The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-09-27
HOKE TALKS OF IT !
He SAYS That He Will Cut Off Ali
Frauds.
OF Course This Will Raise the Devil
with the True.
1T SEEMS THAT HOKE IS POOLING
The Real Truth Is That Pensions and
Pensioners Will Enjoy the Same
Chance to Rob and Steal.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 81 Special J.
Secretary Hoke Smith talked frankly and
cheerfullY to THE GLOBE correspondent
at the interior department to-day about
pensions. The secretary feels that the
republican newspapers of the country
have purposely misrepresented his posi-
ton upon the pension question and that
he has been held directly responsible for
acts about which he knew nothing until
after they were committed.
The secretary took as his text the de
cision rendered in the pension case Of
Charles T. Bennett, a private in company
F, Thirteenth Indiana volunteers, which
was the basis upon which an important
order was issued and about which so
much has been said. At the outset of his
conversation Secretary Smith stated that
it was wrong to suppose he was a COM
mon enemy to pensions. He actually
and co~nscientiously believed that there
has crept upon the pension rolls, through
M avenue and another, by various rul-
work of examiners and other officers of
the pension bureau, an enormous number
of persons who were not entitled to pen
sions.
"These are the ones | am after" said
the secretary, 'and they are the ones we
intend to weed out of the pension list if
they reduce the total number of pen
sioners One.half."
Although a cloture rule for the senate
seems out of the question, it now appears
to be the only means of securing impor.
tant legislation by this congress. 1t is
now an open secret that not only do the
silver senators intend to defeat a final
vote upon the silver repeal bill by wear
ing out the majority in debate, but that
the absence Of any procedure for closing
discussion and reaching a vote promises
to defeat the bills repeating the federal
election laws and the Mckinley tariff
law.
1t was openly stated upon the floor of
the senate chamber to- day that as soon
as the Tucker election bill is sent over
from the house, which is to be about
October II, a motion will be made to
substitute it for the pending silver bill,
and that a sufficient number of votes
had already been pledged to secure the
success of the move. Thus is the election
bill to displace the silver repeal bill.
Furthermore, the statement is made upon
the authority of silver senators that the
present priviiedges Of debate in the sen.
ate are to be exercised to d~feat a fual
vote upon the tariff bill that measure
which will 60 to the senate from the
house about January will contain so
many subjects of direct interest to sena.
tors that they will have an almost un-
limited field of debate, and a final vote
can be defeated comparatively easily.
1t is openly asserted upon every hand
that without cloture there will be no
'revisiOn' of the tariff by the Fifty third
congress, nor, in fact, any other impOr
tant legislation.
A number of prominent democratic
congressman, in commenting upon the
outlook, have expressed the opinion that
this congress will fail to accomplish any
thing. The serious part of the situation
from a democratic point of view is that
c%loture, proposed by the republicans, is
opposed by all of the democratic leaders,
those who are both for and against silver
repeal. They fought it bitterly when the
force bin was before the senate, and they
have ever opposed ~Cloture. They could
not well accept it now, even though it
were for a specific measure, and it should
be offered TO them as an accomplished
fact, lut it looks at this time as though
it could not be secured, even if The strong.
est efforts were made.
A clOture amendment to the rules will
not be reported from the rules committee,
all Of its members but one (Nr. AIdrich,
republican, Of Rhode Island) being op.
posed 10 it for any purpose, and if it was
brought before the senate it would excite
a more obstinate and prolonged debate
Al -