The National tribune., 1901-02-07
THE COURT OF PENSION APPEALs BILL.


press last week we had the satisfaction OF
reporting to the comrades that the House
Committee on Invalid Pensions had, de.
spite the opposition of Chairman Sullo-
way. by vote of seven TO four, agreed to
report the bill favorably, and appointed a
! subcommittee, consisting of Representa-
tives Shaw, of New York; Gibson, of Ten
nessee, and Miers, of Indiana, to report
the bill and manage it before the House.
The vote by which this result was secured
was as follows:
Ayes. Nays.
Gibson, Tenn. Sulloyay, y. Y
AIiers, Ind. Minor, Wis. lpres
Connor, Iowa. ent, not Yohngy.
Crowley, Ills. Caderhead, Kans.
briggs. n. y. Graft, Ills.
Norton, .. Castor, Pa.
shaw, y. \.
Immediately. and before the report ac-
companying the bill could be prepared, the
Secretary of the Interior sent request
that he be heard by the Committee before
the bill was reported. Out of courtesy to
the Secretary, the Committee rescinded its
action. and invited the Secretary TO ap-
pear. He came, with Assistant Attorney
General VandeVenter, of the Interior De-
partment, and made two hours and half
of argument against the bill. 1t was a
most singular exhibition. Both the Secre-
tary and his Attorney-General revealed
the most surprising lack Of information as
to pension laws and the practices of the
Pension Bureau. To every question asked
by members of the Committe the Secretary
replied in substance:
That is Il matter which / leave entirely
in the hands of the Commissioner, ana am
not informed on it.
Or:
That is a question of law. as TO which
| shall have to refer you to the Assistant
Attorney
The Assistant Attorney-Generai was no
better informed as to the particular laws,
orders and practices than his chief. The
Secretary professed surprise at the knowl-
edge he obtained as to the Commissioners
perrersions and qualifications of the laws,
and as to the orders and practices in the
Pension Bureau, and promised the Com
mittee that all causes of complaint on this
score should be remedied. We shall watch
with interest to see how this promise is
fulfilled. The Secretary claimed that the
Commander-in-C Chief and G. A. II. Ma
hOnal Pension Committee did not really
want to have the bill passed, that they
only advocated it pro fOrmG, in obedience to
the orders of the National Encampment,
and really desired his bill.
The next day Capt. George II. Patrick,
Past Commander of the Department of
Alabama and Special Aid on Pension Leg
islation, appeared before the Committee as
the representative of the Commander-in-
Chief and G. A. II. Pension Committee,
and made splendid argument for the bill,
taking mp the objections of the Secretary
and Assistant Attorney-General, one by
one, and conyincingly refuting them He
appealed to the committee TO report the
bill favorably, as a measure of justice TO
the veterans who had been so long baf
fed, jugglcd with and denied, in the most
reprehensible way. He, and Past Com
mander-in-Chief Shaw, who has been all
along doing heroic work for the bill, pro
duced letters and teiegrsms from the Com
mander-in-Chief and every member Of the
G. A. X. National Pensrvn Committee,
completely denying the Secretary's asser
tiens, and affirming that they were unani-
nousIy and enthusiastically in favor of the
bill. Upon taking a vote, the bill was lost,
by seven TO six, as follows: