Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-01
PRIVATE PENSION BILLS.

PhIEATH TENSION BILLS.
There has been an unusual flood Of
private pension bills at this session Of
congress. Last Friday the number OF
these bills passed by the house was
215, with n exception the largest
number OF such bills passed at a single
sesslon-the greatest number of private
pension bills having been passed two
weeks before, 229. Most of these bills
were for an increase of pension, in cases
where an Increase had been disallowed
by the commissioner of pensions. The
total amount of pension to be allowed
in each case was stated in the bill, but
the amount that the pensioner was pre-
viously receiving was not stated, nor
was any mention made of the reason
for the increase. Referring to this leg
islation In a speech a short time age,
Representative Sims Of Tennessee, a
member of the pension committee. said
that the average increase In these bills
was 200 per cent over and above what
the bureau allows. The meaning of this
is obvious. Having established a bu-
reau and provided a large and expensive
force to administer the liberal laws re-
lating to the subject, congress takes the
business out of the hands of the com
missioner and those which the law pro-
vides to assist him and increases the
pensions by passing bills which are as
a rule given little consideration either
in committee or in the house. In this
way injustice is done not only to the
governmental other words to the AK
payers generally-but to the large num-
Der Of pensioners who do not in this
way seek to obtain more from the gov
eminent.
This house ought to be able to estab-
lish some rule by which injustice shall
not be done to that great body of pen
sioners who have received consideration
at the pension bureau and who are not
knocking at the doors of congress for in
crease by private acts. by refusing to
give others who had either no title or
one so defective that the bureau refused
to give any pension even greater pen
sions by private acts than if they had
perfect and indefeasible title under gen
eral law" This seems to be a perfectly
reasonable proposition. We have a bu-
reau whose duty it i, under laws
clearly defined, to ascertain and deter
mine the claims Of pensioners. When
this bureau has acted in accordance
with the law, why should congress step
in and say that the authorized tribunal
for determining pensions had erred and
double or treble the pensions given by
that tribunal by passing bills which go
through without proper consideration
and which not one member in a hundred
knows anything about, The 215 private
pension bills that were passed by the
house last Friday received practically
no consideration. There was no in
curry as to their merits, no effort made
to ascertain whether there was justifica-
ton for the passage of a single n of
them. That is the rule in regard to
these bills. They are presented and put
through without elaboration or discus
sion and thus thousands Of dollars of
public money is annually voted away
without proper and adequate inquiry as
to whether those to whom 1t is given
are entitled to receive 1t.
This is a matter which is very natur-
ally attracting attention. Public men
are asking what is the use Of keeping
up an expensive pension bureau IL CON
gress is to annul the work of the bureau
and turn down the commissioner There
Is a growing sentiment against the null
titude of private pension bills.