The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-11
PENSION BILL FIRST TO PASS.
AMENDMENTS TO CORRECT EXIST
ING ABUSES KILLED.

Governments PENSION POl1cy, C1NlI
service Reform and the Receipts
and Expenditures of the Treasury
Under the DingIey Law-Mr. Ding
ley Enthuses the Republicans by
Claiming the Receipts Will soon
Exceed the Expenditures.
Washington, Dec. '1O.-The House to-day
passed the pension appropriation bill with
out amendment, and adjourned till Mon
day.
The amendments offered by the demo-
Gratis TO correct alleged existing abuses,
were ruled out on the point of order that
they were new legislation.
As passed the bill carried Sal 269, $50.
The debate to-day covered a wide range.
II touched not only the question of our.
nension policy, but that of The civil serv-
ice reform, and the receipts and expendi-
tures of the treasury under the Dngley
law on the latter question, Mr. Dngley
made an important statement, in which he
exnressed the opinion that the receipts
wouId equal the expenditures before the
close of the present fiscal year, and pre-;
dicted a surplus of 100000 next year.
Az the openig of the session it was
agreed that when the House adjourned to-
day that it be to meet on Monday.
On motion of MIR. Foss, rep, of Illinois,
Saturday Dec. IS, was set apart for pay
ing tribute to the memory of the late E.
D. Cooke of Illinois.
The House then resumed the consldera-
ton Of the pension appropriation BILL
which was debated yesterday.
Mr. Brown, rep, of Ohio, attacked the
civil service law because it protected some
of the pension examining boards appoint
ed under the last administration. He styled
il an denomination" and was Justify APP
plauded by many of his colleagues. He
said the soldiers of his district regarded
this law as inimical to their interests and
he favored its repeal or radical modifica-
ton. He declared that the President was
mistaken when he affirmed that the civil
service law had the approval of the people.
The republicans and the press of his dis
trict had denounced it. The last republican
state convention of Ohio had declared
against the law and on the platform he
stood If disloyalty to the law was disloy-
atty to the republican party, then he was
disloyal. Great applause in the galleres.)
At the conclusion of Mr.. Browns re-
marks the House, by unanimous consent
agreed to close general debate on the bill
at 3:15 o'clock.
Mr.. Bromwell, rep, of Ohio, said he
concurred with much said by his col
league, MT. Brown, out ne insisted tndC
true civil service reform was the cardinal
principle of republicanism. He believed,
ne said that Grover Cleveland had done
more to discredit the true spirit of civil
service reform than all the agencies COM
bned and he thought Mr. Mckinley could
be relied upon to bring it back into it's
proper channel.
Mr.. Sullivan, DEM, of Mississippi, in
support of an argument against the pay
ment of pensions to those who were veal
thy, and did not need them, quoted at
length from an article recently written. by
Gen. H. V. Boynton, whose testimony
against abuses in the present system, he
said, was entitled to respectful considera-
ton by the other side.
Messrs. Camack Gaines and Sims,
dems., of Tennessee, spoke briefly in IA
vor of Tetrenchment in pension eXpendi-
lures.
These remarks drew an important state
ment from Mr.. Dingley regarding the
prospective revenues and expenditures for
the coming fiscal year. Preliminary to
the statement, Mr.. Dingley gave a new in
depreciation of the estimated increase in
pension expenditures, contendng that the
maximum was reached in 1888 when the
pension payments reached $159. 100000 In
1894 they fell to $141 900 900; 1895 $141 900 coz;
1896, $139,O00OOO, and in 1897, $141,0O0O0O. If
the expenditures for pensions during the
next fiscal year should be $14S,000000, as
had been estimated, the increase, Mr..
Dingey said, would not be due to new
legislation but to more rapid administra-
ton of the present laws. 1t would, there
fore, involve no additional expense in the
end.
The question as to the revenue and ex-
Uenditures fer the next fiscal year, pro-
ceeded Mr.. Dingley. was a practical one
which congress had to face. The state
ment of the Secretary of the Treasury, he
said, had caused much apprehension ow-
ing to the fact that under a new provision
of law he had been obliged to include in
the estimates of expenditures, $4,000 900
for public works. which neither he nor the
Secretary of War, nor any other well in
formed person believed would be expended
Counting this the estimated deficit he
said, will be $21 100000
He violated no confidence when he said
that the Secretary of the Treasury. and
the President were confident that the re-
ceipts next year would exceed the expen-
dtures.
Mr.. Dingley said he took it for granted
that congress would exercise reasonable
economy. The estimated deficit for the
present year, not counting the money OBJ
timed and to be obtained from the Pa
Cic railways, was SIS, 900 900. The antici-
IItory importations had, Mr.. Diugley ar
gued, placed in the treasury before July
] $3S 900, 900. Those importations had re-
duced the deficit last year from $56, 900 coo
10 $S,0O00O0. Inasmuch as the importa-
tons were for consumption this year, Mr.
Dingley contended that in equity that sum
should be properly charged TO the receipts
of The current year. If they were so
charged instead of a deficit, there would
be- a surplus this year of $10,000OOO.
MIR. Dingley figured out a surplus of
! exactly that amount (S1OO00,00O for the
coming fiscal year. He described the
4 steady manner i'm which the revenues had
been Increasing at the rate of $lOO0,O0O or
Il $4,000 a month. Although December
Was generally a bad month for importa-
tons, he said that if the increase for the
II FIRST nine days of this month We're con-
tnued, the receipts this month would in
n crease from $25,000,000 in November to
n SD00,000 in December.
When he confidently predicted that the |
effect of the anticipatory revenues would
Al dI DE overcome during this fiscal year. |
and that after May or June, 1898, the reve-
A il's would exceed the expenditures, the |
n !'unlican side broke into repeated cheers. |
4 AIR. Allen, dem, of Mississippi, conelud- |
4 " The general debate with a humorous
y