The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1893-02-09
PAIRING The PENSIONS.
Radical Changes in the Present
Policy Proposed.
GREATER CARE TO BE EXERCISED

All Persons Not Disabled Who Are In
Receipt of an Income OF 5000 Year to
be Excluded.-Less Chance for Young
Widows of old Soldiers.
WASHINGTON, Feb. IA radical change
In the pension policy Is proposed. The
change will be backed by majority of the
committee Oh appropriations, and will be
fought tooth and nail by the Republican
minority, assisted by Representative
Hollan, chairman Of the committee, who
is ordinarily the most strenuous advocate
in the committee of a reduction of eX-
penditures
The proposed change has in view con-
siderable reduction in the pension rolls, and
; of the enormous amount now paid out for
pensions, by purging the lists of the names
of some of those now on it, by making
more difficult the procurement of pen
sion under the laws, and by turning over
the whole pension bureau to tho war de-
partment
These changes, with some modification,
are the same us originally proposed by the
subcommittee which framed the pension
appropriation bill, but which in full COM
mittee were stricken out by a majority
of one vote The committee has now by
There was meeting of the committee
yesterday, and the fight for pension
policy was renewed by Mr., O'Neill, of
Massachusetts, and Others. BY a yea and
nay vote the committee decided to report
number of amendments to be offered to
the pension bill when it comes up. Under
one OF these the bureau, with all its rec
ords and employees except the commissioner
and two deputies, will be transferred to
the record and pension division of the war
department, with power in the president
to designate an officer to act as head, with
the rank and pay of a colonel. The presi-
dent shall also designate two army officers,
to rank as captains, to act AS first and sec
ond deputy commissioners of pensions
Another one provides that hereafter no
widow who married soldier of the late
war shall receive pension where she mar
ried the soldier more than five years after
his discharge, thus making it apply not
only to the W. T of the rebellion, but to In
dian and all other wars.
Another amendment excludes from pen
sions under the disability act all persons
not disabled from manual labor and who
are in receipt of an income of more than
$500 year.
On motion of Representative Mutehier,
of Pennsylvania a new amendment was
adopted providing that "the rating of pen-
sons for the same class of pensioners for
| like disabilities shall be uniform, and that
| all pensions heretofore or hereafter granted
in pursuance IF the dependent and disable
| ity act shall be rated upon the inability of
| tie pensioner to earn a living by manual
labor" The object of this amendment is
to corrdeS equalties which have arisen
In the administration of the laws
The present board OF medical examiners
is abolished, and will be reconstructed
with one member each, instead of three, as
/ at present. One hundred and twenty
special medical examiners, TO be detailed
from the bureau, are provided for to act in
connection with these new boards of med
| ical examiners.
There were several votes in the commit
tee. but on the whole the vote stood us fol-
/ lows.
Yeas - Messrs. Sayer, breckenridge
| Ky.), Dockery, Mutchler, Breckinride
! (Ark.), ONeill (Mass.), and Livingston
(Ga), all Democrats.
Nays--Messrs. Holman (Dem.) and Cogs-
we'll, Bingham, Dingley and Crout (Reps.)
Messrs. Forney and Compton (Dems },
and Henderson ia Rep.), We're absent.