The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-17
MORE TALK ABOUT PENSIONS.
THE HOUSE WINDS Up THE GEN
ERAL DEBATE on THE BILL.


ERAL DEBATE on THE BILL.
Linney Of North Carolina Incident
ally Gives the Internal Revenue
Laws Slap and Advocates Their
RepeaI-Grosv of Pennsylvania De-
MES That Congress Has Refused to
Pay the sum Awarded Great Brit
ain by the Herring sea Arbitration
Tribunal.
Washington. Jan. 16.-At the beginning
OF the proceedings Of the House to-day,
EIr. Grow, rep. of Pennsylvania. sent TO
the clerks desk 10 be read as the basis
of a statement upon question OF priv
ilege. an extract from a pamphlet publish
ed by the New York Chamber Of Com
merce. TO the effect that congress had
refused 20 pay 100000 for the seizure Of
Canadian sealers and found to be due by
the Paris tribunal of arbitration, thereby
preventing the government from settling
a debt which it was in honor bound to
pay.
on point made by Mr.. Crisp, Speaker
Reed ruled that it presented no question
of privilege; but Mr.. Grow succeeded in
denouncing the publication as false.
The House then concluded the general
debate on the pension appropriation bill.
Speeches were made. the principal top
les Of which were the honor and valor
Of the soldiers of the late war, and
denunclation of the statement made by
Mr. Bartlett. dem. of New York, in his
speech on Monday. to the effect that the
efforts to secure further pension legisla-
ton had for their object the looting of
the treasury by Messrs. Clark. rep, of
Iowa; Griffin, rep, of Wisconsin; Hatch,
rep, of Indiana: Brumm, rep, of Penn
sylvania and Mr.. Dovenor, rep, of West
Virginia.
Mr.. Linney rep, of North Carolina, an
eX-cOnfedeTate, took occasion 10 lnNelgh
against the internal revenue laws, an
nouncing his platform TO be the wlping
out of existence of the whole system and
the passage Of tariff laws which should
provide sufficient revenue for the govern
Mr.. Bartlett. dem. Of New York. clos
ing the debate in opposition to the change
in the law regarding widows pensions re-
ported in the bill, said he felt that vote
of thanks was due him from the republic
cans of the House for being the means
whereby the mouths of many OF them had
been opened and the House inundated by
the food of oratory which had ragged the
past few days. In that time he had been
made the target of attack and abuse, ana
some of the charges made against him he
thought IL might he well to refer TO. Cen
orally, the speeches. ndu Deen SOpnOmOIiC
in style and fallacious in argument Others
had been mere invective and rant; and in
one case the speaker had grossly violated
parliamentary propriety by descending in
TO profanity and coarseness. That MEM
Der, said Mr.. Bartlett, had not the cour-
age to avow the words as his own, but
put them in the mouth of one who sat be-
side him. Although the statement was
not of such a character as would warrant
him CMr BartletD in summoning him TO
the bar of the House the member was not
worthy to be so dignihed. In the course
of the speeches made by republicans on
this question, continued Mr.. Bartlett, the
policy held by many distinguished demo-
Gratis, including the senator from Mary
land, Mr., German, and the chief eXecu-
tive OF the nation, and the arguments ne
had advanced in support of that policy,
had been characterized at rot" He
would leave IL to the judgment of the
House whether any argument he had ever
had the honor to make before it, legal or
otherwise, constitutional or based on NOR
al grounds justified any one in character
Since listening to the speeches that had
been made in response to his remarks a
few days ago, Mr.. Bartlett said he had
doubted that representatives who agreed
with him were free men; whether or not
they had a right to raise voice against
lavish expenditures of the revenues of
the government without being held up to
abuse. Gentlemen on the other side, -
said he. have conjured up visions of the
circumstances in which am supposed to
1--we, and they hold II to be a crime that
] should sit, at even time, before the fire
in my own house, and indulge in the use
of tobacco. Because / may not be in act
ual want that fact is adduced upon which
to base the charge that / am destitute
of any sympathy with soldiers widows
and orphans"
In the course of the debate. Mr.. Bart
lett said, he had been charged with being
opposed to the payment of pensions at
all, and hostile to the old soldiers. These
he denounced as unqualified falsehoods.
He had also been charged with lacking in
patriotism. The true patriot, he said,
was the man who refused, for supposed
partisan and political purposes, to sane
tion an unlawful or Illegal expenditure
of the public funds. He had favored, and
would favor, special legislation to meen
special cases of necessity, and he did not
consider the payment of pensions an inn
proper depletion of the revenues of the
government or of the funds in the treas
ury.
Mr.. Bartlett read letter from a con
stituent. which commended the courage
which enabled him to stand in the midst
of ian acre of demagogues" and antag-
onize further pension legislature; and in
conclusion quoted the late Gen. Henry w.
Slocum, speaking in 1891, that it was time
to call a halt in the matter of pension
legislation.
The committee then rose.
Mr., Hooker, rep. of New York, reported
from the committee on rivers and har-
DORIS bin extending until Jan. %, 1899,