The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-12-11
MILLIONS FOR PENSIONS.
The Bill Was Passed by the House
After Discussion.
THE APPROPRIATION IS Sl4l.263,SSO.
Hopes by Predicting a Ten MIL
lion Dollar surplus.

Washington. December l0,--The house to-
day passed the pension appropriation bill
without amendment and adjourned until
Monday. The amendments offered by dem
ocrats were all ruled out ON the point OF
order that they were new legislation a.
passed the bill carries s1il .26s, $50
The debate today covered a wide range.
1t touched not only the question Of our
pension policy, but that OF civil service re-
form and the receipts and expenditures OF
the treasury under the Dingley law. on
the latter question Mr.. D!pgley made an
important statement in which ha expressed
expenditures before the close of the present
fiscal year and predicted surplus Of Sl0,
100000 next year
Washington, December i0.--At the open.
ing of the session of the house today 1t
was agreed that when the house adjourned
today 1t be to meet on Monday.
On motion Of Mr.. Foss (Rep,. III, Sat
urday, December IS was set apart for pay
ing tribute to the memory of the late Rep
resentative e. D. Cook of illinois. The
house then resumed the consideration OF
the pension appropriation bill.
At the conclusion of remarks b. Repre-
live Pearson of North Carolina secured
general debate at S:l5. Mr.. Brownwell
Ohio, said he concurred with his colleague
Brown. He believed. he said, that
Grover Cleveland has done more TO dis
credit the true spirit OF civil service reform
than all the agencies combined and lie
thought Mckinley could be relied upon to
bring it back to its proper channel
Messrs. Carmack, Gains and Sims, demo-
Gratis OF Tennessee, spoke briefly IN iaVof
of retrenchment in pensions.
These remarks drew an important state
ment from Mr. Dingley regarding the pros
pective revenue and expenditures for the
coming fiscal year. Preliminary to the
statement MIR. Dingley gave a new inter
probation of the estimated increase IN Pen
sion expenditures, conteuding that the
maximum was reached In 1893. when the
pension payments reached 1853 900 600. IN
S94 they fell TO Sl41 900 600: 1895 SAL ,000,-
GOO; 1896, $l39 900 900; 1897, $l4l 600 900,
If the expenditures for pensions during
the next fiscal year should be $1iS000.OOO,
as had been estimated, the Increase. Mr.
Dingley said, would not be due to new
legislation, but to more rapid administra
tion OF the present laws. II would therefore
involve no additional expense In the end.
The question as to the revenues and ex-
pendiures In the next year was a practical
ore which congress had to face. The state
ment OF the secretary OF the treasury. he
said, had caused much apprehension, owing
TO the fact that under new provision he
Rad been Obliged to include in The esti-
mates of expenditures s7S7 900 600 fog pub
lie works, which neither he nor the secre
tary of war believed will b. expended Mr..
Dingley said he took It for granted that
congress would exercise reasonable CON
omy The estimated deficit for the present
year, not counting the money obtained and
10 be obtained from the Pacific railways.
was SOS 900 600, The anticipatory impo -ta-
tons had he argued placed in the treasury
before July I SIS 900 900. Those lmporta-
tions had reduced the deficit las, year from
$50 600 GOO to SIS 600 900. inasmuch as the
mportatione were for consumption this
year
MIR, ninsley contendcd that In equity
that sum should be properly charged to the
receipts Of the current year. II they Were
50 charged instead of deficit there would
be a surplus this year Of 10000 900 He
figured out a surplus OF exactly that
amount $4,000 COO for the coming fiscal
year lie described the steady manner in
which the revenues had been increasing
at the rate OF one or twI millions Il month.
Although December WAS generally a bad
month, he said that il the increase contin-
ned fer the balance NJ the month, the re-.
receipts would increase $4,000 600 when he
confidently predicted hat the effect OF
the anticpatory revenues would be over
come during this year, and that after May,
1898, the revenues would exceed eXpendi>
lures. The republicans broke into repeat.
ed CGcers.
Mr. Allen DemO Of Mississippi conclud-
ed the general debate with humorous
speech
During the five minutes, Mr. Finney
CDeml e Maryland made an argument in
favor Of overlooking the civil service law,
which 7e the galleries in an uproar
The bill was then reported TO the house
ard passed. Mr Hit, chairman Of the com
mittee on foreign affairs, asking for the
Unanimous consent for the passing OF the
till for the r'ohbition Of the killing of fur
seals. 0ticoiion was made, aud Their at
$50 p. m. the house adjoJrned until Nom
day