The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1898-12-22
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2z, 1898.
WASHINGTON.
From our Regular Correspondent.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10Th, 1898.
Senator Vest made spirited attack
on the evils of the present pension
system, saying that the government
had fallen into a most iniquitous ex-
penditure by its ill-advised Legislation
and thorough political Influences"
and was now acting as sort of po-
litical accident insurance company.
He declared that he did not wish to
deprive a single honest applicant of
his pension, but he did wish to have
the abuses stopped. He said that al
though Illinois had furnished $4,000
more soldiers for the civil war than In
diana did; that the pension payments
in Indiana exceeded those in Illinois
by $I,5oo,ooo, and charged that the
reason was that Indiana was a pivotal
state politically, and that it was a no.
torious fact that pensions had been
granted to almost every applicant in
districts that were close.
The Lode immigration bill is
thought to have received its death
blow, last week, when the House, by
majority vote, declined to take it
from the Speakers table, where it has
been since it passed the Senate, early
IN the last session. This makes twice
that the House has refused to take
the bill up, and it is regarded as very
doubtful whether its friends will make
another attempt.
Representative De Almond, of Mis-
souri, had the pleasure of nagging
Gar Reed into making a speech last
week. The incident was started by
Representative Grow,of Pennsylvania,
Republican, making speech attack
ing the gag rules of the House. Mr..
De Almond then took the floor and
charged that Reed had compelled the
Committee on Rules to refrain from
reporting a new set of rules, in order
that the rules of the last House, sup
posed to have been adopted temporar-
lily at last years extra session, might
continue in force. Mr.. Reed tried to
wriggle out by being funny. He
made the House laugh-any clown
could do that-but he didn't convince
anybody.
COL Bryan was in Washington last
week, comforting with the Democratic
leaders in Congress.
When Boss Platt was asked whether
anything else besides the demands of
his private business had influenced
Secretary Bliss to resign the portfolio
of Secretary of the Interior, he could
hardly keep his face straight. He
didn't answer the question, in words,
he wasn't expected to. Bliss was taken
into the Cabinet to head off demand
made by Platt, and he has been used
for the same purpose at various times
since. So Platt is grieving over his
resignation. Indeed, it is altogether
probable that Platt has done his part
to push along the petty annoyances
which have resulted in convincing Mr..
Bliss that his private business needs
his attention. While it is not likely
that the resignation of Mr.. Bliss was
brought about by any open rupture, it
was probably the elimination of dis
satisfaction because of a thousand
and one little things, no one of which
is important enough to be assigned as
reason for resignation. 1t has been
an open secret in Washington that
Mr.. Bliss didn't like his job.
Representative Bailey, of Texas,
has made a statement concerning his
attitude towards General Wheeler and
three other members of the House,
who hold commissions in the volun.
teer army. He quotes section 6 ol
Article I, OF the Constitution: "That
no person, holding any Office under
the United States, shall be member
of either House during his continu
ance in Office" and cites two cases in
which the House decided members to
have forfeited seats, one by accepting
a majors commission in the District
of Columbia Militia, and the other,
by becoming Colonel of volunteer
regiment, in the Mexican war. Mr.
Bailey thus defines his own position
"I am one of those who believe that
it is the highest duty of every man to
obey the law and to respect the Con-
stitution, and I have little patience
with the weak suggestion that Mem.
ber of Congress shall shrink from his
sworn duty because public sentiment
would allow brave and distinguished