The Portland daily press., 1894-03-07
SICELES At The FRONT.
Another Vigorous Assault on the
Pension Policy.
THE OLD SOLDIERS FIND MANY
WARM DEFENDERS.

General Sickles Has Only Words of Con-
demnation for the Course of His DEM
ocratic Administration-Ge Gros-
venor and Mr.. Milliken Among the
Other Speakers-Senator HilPs Resolu-
tion Calling for Revenue Tariff
Which Will Raise Revenue-Other
Washington News.
Washington, March 6-The House took
up the pension bill today with the agree
ment that debate shall be closed at p.
m. tomorrow. General Sickles, Democrat
of New York, quoted from President
Cleveiand's letter of acceptance in 1872,
his declaration on the subject OF
pensions. Upon the strength OF that
declaration, General Sickles said, many
thousand soldiers had voted for the
nominees of the Chicago convention. Ii
that declaration had been lived up to IN
the pension bureau, he believed that
most of the complaints and friction
which had arisen over the admlnlstra-
tion of the bureau would have oeen
avoided. In organizing the pension
bureau, Congress, with tender desire
for the welfare of the soldier, made the
provision that the office should pe az,
ministered under regulations approved
by the President himself. The pension
law, Mr.. .Sickles said, had been voted Tor
by all parties. The present bill was
approved on all sides. 1t appropriated
larger sum than was ever voted for
pensions by any government. He could
not agree with the commissioner OF
pensions in respect to his Interpretation
Of the law of 1893. In his letter to Con-
gress in answer to the resolution OF IN
ouiry. the commissioners said the law was
ainexact,n and inappropriate" Before
that letter was sent to Congress. his
superior should have returned it to the
commissioner with direction to treat
Congress and its legislation with more
respect. The commissioner was as faulty
in law as in manners. He need only
have consulted law dictionary to deter
mine the meaning OF the words right.
the declaration Of right contained in the
act of December 81, 1888, was accepted
by the pension Office itself long before
the act was passed The whole pension
policy of the government was based up
on the rights of the pensioner. The
country frowned when it saw the
maxims of common justice violated in
the Interior Department., in the consider
alton of the claims of the wards of the
nation. The law OF 1898 was passed
pursuant to that sentiment, and it
would stand. In conclusion, Gen.
Sickles said: Before the pension laws
were passed, the people of this country
decided from time to time, as an express
sion of their grateful appreciation of the
services of the defenders of the Union,
that ample sums of money be approprl-
gratitude. That decree is as good today
in the hearts of the American people as
ii was when made. That decree will
never be modified, rescinded or revoked
as long as one surviving soldier of the
war lives" (Applause.)
Mr.. MilIiken, Repu blican OF Maine,
said all he wanted in the pension
bureau was such administration as would
give the soldier, his widow, orphan or
dependent relative what grateful
people had decreed, he or they should
have. He had no criticism to make upon
the administration of the bureau simply
because it was Democratic, but stood in
his place to denounce the slanders
uttered upon the soldiers.
Mr.. Grosvenor, Republican OF Ohio,
said that not a pension appropriation
bill. with the single exception OF the
Mexican veteran bill, which it was
claimed, was the source of the greatest
abuse ever known in the pension bureau.
received the votes of majority OF DEM
ocrats in Congress and not single
Republican vote was recorded against
any of them. He said eff the President
had gone to Illinois, down near st;
Louis. and taken a soldier who lay all
night wounded and unconscious on the
~ - op6 whn hac
now an Enclosed bullet wound through
him, for secretary of the interior there
would have been none of this trouble.
If was because such men as VIM. X.
Morrison, who was Democrat before the
present President knew the difference
between Democracy and humbug, were
excluded from his counsels, because he
chose men whom fame knew not, that
the present condition of things exists.
(Apasule). Mr.. Grosvenor quoted the
statement in the Presidents message
that thousands of neighborhoods of the
country had fraudulent pensioners. He
denounced the statement as slanderous
and untrue. He said that more frauds
were committed every day in the New
York custom house than were COM
mitted by all the Union veterans to-
gether. If, he said there were fraud
ulent pensioners on the roll the COM
missioner of pensions should be I'M
peached for incompetency.
The discussion was continued by
Messrs. Coombs, Democrat of Me-" York,
and Blair, Republican of New Haamp-
shire. Mr.. Malone, Republican of Penn
sylvania, said he believed that fully 25,-
600 Democratic soldiers in his state
voted the Republican ticket at the re-
cent election to express their opinion of
the present pension policy of the ad-
ministration.
The committee arose and the House
adjourned.