The herald., 1896-01-14
in THE HOUSE
District of Columbia Affairs and Pensions
Considered

in THE HOUSE
District OF Columbia Affairs and Pensions
Considered
WASHINGToN, Jan. 13.-The house, after
devotng an hour to the consideration of
business reported from the District of
Columbia committee today, took up the
pension appropriation bill.
General debate on the bill consumed the
day. Mr.. W. A. Stone of Pennsylvania. in
charge of the bill, explained its provisions;
Mr.. Graft of Illinois offered the amend
ment abandoned by the committee, inhib-
itng the suspension of pensions for fraud
until the fraud had been proved in
United States COURT and Mr.. Bartlett of
New York opposed the proposed extension
of the dependent act of 1890. by the re-
vival of the inhibition of widows pensions
until they had proved their dependency op
their daily labor for support. He estmat-
ed that the proposed extension would add
$4,000 names to the pension rolls.
| The day being the second Monday of the
month it was, under the rules, set aside for
consideration of business relating to the
| District of Columbia. Before Chairman
Babcock claimed the day, Morse, Repub-
lican of Mass, presented the following
resolution for reference to the committee
|
Whereas, The most mournful tragedy of
the nineteenth century has been and is now
| being enactsd under the apparent sanction
of the sultan of Turkey. by which hundreds
| of tho lands of Armenians are being ruth
| lessly aughtered i'm cold blood. Women
are being driven into captivity worse than
| death, and the inhabitants who have fled
to the mountains are dying of cold and
! starvation.
Whereas. The blood of these martyred
dead cry to heaven for justice.
Resolved, The committee on foreign
affairs consider the expediency of report
ing forthwith some expression by this
government in denunclaton of these
atrocities, and if they find that we, as
nation, are powerless to act, that we invoke
the cooperation of the allied powers to
wipe the Turkish government oif the face
of the earth and secure the freedom and
independence of Armenia.
The resolution was referred and the
house then entered upon consideration of
district business. Two unimportant bills
were reported, after which the house went
into committee of the whole for considera-
ton of the pension appropriation bill.
W. A. Stone, Republican of Pennsylva-
mia, in charge of the bill, explained its
provisions. 1t carried Sal 1925 $50, a
reduction of $5S.750 from the estimates.
| The amendments TO existing law attached
to the bill provide that pensions granted
under the act of 1890 should date from
| the first application, no matter how many
| times they had been rejected or dismissed
for defect or iniiTmity in The application,
and repealed the provision of the act of
1890, requiring widow to prove that she
was dependant for her support on her daily
labor Instead, by the terms of the amend
| ment. she must prove that her net income
does not exceed $500 year.
In answer to question Mr.. Stone said
he did not know how many widows would
! poa inns- ant
but it mattered not whether it would result
in giving pensions to one or one hundred
thousand widows. The government was
not so poor that it could not afford TO PEN
sion the widows of the defenders of the
union. (AppIause,)
Mr.. Graft, Republican of Illinois, gave
notice of an amendment he proposed to
offer, inhibiting the reduction or su,pen-
sion of pension on allegation of fraud
until such fraud had first been proved in
a United States court. The amendment
was practically the same AS that originally
drafted by the subcommittee of the com
mittee on pensions, which was abandoned
because it was thought that it txnched
upon the territory of the comml,. ae on
pensions, which proposes bringing forward
a general bill covering this ground.
Mr. Graft contended that pension was
not gratuity and congress should quiet
the anxiety in the minds of 100000 old
soldiers by making their pension a vested
rjpht.
.4r. Bartlett. Democrat of New York,
gave notice that he would raise a point of
order against Mr.. CRAFTS amendment and
also the amendment in the bill repeating
the provisions of the act of 1890. relative
to widows pensions. With reference to
the Graft amendment be believed it would
be unwise to strip the pension commits
sioner of legislative power and clothing
the machinery of United States courts with
matters that properly should be left to the
commissioners discretion. Mr.. Barnett
announced himself as supporter of pen
sions for deserving soldiers who were
wounded or contracted disease in the line
of duty. But without questioning the JUS
tice of the dependent act of 1890 he de-
clared his unalterable opposition TO "a fur
ther extension of that act, such as was pro-
posed in the pending bill. In reply to
question from Mr.. johnson, Republican of
Indiana, he expressed the opinion that the
sentiment in New York among the Demo-
Gratis and the better class of Republicans
were opposed to an extension of tue PEN
sion roll and the further looting of the
treasury.
Mr.. Bartlett called attention to the fact
that the debate on the dependant act in
both houses showed that ii was specifically
ated that the test of a widows right to
obtain pension under the act should be
her dependency on her labor for support.
He predicted that the adoption of the
| uibCiithiCHt Nouiu tle names OF
least 10000 widows 10 the rolls.
Mr.. Bingham. Republican of Pennsyl-
vania, challenged Mr.. Bartlett's estimate
of the number Of widows who would be
benefited by the amendment. The testi-
mony OF Commissioners Loohren, he said.
showed that but 600 widows claims had
been abandoned.
Mr.. Bartlett admitted that the number
of beneficiaries was conjectural, but said
his estimate came from those best in.
formed on pension statistics.
Mr.. Willis. Republican of Delaware, in
an elt quent speech of five minutes, de.
clared that it was right that every safe
guard should be thrown about the soldiers
pensions.
Mr.. Dalzell of Pennsylvania introduced
bill constituting Andrew Carnegie,
George A. Kelly, Charles Machelor, Charles
McGee and twenty six-other persons a cor.
poration under the name of the Lake Erie
and Ohio River Ship Canal Company, with
power to construct and maintain a canal
! connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio river.