The San Francisco call., 1904-04-10
BOURKE COCHRAN MAKES
AN IMPASSIONED APPEAL
Calls Upon Members of the House to Uphold the Dignity
of That Body by Refusing to Submit to Executive Order
Relating to Age as Evidence of Pensonable Disability

WASHINGTON. April e.-The recent
executive order OF the President relat-
ing to age as evidence of penslonable
disability to-day furnished the text
for an impassioned appeal by W.
Bourke Cochran of New York to the
members OF the House to uphold the
dignity OF that body by refusing to
submit to what he alleged to be the
usurpation of the legislative authority
of Congress by the executive.
In anticipation OF Mr.. Cockran's
speech almost every seat on the floor
was occupied and the galleries were
filed to overflowing, Cochran held his
audience throughout, end his remarks
frequently were punctuated with loud
applause from both sides Of the cham
Der. He characterized the Presidents
Interpretation OF the Law as hollow
mockery and a play of words" and
said that this was known by the man
who wrote Il, rs shown by the order
itself. Fe declared that Congress, on
account OF its pusilleninous failure to
do its duty tc itself, had lost caste
so much so that the newspapers OF the
country outside OF Washington now
print only a paragraph or two OF its
proceedings. The action OF the Presi-
dent. he said, had been justified by the
Secretary Of the Interior by the pre-
cedent of Grover Cleveland. But II
that be so, then in Gods name let us
condemn that act of Cleveland's as
vehemently as the act of any Republi-
fO
Justify everything because Cleveland
did it," he said. was the highest COM
pliment that could be paid to man
by Congress; but the confidence which
Cleveland enjoys, he asserted, only
adds to the danger of the act, and does
not lessen it
SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT.
The President and Secretary of the
Interior found warm supporters in
Dalzell, Grosvenor, Gibson, Calderhead,
Lacey and Hepburn. The first named
maintained that it made no difference
how many millions of dollars were in
volved in the Presidents order, because
the Secretary of the Interior distrib
uted the money voted by Congress pur
suant TO the rules of evidence estab-
lished by the Pension Bureau.
Grosvenor believed that the country
and the old soldiers would approve the
order, and that the money necessary
for putting il into effect would be in
cluded in the forthcoming deficiency
bill
The debate occurred on a resolution
introduced by Cochran directing the
Committee on the Judiciary to investi-
gate the recent pension order. 1t had
been reported from the Committee on
Rules with a recommendation that it
lie on the table, and this was adopted
by the narrow majority of three votes
the Speaker having his vote recorded in
the affirmative Three Republicans
Messrs. Cushman of Washington, Lit
tlefield of Maine and Mccall of Massa-
chusetts-voted with the Democrats
against tabling the resolution.
COCHRAN is APPLAUDED.
When Cochran began speaking he
was warmly applauded and he at once
commanded the closest attention of
members of both sides of the House.
He said the resolution was offered sole
ly to Vndicate the dignity of the
House. He did not, he said, question
the propriety of paying liberal pensions
to Federal soldiers, but he declared
that the basis of these payments should
be the laws of Congress and mot any
self-constituted authority" If, he said.
the Presidents order is recognized by
the House, what fragment of power is
left to the House?"
BY one stroke of the pen, he declared.
the President had appropriated Sc, 900,
coo, and he said it was a matter with
which Congress must deal if it has any
regard for its own powers or if it be
animated by a shadow of loyalty for
the constitution which created it. He
vigorously asserted that we are here
"at the parting of the ways" and in
quired that if this order be tolerated
without protest by the House, what
power is there that the executive order
cannot usurp? What fragment of con-
troll over the countrys purse?'
Continuing, he said that this pretense
of Interpretation of the law is but a
hollow mockery and play of words. and
added "it is known by the man who
wrote it, as is shown by the order it
SELF
After attacking what he declared to
De the fTeSlQenI uSuTDdllOn OF power
of Interpretation, in which he said that
the order should not be retroactive,
Cochran appealed to members on both
sides to consider the enormity of this
proposal" which he said affected the
liberty and safety of the Government.
In his opinion the steady decline in
the dignity of the House had attracted
much attention.
DIGNITY OF THE HOUSE.
In sarcastic vein he declared that the
President allowed Congress the privi-
lege of declaring war, and he was
loudly aDplauded by the Democrats
when he added. but the President
makes war when he chooses
If this condition was hopeless, he
said, amid more Democratic applause,
"if we cannot rescue ourselves from
the degradation and decrepitude into
which we seem to be hurrying then
we better leave the condition to be la