The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-15
Defenders of the Nation Met in
an Unfriendly Spirit at
the Bureau.
EMPLOY ARBITRARY METHODS.
An Amendment to Prevent the Drop.
ping or Decrease of Pensions Except
Upon Proof of Fraud.

House to-day.
Inc House proceeded at once in commit
tee OF the whole, Perkins (R.) of Illinois
In the chair, to further consider the gen.
eral pension appropriation bill. Northway
(h.) OF Ohio Was the first speaker, answer
ing the criticisms made by Bartlett 3D. of
New York yesterday. Northway said
there was in the administration of the
Pension Bureau narrow. contracted. I'M
friendly and unjust spirit, compelling the
pensloner to approach the bureau in q
crlnging, supplicating attitude. The
spirit OF the bureau compelled the soldier
To assume a burden which ought not to be
put on him and which misrepresents the
sentiments of the country to its old de-
lenders. In support of this general state
ment Northway instanced rulings, es-
pecially upon the phrase "totaI disabil-
lty," by the Pension Bureau, which he
SAID should bring tingle of shame to the
cheek OF every man in the Nation permit
ting such policy to be pursued. ZAP
plause.
Hemenway (R.) of Indiana spoke in
favor OF the amendment proposed by Graft
(R.) OF Illinois, which forbids the dropping
or decrease OF any pension except upon
PROOF OF fraud on the part of the pensioner
In competent court.
Gibson (R.) of Tennessee said that the
Pension Office was a great court-the
greatest that the world had ever known;
yet there was not syllable OF law pre-
scriblng the course of procedure before it.
The result was that it was an arbitrary
court, court that was tyrannical and
unjust.
Walker (R.) of Virginia, who com
manded the famous "Stonewalp' Brigade,
said he rose as a representative of the
South and as a Confederate soldier who
followed the fortunes OF his comrades from
Manassas to Appomattox to say that the
gentleman from Indiana (Hemenwav) to-
tally Inexperienced the sentiment of his
people and the Confederate soldiers.
There was none of them, he said, with
possibly very few exceptions, who did not
sanction and approve the payment of pen
sions to Federal soldiers which would keep
them from suffering or distress. APP
plause.
kirkpatrick (R.) of Kansas spoke of
what he called the extraordinary regula-
lions adopted by the Pension Office.
Poole (R.) of New York made partial
defense of the bureau, and then Cummings
D.) of New York made the closing speech
of the day, which was the sensation of the
session. He said:
81 shall heartily support the amend
ment offered by the gentleman from Hi
nois (Graff). [Applanse.l I shall raise
no objection to it or call point of order
upon it. 1t is time that something radical
shall be done with the Pension Office.
There is not soldiers widow, there is
not veteran soldier to-day drawing a
pension who is not standing daily and
hourly under the apprehension that some
thing cowardly may strike him from the
pension rolls. Alter years of patient wait
ing, after examining board upon examin-
ing board has sat upon his case and he
has received pension, suddenly with
out warning it is withdrawn from
him; no charge is made against him
and no opportunity offered him
to repel any charge, if made, and as the
resolution of the gentleman from Illinois
strikes at the root of the trouble I will
take that if l cannot get anything to
ascertain why it is that the Union vet
Grams are stabbed from the back from the
very quarter in which they should receive
encomiums, encouragement and justice
Prolonged applause.
Now l make no charges against the
pension department., but l do say this:
that repeatedly instances have come to
my attention where boards of examiners
have steadily declared that the soldier was
entitled to pension. and yet it has been
rejected In the Office here in Washington"
Stewart (R.) of New Jersey said s'Is it
not true that for the last two and half
years the Pension Bureau has been en-
phatically hostile to the pension claims of
old soldiers? p"
Cummings said: "I cannot say that, but
it has been emphatically unjust to them.
lApplause.l No, sir, the speech 1 heard
from my colleague (Bartlett) on this floor
is not calculated to remove the apprehen-
sion from the minds of the soldiers and
their widows. Cold sophistry may be good,
but you had better apply it to tie Pacific
railroads than to the pensioners. Loud
applause. repudiate that speech on be-
half of the constituents whom I represent,
Republicans as well as Democrats; / repu-
date the speech on behalf of the veterans
of New York: I repudiate the speech on
behalf of the Grand Army posts and the
widows who are drawing pensions in the
city of New YORK; [ repudiate the speech
on behalf of the Democracy Of New York
City-on behalf of the Tammany Hall
Democracy of New York. Laughter and
applause.l Sir, l have not forgotten and
you will not forget, whichever side of the
House you stand on, that Tammany Hall
organized, equipped and sent to the front
one of the. finest regiments that ever APP
peared in the Army of the Potomac. Their
bravery and their gallantry at Balls Bluff
and Gettysburg challenged the admiration
OF the world.
~ repudlate on behalf of the Tammany
Society, who equipped and sent that regi-
ment to the front, the speech that was
uttered on this floor yesterday by man
claiming to represent that Democracy.
[Applause.] Tammany Hall has always
been loyal to the Union. Tammany Hall
has always been loyal to the veterans of
the war. | challenge any man to point
out one flaw
w. A. Stone (R.) of Pennsylvania