Omaha daily bee., 1890-05-26
TIRED OF COURT-MARTIALS.
Congress Intends to Make Provision Against
Their Absurd Sentences,
MOODY ON THE SILVER QUESTION,
The Dakota Man Confcsscs Ignorance
on the Subject and Has Little
Confidence in Professcd
Experts.
wAsHrSoToS BUREAU Tnr OMAHA Bee,

AS intimated in these dispatches at the
time the astonishing verdict in the Com
mauder McCalla cottrt-martial verdict was
made public congress intends TO throw out
safe guards against the effort of the army
and navy to protect its officers at the cost of
the public service. McCalla was convicted
of all the half dozen or more charges made
against him, enough to have sent him to the
penitentiary a score or more Of years had he
been tried by a civil jury or court, and he
got a leave Of absence from duty for three
years on full pay.
General Grosvcnor of Ohio has begun the
movement towards amending the laws gov
ernng such incidents and he promises radical
reform before he gets done. He has introduced
@ bill providing that when an army or navy
officer is sentenced by court-martial to sus-
pension from rank and duty for period eX-
tending beyond the date when, under the law,
he may go upon the retired list, the president
may retire such officer and make an appoint
Ipent to fill the vacancy This proposition is
made to especially cover the case of Judge
Advocate General Swain, who was suspended
from rank and duty three or four years ago
for q period when he may be retired and
while he cannot perform the duties of the
Office no one can be appointed to do So and
lnuS d DIdtJltdl NuCduty HluSJ COullluc lOE
several years yet in the highest judicial office
in the army. The object of such a sentence
was two-fod 1t saved to Swain his salary
and kept the president from making an ap-
pointment. There is little doubt that the
bill will pass Then will follow other meas
ures intended to remedy the wrongs to the
public, which occur in various forms with
court-martial sentences.
Moody ON SILVER
asked Senator Moody of South Dakota to-
day whether he was going to deliver a speech
on the silver bill He said: mo, shall not,
for the reason that do not know anything
about the subject. The fact is | do not be
lieye any one has what we might call a good
reliable idea of the silver question. 1t is all
speculative, like walking in the dark. Two
or three years ago our best tinanCiers openly
announced that the free coinage of silver
would wreck our financial credit and bring
disaster upon the government These same
men are now claiming that unless we have
free silver coinage the same result will fol-
low. The conditions of our finances are apt
to change, so that do not think it is possible
for any man to be an infaliible authority
upon the subject. The whole financial prob
lem is solved by confidence ard faith We
must have the cooperation of the people, and
it is much better for legislator TO act as his
constituents want him to act than to move
upon his own individual judgment. We are
for free coinage in my country"
I HARD TIME ON PRIVBTE BILLS.
4 Fewer private bills will pass the Fifty-frst
than have passed any congress during the
last decade Nearly all of the private bills
whth have passed already during this ses
sion are for pensions. The reason for this is
obvious So many bills of IA public character
have been passed carrying large apprOpria-
tiOns that private claims ana propositions of
an individual nature could not be considered
on account of lack of time and demands for
economy
II iS nroha hIa that when rOnuresS adiCurnS
there will be as many eight or nine thou
sand bills on the calendars or in committees
One thing can be said of this cOngrcss-no
corrupt measure has passed so far and none
are likely to be passed. The committees have
all been headed with men of the highest type
of character and they have been bent upon
keeping out of every proposition Of question
able character.
The result has been great deal of com
plaint from private claimants and there will
be much pressure brought to bear III the next
session to secure the passage of private meas
. ures An impression prevails that one reason
why it has been decreed that there should be
few private bills passed is the approaching
political campaigns. This is not true. The
suggestion has nothing to do with the facts
This congress is opposed to the consideration
Of private measures by the wholesale. 1t is
likely that one thing will result from the in
attention to private claims and that is the
creation of large committee, composed of
lawyers and the shrewdest business men in
tion over all classes of private clainS not pen
sions. This proposition was suggested at the
beginning of the present congress by Mr.
Rowell of Illinois, and its discussion in an in
formal way in the house has met with u great
deal OF popularity.
THE PosToFFICE BUILDING BILL.
Friends of the proposition to enact n law
providing for the construction of federal
buildings in cities having secoud-cass post
offices with receipts averaging over $1,000 a
have almost lost hone Df snpppSS for thnir
bill at this session. They say, however, that
there will be nothing to urge against action
upon this bill at the next session, rs the cam
paign will be over and those who have
consciousness of the justice of the PROPOSE
tion, but are afraid to endorse it now for
political reasons, will be willing to come TO
the front The postofce department con-
tnues to enter into leases for buildings to be
occupied by second-class postofices covering
periods of five years and the postal officials
do not regard the outlook for the passage of
bill of this kind with much hope.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM WILL STAND.
II did look for time at the opening of the
Fifty-iirst congress as though the regular APP
preparation for the civil service commission
would be Topped off and the continuance of
= the present civil service reform discontinued
for at least while. There was undoubtedly
great deal of dissatisfaction with the opera
tion of the law at the hands of the commits
sion as at present organized. 1t is probable
that the personal as well as official unpopu-
laIllS nl commissioner Lyman, who was one
OF the first men placed upon the board, had
much To do with creating the dissatisfaction
In congress, There is now, however, no
probability that the appropriation for tile
commission will be refused ut the hands of
congress or any bill passed or any part of
the statutes repealed which will Interfere
with the progress of the reform us now being
carried forward
A number of suggestions were made
by members and put in the form
OF bills looking toward the improvement of
the civil service reform, but none of them
have received serious consideration, or been
reported from committee, The strongest
friend OF the law and lis enforcement never
misses an opportunity TO acknowledge that
there are weak points in it, and that there
should be amendments made to the law with
Il view 10 a higher degree of perfection; but
somehow or other there are SO many ideas
no one Is able to formulate any of them in u
practical way. There will be nothing done
for or against civil service reform in this
congress
MRS, Lucy WILLIAMS OWEN.
Toduy's Herald of this city presents a splen-
did double column portrait of a lady well and
tayorably known IN three states of the west
Nebraska, lowaan lndiana-the wfoof Con