The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-03-12
Cemeteries. Horses and cews.

| Washington, March 1.-Sweeping criticisms that congress is neglecting domestic affairs altogether to meddle with international questions do not ap- 1 pear to be wholly merited, as instanced in the bill just reported from the house committee on military affairs, to allow superintendents of national cemeteries 1 to keep horse and a COW for their own use and benefit, The report of the com mittee made by MT. Tracey of Missouri treats exclusively of the advisability of nullifying the order of the quartermas
 ter general of the army issued October l9, 1895, dscontinuing the practice of keeping domestic animals and fowls of all kinds in or near national cemeteries. 1 The report says:
 Tt may not be improper to note in passing that well defined tradition yet l fingers among the people in remote sec
 tions of the country that congress is
 the lawmaking power and that it's en-
 actments can only be properly review l ed. and, upon constitutional grounds, 1 revised by the supreme court. That l tradition may not have entirely disap- l peared from the more central portions I of the Union, but recent experience has
 given 1t Q hollow-eyed, sad and deject- | ed look, which appealed strongly to the
 sympathies of the committee. They
 sought the opinion of the distinguished officer touching the merits of the bill
 before them in deference to the disa-
 bled condition of the tradition men,
 toned, and with the hope that his su-
 perlor wisdom might contribute heal- ling balm that would infuse into it something of it's old-time strength and ivigor. Vain hope. Quartermaster Gen. ! eral BacheIder further advised that
 the necessity for congressional action upon minor subjects is not seen, that
 the superintendents are under proper
 control, comfortable and well disciplin- 1 ed The committee confess to de- 1 gree of embarrassment in attempting
 to invade field thus summarily closed with the notice of no hunting on these
 grounds and with the further notice ' that the intended invasion will be sub- versive of the discipline and control of l the superintendents and prejudicial to l their comfort 7
 1 The report continues:
 Tt is painful to contemplate an old
 soldier. superintendent of national cemetery. dwelling in the midst of the
 graves of his dead comrades, thinking
 of nothing, dreaming of nothing but l how to become a millionaire from the profits of a dairy, stable, hennery,
 etc. but we are forced to do it. for the quartermaster general informs us that superintendents were allowed to keep 7 l., hut ,-;,-i- lege was abused A few superintend- ents were found to be forgetful of the government and of their trust. They
 sacrificed their honesty to selfish indul-
 gence and gain in personal economy at the expense of the government which harbored them. It was found that for age provided for public animals was
 used for private domestic animals, such
 as are referred to in this bill, and that coal and other supplies were traded i for forage for these private domestic
 animals.
 "If there is anything more horrible l than 6 private domestic animal in the Ineighborhood of cemetery. the quar- termaster general has evidently not made it's acquaintance.
 | "But the climax is yet to come. Con- gress is solemnly informed that as we'll
 might q law be passed which would in- wade his household and affect his do- mestie concerns in matters relating to his family, his duties, his cares, his ! worship
 "The analogy is so plain that one can almost feel it. There is a most strik- ing similarity between law which al lows the superintendent of national cemetery to keep a private horse and q
 COW and law which compels him to marry or prescrbes for him a life of celibacy; which required him to discard meat and live on vegetables. or wash
 his own clothes instead of employing q washerwoman; which requires him to
 attend church twice on Sunday, and prescribes the church to which he must go."
 In conclusion the committee. moved
 by spirit of amity and with the high
 est regard for the quartermaster gen
 eral of the army and the sacred do- main over which he presides with so much jealousy and zeal, recommends the passage of this bill.