The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-01-14
In the House.

at o CLOCK the senate auJourneu until
tomorrow.
In the House.
Washington. jan 13.-To-day being
the second Monday of the month. was.
under the rules, set aside for the con-
sideration of business relating to the
District of Columbia. Before Chair
man Babcock claimed the day, Morse.
republican, Massachusetts,, presented
the following resolution for reference
to the committee on foreign affairs:
Whereas. The most mournful trag-
edy of the ninteenth century has been
and Is now being enacted, under the
apparent sanction of the sultan OF
Turkey, by which hundreds of thou
sands of Armenians are being ruthless
ly slaughtered in cold blood, women
being driven into captivity worse than
death and inhabitants who have fed
to the mountains are dying of cold and
starvation.
Whereas, The blood of these mar
tyred dead cry to heaven for justice,
BE it resolved, That the committee
on foreign affairs consider the expedi-
ency of reporting forthwith some ex-
preston by the government in denun-
citation of these atrocities, and If they
find that we, as a nation, are powerless
to act, that we invoke the cooperation
of the civilized powers to wipe the
Turkish government off the earth and
secure the freedom and independence
of Armenia"
The resolution was referred The
house then entered upon the considera-
tion of district business. Two unim-
portant bills were reported, after which
the house went into committee of the
whole for consideration of the pension
appropriation bill.
w. A. Stone. republican, Pennsyl-
vania, in charge of the bill. explained
it's provisions 1t carried $141, 1926, $50, a
reduction of S4S,750 from the estimates.
The amendments OF the existing law
attached TO the bill provided that PEN
sions 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 informity in the application, and re-
pealed the provision of the act of 1890,
requiring a widow to prove that she
was dependent for her support on her
daily labor. Instead, by the terms df
the amendment she must prove THAI
year.
In answer to a question, Stone said
he did not know how many widows
would receive pensions under the
amendment, but IT mattered not
whether it would result in giving to
one or 100, 900 widows The govern
ment was not so poor that it could not
afford to pension the widows of the
n ~
Graft, republican, Illinois, gave notice
of an amendment he proposed to offer,
prohibiting the reduction or suspension
of pension unless allegation of fraud
had first been proved in a United States
count. The amendment was practically
the same as that originally drafted by
the subcommittee ON pensions, which
was subsequently, abandoned because it
WIS thought 1t trenched upon the terri
tory of the committee on invalid PEN
sions, which proposes bringing forward
a general bin to cover this ground.
Graft contended that a pension was not
"a gratuity, and congress should quiet
the anxiety in the minds of 900, 900 old
soldiers by making their pensions vest
ed rights.
Bartlett, democrat, New York, gave
notice that he would raise point of or
der against CRAFTS amendment and al
so the amendment In the bill repeating
the provision OF the act of 1890, relative
TO widows pensions. With reference
TO the Graf amendment. he believed ii
would be unwise to strip the pension
commissioner of legislative power and
clothing the machinery of the United
States courts with matters that prop
erly should be left to the commission
er's discretion. Bartlett announced
himself as a supporter of pensions for
deserving soldiers who were wounded
or contracted disease en the Zine of duty.
but without questioning the justice OF
the dependent act OF 1890, he declared
his unalterable opposition TO a further
extension of that act, such as was pro-
posed in the pending bill In reply to a
question from Johnson, republican,
Indiana, he expressed the opinion that
the sentiment in New York among the
democrats and uhe better class of re-
pubhcans was opposed TO an extension
of the pension roll and the further loot
ing of the treasury.
Bartlett called attention to the fact
that the debate on the dependent act
On both houses showed that N was spe-
officially stated that the test of the WI
dows' right to obtain a pension under
the act should be her dependency on her
labor for support. He predicted that the
adoption of the amendment would add
the names of at least $4,000 widows to
the rolls.
Bingham. republican. Pennsylvania,
challenged Bartlett's estimate of the
number OF widows VINO would be bene-
fitted by the amendment In the bill The
testimony OF Commissioner Lochren, he
said. showed that but 5000 widows
claims had been abandoned.
Bartlett admitted the number of ben
eficiaries was CJnjectural, but said mis-
estimate came from those best informed
on pension statistics.
willis. republican. Delawa.re, in an
eloquent speech of FIVE minutes, declar-
ed that az was right that every safe
guard should BE- thrown about the SOL
diers' pensions.