The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-12-17

over the pension policy of the admin
istration. growing out of the item in
the urgent deficiency appropriation
bill, appropriating 100000 for special
examiners, consumed the entire day
in the House.
Under the lead OF Cannon, an assault
was made against Cleveland's pension
policy, especially that portion which
resulted in the revocation of order 164
and the subsequent suspension OF
thousands Of pensioners.
Livingston Of Georgia, and Enloe OF
Tennessee, defended the administra-
ton and Lacey of Iowa, and Morse OF
Massachusetts, opposed it.
Breckenridge took the floor and ex-
planned that the bill contained appro-
priations amounting to $1,651,S 95, the
only item antagonized being the appro-
priation of 100000 to special pension
examiners
Touching this item, Cannon thought
it time for Congress to examine the
manner in which the pension office
was being conducted. He referred to
the clause of the presidents message
declaring that every neighborhood had
its fraudulent pensioners. He review
ed the action of the department in
cutting off thousands of pensioners.
There had been much allegation of
fraud, but little had naterialized on
REORGANIZATION OF the 235 special
examiners in the department. a dozen
were employed to run down these al
legged fraudulent pensioners. All the
pensions cut off were claSSed by the
commissioner to the credit of the
amount saved by the Office One mil
lion dollars of rejected pensions had
been classified as 81 600 saved; yet
after the rough examination it was
found but $31, 900 had been actually
paid out to pensioners who had pro-
cured pensions by forgery, perjury OF
false PRESERVATION. He undertook to
say fiAre was no more fraud in the
adm alton Of the affairs Of the
pensie fice, which disbursed annu-
ally S1Sb,000 900, than in the adjudica-
ton of cases in the courts Of the
country The Fifty-f1rst Congress ap-
propriat ted S15O, 600 for pensions.
The Fifty-second Congress, with 14O
Democratic majority, appropriated
S15S. 000, 900 to meet payments on &C
count Of pensions Order 164 was re-
sponsibie for much Of this mag
naminity. Yet the present head
Secretary of the Interior now
undertook, after this construction had
stood four years, and had been ac-
Quiesced in by the Democratic House
of Representa- tives, to reverse that con-
struction. 1T was an act" said he,
shaking his fist ominously, akin to
crime. The infamous ruling of the
administration was that men receiving
pensions whose cases had been proved
were stricken from the rolls. Look at
the Bennett case, which is known from
one end of the land to the other. If
such ruling had been made by Re
publican administration. by Raum or
Bussey, after the construction Of the
law had stood three years and been
ratified by Congress, he would attack
1t, as he attacked it now"
That's right" shouted Enloe give
1t to Raum."
s'Oh, no. replied Cannon, Il will not
go for Raum because in Gods chan
Gerry he is not guilty and your commits
sioner is Comparing the work of Raum
and LOchran, seven months adminiStra-
ton of each. showed Raum had issued
144,0 600 certificates; Lochran, 1900. In
the same period Raum had rejected
81. 600 claims; Lochran, $1,000. Lochran
had kept up with Raum on the rejec-
tons, but Raum had beaten him two
to one on issues"
That's greatly to his credit" shouted
some one on the Democratic side.
I do not think So replied Cannon,
'and 1 think my Judgment win be the
judgment Of history" He did not de-
sire to attack the pension office, but
he did attack the atmosphere Of that
Office which for an honest claimant was
20 degrees below zero daughter; It
makes matters look gloomy for 300, 600
claimants under the act of 1890, whose
claims were not adjudicated and 400
900 pensioners under that law, whose
pensions were in jeopardy. Applause
on the Republican side.)
Livingston replied to Cannon. The
appropriation under discussion was to
provide for field examiners of The pen
sion Office. It cannot and old not
challenge the propriety or justice of
the appropriation. He had occupied
time in casting a shadow over the adj
ministratiOn of the pension office and
attacking Secretary Smith and Com
missioner Lochran for revoking order
1874. a Democrat, north or south, was
always under suspicion when he criti-
cised pensions. Smith was a southern
man.. out he had not been in the con-
Tederate army. Lochran had been a
soldier of the Union army, and gal
liant one. Cleveland had not been in
the army, but he could assure the
House ard the country that Justice
was and would be done by these dis
tinguished men. The applications were
be. No self-respecting man in the
lana would believe that Cleveland
Smith or Lochran, in beating the brush
for fraud, was actuated by a desire to
deprive honest soldiers of pensions. 1t
was true, however, that this war
against the unworthy and undeserving
soldier would be prosecuted vigorously
Blair. Stone, Pictler Cannon and
Bingham harrassed Livingston at
every step and Blair declared he did
not object to wedding out fraud, but
he did object to making that pretext
a cloak for deliberate conspiracy to
deprive honest pensioners of pensions
Livingston replied that the sole pur-
pose of the administration was to
purge the pension rolls of names that
dishonored them
Lacy followed Livingston, and in
opening read from the recent interview
with Lawrence T. Neil. author Of the
tariff plank Of the Democratic plat.
form. Ninety per cent of the Demo-
cratic dissatisfaction, Neil said, should
be charged to the course of the pension
office for which the administra ton
was directly responsible.
Lacy also read & memorial received
BY Cultivate from w. A Taylor. re-