The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-14
THE HOUSE.


the second Monday of the month, was.
under the rules. set aside for considera-
ton of business relating to the District
of Columbia. Before Chairman Babcocz
claimed the day, Morse Rep) Mass,
presented the following resolution for
reference to the committee on foreign
affairs:
Whereas, the most mournful tragedy
of the nineteenth century has been and
is now being enacted, under the appar-
ent sanction of the sultan of Turkey,
by which hundreds of thousands of Ar
menians are being ruthlessly slaughtered
in cold blood: women being driven into
captivity worse than death, and the in
habitants 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. That the committee on for
eign affairs consider the eXpediency of
reporting forthwith some expression by
atrocities, and if they find that we as a
nation are poWerless to act, that we in
woke the cooperation of the allied pow
ers to wipe the Turkish government off
the face of the earth and secure the free
dom and independence IF Armenia.
The resolution was referred.
The house then entered upon the con-
sideration Of District business.
Two unimportant bills were reported,
after which the house went into COM
mittee of the whole for the considera-
tin of the pension appropriation bill
Mr. W. A Stone (Rep) Pa in charge
of the bill, explained its provisions. 1t
carried $141, 325, 800 reduction of S5S, 100
from the estimates. The amendments to
the existing law attached to the bill pro-
vided that pensions granted under the
act of 1890 should date from the first ap-
plicatiCn. no matter how many times
they had been rejected or dismissed for
defect or informality in the application,
ana repealed the provision OF the act Oh
$780, requiring widow to prove that she
was dependent for her support on her
daily labor. Instead by the terms of the
amendment, she must prove that her net
income does not exceed $500 per year.
In answer to a question, Mr.. Stone
said he did not know how many widows
would receive pensions under the amend
ment. 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 pension the widows Of the
defenders of the union. (Applause.)
Mr.. Graft Rep0 H., gave notice of an
amendment he proposed to offer, inhiDtt-
ing the reduction or suspension of pen
sion on allegation or fraud until such
fraud had first been proved IN an united
States court. The amendment was prac-
tically the same as that originally drafted
by the subcommittee on pensions which
was subsequently abandoned because it
IhOusnC
territory of the committee on invalid
pensions, which purposes bringing for
ward a general bill to cover this ground.
Mr.. Graft contended that a pension was
not gratuity, and congress should quiet
anxiety in the minds of 800, 600 old soldiers
by making their pensions vested rights.
Mr.. Bartlett Oem.) n. Y, gave notice
that he would raise point of order
against Mr.. Crafts amendment, and also
the amendment in the bill repeating the
provision of the act of 1890, relative to
widows pensions. With reference to the
pension commissioner of legislative power
and clothing the machinery of the United
States courts with matters that properly
should be left to the commissioners dis
erection, Mr.. Bartlett announced himself
as a supporter of pensions for deserv-
ing soldiers who were wounded or con-
tracted disease in the line of duty. But
without questioning the justice of the
dependent act of 1890, he declared his I'M
alterable opposition to a further extern
the pending bill. In reply to a question
from Mr. Johnson Rep) Ind, he eX-
pressed the opinion that the sentiment in
New York among Democrats and the bet
ter class of Republicans was opposed to
an extension of the pension roll, and the
further footing of the treasury.
WIDOWS RIGHT.
Mr.. Bartlett called attention to the fact
that the debate on the dependent act in
cally stated that the test of the widows
right to obtain a pension under the act
should be her dependency on her labor
for support He predicted that the adop-
ton of the amendment would add the
names of at least $4,000 widows to the
rolls.
Mr.. Bingham (Rep) Pa, challenged Mr.
Bartlett's estimate of the number of
widows who would be benefited by the
amendment in the bill. The testimony of
Commissioner Lochren, he said, showed
that but 5000 widows claims had been
abandoned
beneficiaries was conjectural. but said
his estimate came from those best in
formed on pension statistics.
Mr.. Willis (Rep.) Bel, in an eloquent
speech of five minutes, declared that it
was right that every safeguard should
be thrown about the soldiers pension.
At 4:35 the committee rose and the
house adjourned.