The morning news., 1898-12-09
VEST WAKES MOST EMPHATIC.
PASSING PENSION BILLS WITH No
QUORUM MUST BE STOPPED.

Men of the south should No Longer
Have DeIicacy in Directing to the
Course of PrOcedure-Can Now OBJ
iect to the SpOiIatiOn without
Having Their Motives Impugned.
believes in Liberal Pensions, But
wants Proper Procedure.
washington. Dec. Sat the opening Of
to-day's session of the Senate it was de-
cjded that adjournment to-day be until
Monday next
It was also determined TO give one hour
Of to-day's session to the consideration of
pension bills
In connection with the consideration of
b;;js on the pension calendar, Mr.. Vest of
Missouri said: q do not want 10 be cap
tious about this pension business, and do
MOI want TO set myself up as a reformer
but his thing of passing lot of pension
bills simply by the reading of the titles,
and when a quorum of the Senate is not
present. has got to be stopped
After further referring TO the mefhods
by which pension bills are passed by the
senate. Mr. Vesi said: Men of the South
have sat here and permitted these bills
TO be passed, having some delicacy about
entering objections 10 the course of pro-
cedure Recent events have obhterated
sectionalisrn, and we are once more united
and are one country and one treasury. We
can therefore come here and object TO TINS
spoifalion and | use the word advisedly
without fear of having our motives i'm
pugned or our words msconsrued.
I'VE are paying out in round figures
s1n.0O0.OO0 annually for pensions, and it IS
our duty to find QUE why il is that, thirty
three years after the close of the CIVIL
war. this thing of pension claims shows
so enormous a sum. l have been crt-
cised by some of my people because have
not taken a more determined stand on
this pension question l want, however,
10 nav munificently and literally in pen
sions / regard such payment as a sacred
duty, but l do object 10 the passage OF
these bills without proper consideration,
and without the same restrictions that
are hedged about other measures.
Mr.. Galinger of New HomDshire, as
chairman Of the pension committee, agreed
with Mr.. Vest in his desire 10 have the
pension bills carefully considered. He
thought quorum of the Senate ought 10
be in attendance when the pension caien-
dar was considered.
During the consideration OF
bills on the pension calendar,
Mr.. Caffery of Louisiana, introduced this
resolution:
"That it is the sense of the Senate of
the United States that the President en-
ter into negotia tions with the government
of Great Britain for the purpose of aDro-
eating or modifying the Clayton-BuiWer
treaty, so far and 10 the extent the same
may be deemed to prevent the United
States from owning, constructing, con-
trolling or operating an inter-oceanic ca
nal across the Isthmus of Darien."
At the expiration of the one hour al
lotted to The consideration of the pension
calendar, twenty-six bills had been pass
ed. At / 80 o'clock the Senate went into
executive session.
At 2:15 o'clock the Senate resumed busi-
ness in open session MIR. Morgan called
up the Nicaragua canal bill with a view
TO making it the unfinished business. He
moved that The Senate proceed to the con-
sderation of the bin.
Instantly Mr.. Pett.grew moved to aa-
journ. On this motion the ayes and noes
were demanded. The vote resulted Il
ayes, AZ noes.
Nr Morgan's motion to proceed VIII
the consideration of the Nicaraguan OIL
was then carried, and after the bill hao
been lad before the Senate, thus becom-
ing the unfinished business, the senate
on motion of MIR. Morgan, at 2:2o p. m
adjourned until Monday.