St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-17
STIRRED THEM UP.
Republicans Make a Last Des-
perate Effort
TO SHIELD PENSION FRAUDS.
Lively Debate Over the De-
ficieney Bill.
FURTHER TARIFF CHANCES.
Income Tax Proposition Un-
der Discussion.
CONTESTED ELECTION CASES.
CONTESTED ELECTION CASES.

WASHINGTON. Dec. 16. "A debate
over the pension policy of the present
administration, growing out of an item
In the urgent deficiency appropriation
bill. appropriating S200,000 for special
examiners, consumed the entire day i'll
the house. Under the lead of Mr.. Can
non, an assault was made against Mr..
Cleveland's pension policy, especially
that portion of it which resulted in the
revocation of order 164, and the subse-
quent suspension of thousands of pen
sionerS.
Mr.. Livingston, of Georgia, and Mr..
Enloe, of Tennessee. defended the az
ministration, and Mr.. Lacey, of Iowa,
and Mr.. Morse, of Massachusetts,. op-
posed it,
Some routine business was done be-
fore the deficiency bill came up. The
senate amendments to the bill provid-
ing for two additional associate judges
for the district of Oklahoma were
agreed to. The house then went into
committee of the whole on the urgent
deficiency bill, Mr.. Outhwaite in the
chair
Mr.. Breckenridge took the floor and
explained that the bill contained appro-
priations amounting to $l,65l, ,S95, the
only item antagonized being this appro-
priation of 100000 for special exam
liners.
Touching this item for special exam
liners, Mr.. Cannon thought it was time
for congress TO examine into the NAH
ner in which the pension Office was
being conducted. He referred TO the
clause in the presidents message
declaring that every neighborhood had
Its
--.t FRAUDULENT PENSIONERS.
He reviewed the action OF the depart
ment in cutting off thousands of pen
sioners. There had been much allega-
ton of fraud, he sald, but little of it
had materialiZed on cross. examinations.
Of the the 235 special examiners in the
department. dozen were employed to
run down those fraudulent pensioners.
All pensions cut off were classed
by the commissioner to the credit
of the amount saved by the
Office. One million dollars of reject
ed pensions had been classified as
$l.OOO,OOO saved. Yet, after thorough
examination, it was found that but $751;
600 had been actually paid out to PEN
sioners who had procured their pen
sions by forgery, perjury or false per-
sonation. He undertook to say that
there was no more fraud in the admin
Istration of the affairs of the pension
office which disburSed annually $780,
100000, than i'll the adjudication of
cases III the courts of the country.
The Fifty-frst congress ap prOpriated
S150,000,000 for pensions. The Fifty
second. with the 40 Democratic major
ity, appropriated S16S, 900, 600 to meet
the payments on account of pensions.
Order 164 was responsible for much of
this magnanimity. Yet The present
head OF the pension department and the
secretary of the interior now undertook
after this construction had stood for
four years, and had been acquiesced in
by a Democratic house of representa-
tiYes, to reverse thar construction.
ut was An act" said he, shaking his
fist ominously, 'aBin 10 crime" The
infamous ruling of this administration
was that men receiving pensions. whose
cases had been proved, were stricken
from the rolls. Look at the Bennett
case, which was known from one end
TO the other. If such ruling had been
made by a Republican administration,
by Raum or Bussey, after the construc-
ton Of the law had stood for three years
and been ratified by congress, he would
attack it as he attacked it now.
That's right" shouted Mr.. Enloe,
GIVE IT TO RAUM."
"Oh, no." replied Mr.. Cannon, II
will not go for Raum. becruse in Gods
chancery he is not guilty, and your
commissioner is." He said that under
the Republican regime, where an eXami-
ner, under the act of 1899, found a SOL
dier seventy years old suffering from
disability. no further inquiry was made.
He was put on the roll, not at Sc or IS.
but at S12. He believed in denouncing
fraud, but not In injustice.
Commissioner Lochren had said that
the conduct of the pension office was
honest. This was shown by the fact
that the commissioner had been forced
to re-estabish order 164 when the claim
ant was seventy-fve years of age. This
was just. A man who had gone through
the late war and was seventy-ive years
old, he believed, was necessarily phys
ically weak and that his mind sympa-
thized with his body. II was right to
presume that such men were incapaci-
tated from manual labor. Yet, such was
not always the case.
Comparing the work of Commissioner
Raum ank Commissioner Lochren,
seven months of the administration of
each showed that Raum issued 144, 900
certificates: Lochren $4,000. In the
same period Raum had rejected $1,000
claims, Lochren $1,000. Lochren had
kept up with Raum on reflections, but
Raum had beaten him two to one on
issues.
THAT'S greatly to his credit" shouted
some one on the Democratic side.
~ don't think so." replied Mr.. Can
non. land [ think my judgment will be
the judgment of history"
He desired to set nothing down in
malice, but he believed the American
people should continue to protest
against this policy until new light
should come to the men who were ad.
minstering the pension Office so that
would do justice to the men who had
been in battle TO preserve the Union
LApplause.l He did not desire to attack