The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-04-01
A BIG PENSION GRAB.
THE SENATE PASSES THE DE-
PENDENT BILL,

| of the Scheme.
WASHINGTON, March 3l.-The Senate
met this morning las will be the rule until
otherwise ordered) at IL O'Clock. There
were twenty-five senators present, but a
call having been ordered, the presence of a
quorum was secured and then the journal
of Saturday was read and approved Mr.
Reagan addressed the Senate on the bill for
the issue of treasury notes on deposits Of
silver bullion.
At the conclusion of Mr.. Reagan's speech
the dependent pension bill was taken up,
the first question being on Mr.. Plumb's
amendment removing the limitation as to
arrears of pensions, making pensions ON &c
count of wounds or injuries or disease COM
mence from the death or discharge of the
soldier. Mr. Berry inquired of Mr.. Plumb
whether any estimates had been made of
the cost of removing the Limitation of
arrears Of pensions.
Mr.. Plumb replied that the commissioner
of pensions had stated some we ks since
that the cost would be about $47S, 600 900,
and that the chairman of the House com
mittee on pensions had estimated it at
S5OO,0OO,O 900 1t would be some where about
these figures
OPPOSITION MANIFESTED.
In the debate which followed considera-
BILE opposition was shown on both sides to
diSposlng of the question involved in Mr.
Plumb'S amendment as an attachment to
an appropriation bill.
Mr.. Blair held that it should be embodied
in an independe 1t measure. Other senator's
argued that there was no reliable data upon
which fair estimate of its cost could be
made.
Messrs. CockreIl and Blair placed the fig
ure at $500, 100000.
Mr.. Frye regretted that the amendment
was before the Senate, not that it placed
him in a position where he had to vote for
1t or against it, but because he should re-
gard its adoption as a terrible menace to
the soldiers of the country. He had hel1
for long while land he had undertaken to
show in addresses to bodies OF soldiers in his
own state taat there was a pace too rapid
altogether for their welfare and for their
| good.
DANGER OF OVERLAPPING.
Mr.. Frye said there was danger of over
| leaping in the matter of pensions. When
| President Cleveland commenced TO veto
pension bills the Democratic party ra'liiet
what he did, and not only the Democratic
party, but many of the business men in the
Republican party, too. He said to the SEN
ators who were pressing the amendment
that they were imperiling the trusst inter
/ SSNo VI OhO oOibiSAo, anu HoLo t6dbAllR
preJudIces against pensions. If the
amendment were adopted, and the
bill enacted into a law, soldiers
| who looked forward to the service pension
| bill would look in vain. He dared not vote
| for proposition that he believed would be
| absolutely destructive to the best interests
of the soldiers and he should be compelled
| to vote mo" on the amendment
HAWLEY OF THE SANE OPINION.
Mr.. Hawley expressed his personal obi
CATION to Mr.. Frye for telling the serlou
| truth in the matter He did no believe that
the American soldiers asked for the amend
ment. He would stake his political standing
| on the assertion that out of any
| 800 old soldiers there would be found a ma
| jority against it. Headlong extravagance
would bring men into power who would
| stint and squeeze and deny the soldier.
There was limit in the matter of pension
| legislation. He appealed to every old
s ldier to be reasonable and Just. The
American nation had certainly not been
stingy. The pension expenditures for the
| next year would amount to nearly
$13O,O00,0O0, and no nation in
the world had ever appropriated
for its soldiers sum that could be COM
pared to that. He begged the old soldiers
TO remember that the objection to getting
into another war would be not the cost of
Oui ~ Ou, Oub Ju0 COUSeQu6uceS OF IL.
and he also asked them to remember that
| those enormous sums of money came out of
the pockets very largely of people as poor
as themselves.
AN ANECDoTE OF GRANT.
He told an aneclote of Gen. Grant on the
occasion of his last visit to the capitol.
With his characteristic modesty he
kept out of the chamber and sat
in one of the cloak rooms
where almost every senator visited him.
He sat with the accustomed cigar and talked
freely on every question introduced. He
said that on his way to the capitol Z clergy
man came to him, asking him to sign me-
| mortal asking that every man who had ever
been priS )ner of war should be pensloled.
He1 told the clergyman that he ought TO be
| III better business that there were all kinds
of prisoners, some who let them selves be
caught easily, some who had the stomach
| ache or a sore toe when a battle was in the
| air, and who were caught by squad of
confederate cavalry, and some who were
caught ahead of the skirmish line. Some of
| them had good rest and were all the bet
| ter for being prisoners. 81 will tell YOU, -
said Gen. Grant, what | would do if |
were President. | would sign any reason
| able bill to relieve the distress of an honest
| old soldier, or of his widow or children,
but would not vote one dollar to able
bodied men,"
HAwLEY MADE IT HIS PLATFORM.
THAT last expression" said Mr.. Hawley,
sank into my memory. | live up TO tlat
That is my platform. | do not believe that
my state asks TO add $500, 600, 900 to the
debt OF the republic. The theory of a
pension is that 1t takes care of a man who
is to-day sufferer by reason of his
service in the army, but not that
it shall go back ten or fifteen
or twenty years when a man did not
apply for pension). and pay him 5000,
or $4,000, or $4,000 If we are going to
spend $500, 100000 it would be better TO
divide it pro rata and not throw it away at
random. Aim as sharply as you can at
actual necessities. and take care of the old
soldiers; but do not be stampeded BIZ claims
agents. Do exactly what you think Is gem
erous and right, aud the country will sus-
tain you in it,"
THE AMENDMENT REJECTED.
After further discussion Mr. Plunb's
amendment was rejected. the vote being
Yeas 9, nays 46, as follows:
YEAs-Messrs Allison, Ingalls,, Henderson.
Mitchell, Plumb, Quay, sherman, Turpie and
Voorhees-9
NAYs-Messrs. Allen. Barbour Bate, Berry,
Blackburn, Blair, Cali, Chandler, Cockreh, Coke,
Coquitt, Davis. Dawes, Edmunds, Evarts, Far
well, Faulkner, Frye, George, Gibson, Harris
Hawley, Hearst, Higgins, Hoar, Jones, of Ar
kansas, Jones of Nevada. Kenna, Mcpherson