Mexico weekly ledger., 1894-07-26
NINTH DISTRICT con-
GRESSMAN OPPOSES THE GOV
ERNMENT GIVING OUT
SOFT SNAPS.
lie is Heard on a Proposition 10 In
crease the Pension Rolls by Adding
ServIce-Clark's Head
is Level.


During the discussion of the Wise
bill to place the officers of the Rev.
enue Gutter Service on the retired
list at full pay after they have reach.
ed the age of 81, Mr.. Clark of Mis-.
souri, took vigorous hand. The
bill had two hours in which to be
passed or else fall back to the rear of
the calendar. Thursday it had one
hour, but Mr.. Clark talked up the
time that Wise wanted to use for
voting on the bill. To-day when it
came up for final action Mr.. Clark
proceeded to kill it, which he did.
In his remarks of Thursday he said ::
Mr.. Clark: 1t seems to me, Mr..
Chairman, that the American peo-
pie are not ready and are not willing
to begin the establishment of sys-
tenn of pensions from the civil walks
of life in this country. lam opposed
to the whole business. With all due
respect and regard for what the gen.
tleman from Florida has said, these
men are simply in the civil service.
They have life positions and draw
good pay.
! undertake to make this PROPOSE
ton without fear of successful con-
tradiction that if you will bounce
all these officers out OF the revenue
service this moment you can find
twenty competent men before sun
down to take every place so vacated,
| and they will be glad to get them.
Such fat jobs are not going begging,
sure as you live. If it could be tel
egraphed to every post-office in the
United States this morning that these
places were vacant, every member OF
this House would have from one to
fifty applications before sundown
from men who desire to fill these
places, and who are thoroughly COM
petent.
Now, | want to make this general
observation. The whole tendency OF
things here is to increase the retired
list of the Army, to increase the re-
tired list Of the Navy, to pension and
put on the retired list every man
that has had any service in connec.
ton with the Army or Navy, how
ever safe that service may have been.
1t is all wrong and opposed to the
genius of our institutions. [ am op-
posed to the whole thing. People
are anxious to secure these places
and they ought to be satisfied with
what they get. Before the Pension
Committee of this House there has
been pending ever since it was Or
ganized proposition to pension the
clerks of paymasters during the
Mexican war. They were just as
safe during that struggle as a man
who stayed at home; and yet they
gravely urge their so.called claims
in season and out of season; and
certainly they have as substantial
basis tor their demand as have the
officers provided for by this bill.
There is a proposition that bobs up
here every time an opportunity pre-
sents itself to pension the mail car
riers of the country and the clerks
in the Railway Mail Service.
In fact, everybody that has any
thing to do with the Government
appears to think in the first place
that be ought to have life tenure,
and in the second place, when he
gets to be about 60 or 62 years of
age, he thinks he ought to be billet
ed on the people at a good salary
the remainder of his life. The
whole scheme is un-American and
an outrage on the taxpayers OF the
country.
1t is alleged both in the report on
this bill and in the speech OF my
friend from Florida that this Reve-
nue. Cutter Service is particularly
hazardous. Let us see what the
truth is. There is not man in it
that ever got a thousand miles from
shore. True, they spend most OF
their time on the ocean.
1t is admitted, or all scien ce is a
lie, that life upon salt water is the
healthiest life possible. In fact, it
is recommended for invalids. AS to
the peril, not a man in this service
has been killed or seriously wound
ed for years. These men in the
Revenue Cutter Service do not
jeopardize their lives, or their limbs
or their health half as much as the
men who work in mines, or in roll
ing mills, or as an engineer on a
railroad train.
Mr.. Mallory. Will the gentleman
allow me to interrupt him there?
Mr.. Clark. Yes, sir; with pleas
ure.
Mr.. Mallory. Does not the gen.
tleman know that the revenue act
|of July 1,1799, authorizes the Pres
Ident "to cause the revenue cutters
to be employed to defend the sea-
coast and TO repel hostility to yes.
sells and commerce within their
i