of the President g
vetoes to substantiate the declaration
that on each of them the President vir-
tually accused the claimants and Witnesses
OF perjury. If Cleveland were not shielded
by his Presidential mantle, an action for
libel could be- maintained against him in
any court OF justice. In conclusion, he
declared the Republican party the party
of the soldiers, and that speech of his
colleague could not convince them to the
contrary.
Mckinney, OF New Hampshire defended
the President from the charge OF being an
enemy of the soldiers. He had, during his
term OF Office, signed 1,264 private bills, as
against 1924 signed by all the Republi-
can Presidents from Lincoln to Arthur
He signed bills carrying general pension
legislation which applied to LA, 1850 per-
sons. McCutcheon declared that every
man, woman and child whose names were
on the pension rolls, owe their position to
the Republican party, and not name had
been added by the Democratic party with
the exception of those persons whose
names had been restored to the rolls after
participation in rebellion against the
Government. The debate then turned up
on the tariff question and rebel battle
flags. Without further action the committee
rose and the House adjourned.