Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-01-15


bcrs. who crowded the pit in front of the
desk
Mr. Cummings said: 81 shall heartily
support the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Illinois" tMr. GraifD
(Applause) II shall raise no objection 10
II nor call a point Of order upon II. 1t is
time that something radical saould De
done with the Pension-Oiiice. There Is
not a soldiers widow. there is not Vete-
ran soldier to-day drawing pension VINO
is not standing daily and hourly under me
apprehension that some coward may s,nNe
him from the pension-rolls. After years OF
natient waiting. after examination boards
have sat upon his case. and he mas re-
ceived his pension. suddenly. wlhout
warning. II Is withdrawn from MN. NO
charge Is made against him, ana no
opportunity Is offered him to repei any
charge If made, and as the tesoiu'.Vii
from Illinois strikes at the root Oh 'he
trouble. | will take that II ! cannon set
anything else, to ascertain why II - 'i@'
the Union veterans are stabbed IN the
back from the very quarter III "hicH
they should receive encomiums, encour-
agement. and Justice Qrolonsed APP
plause) -,.,.. .ho
NOW. / make no charges against 'he
pension Department; but j do say thls'
that rnnrENgLlAs llcN%lAt0 4Ah'N NN'''N
INV attention where boards of examiners
bovc steadily declared that the soldier
w. entitled 10 a pension. and yet 1t has
bee, rejected in the Office here In Wash
lfr Stewart Republican. Of New Jer-
GOV. Is II not true that for the last two
an5 a half years the Pension Bureau has
been emphatically hostile to the pension
claims of old soldiers?
Mr.. Cummings | cannot say that-out
t has been emphatically unjust to them.
(tpplause)
SOPHISTRY OUT OF PLACE.
Now. sir. the speech l neard from
my colleague (Mr. BartletD yesterday Is
not calculated TO remove the unhappy I'M
pressions from the minds OF the soldiers
and their widows Cold sophistry may be
good. but you had better apply 1t to the
Pacific railroads than to the pensioners
n .oud applause) Il repudiate that speech
on behalf Of the constituents which l
represent. Republicans as well as Demo-
Gratis. ] repudiate the speech on behalf
of the veterans of New York; ] repudiate
the speech on behalf of the Grand-Army
posts and the widows who are drawing
pensions in the city Of New York. l
repudiate the speech on behalf OF the
Democracy Of New York city-on behalf
Of the Tammany- Hall Democracy of New
York" daughter and applause)
"Sir, | have not forgotten, and you VIII
not forget. whichever side of the House
YOU stand on. that Tammany Hall or
ganized. equipped. and sent 10 the iront
one Of the finest regiments that ever APP
reared i'm the Army Of the Potomac
Their bravery and their gallantrE al
Balls Bluff and at Gettysburg challenged
the admiration OF the world. / repudiate
on behalf Of The Tammany Society. VINO
equipped and sent that regiment TO IN
front. the speech that was uttered on
this floor yesterday by man claiming
to represent tnat Democracy (AppiauseJ
"Tammany Han has always 0een loyal
to the Union. Tammany Hall has al
WAYS been loyal to the veterans OF the
war. | challenge any man TO point out
one flaw"
Mr.. W. A. stone Republican), of Penn
svlvania: Can you not go a little further
and repudiate the speech of the gem
ueman who said that every neighborhood
was honeycombed with pension frauds
throughout this country
Mr.. Cummings: II | was the Commis-
sioner Of Pensions, | might be able to
DO so knowingly. Appause)
RATIO OF FRAUDS.
Now. Mr.. Chairman l speak on be-
half of every veteran, on behalf of every
widow, on behalf OF every orphan VINO
draws q pension in the United States.
They are all included in this work at the
Pension Office up here. one fraud ought
not to punish forty innocent people. and
believe that the ra'te would reach only
one TO thousand. ] believe that for
every fraudulent pensioner who has been
stricken from the list or suspended, at
least a thousand who were receiving only
yheir lust du from the government have
been punished.
Il shall vote for the proposition OF the
gentleman from Illinois with pleasure
and if it fails il will have one good ei-
feet. 1t will call the attention of The
commissioner Of Pensions to the fact
that the people of the country are
watching him. and that in process Of time
we snail have a tribunal. either there or
somewhere else. that Will do justice 10
the men who fought in the Onion armies
in the great rebellion" (Applause)
The committee rose at The conclusion
of Mr.. Cummings speech, and Mr.. Cur
tis Republican), of New York, present
ed the Military Academy appropriation
bill which was placed on the calendar
Sneaker Reed announced the following
members of the joint committee on the
Inaup1lration OF the Chickamauga and
Chattanooga National Park: Messrs.
Grosvenor. Keifer. Strong, Avery, and
Bowers Republicans), and Messrs.
Wheeler Cox Of Tennessee, Maddox, ana
Crisp Democrat.
nv the admission of Ciah as a state,
and the consequent retirement of Dele
gate Cannon, a reassignment of delegates
to commit ee-service was made neces-
sary. and the Speaker announced the as
signment Of Delegate Murphy Repubi-
cam. of Arizona. to the committees on
Claims. Mines. and Mining, and Coinage,
Weights. and Measures, and OF Delegate
FLYNN Republican. OF Oklahoma, to the
Committee on Agriculture.
AT AS o'clock the House. on motion
Of w. A. Stone. adjourned.