Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-01
THE PENSION ORDER
Senator Mallory Speaks on
. the Carmack Resolution.
SUNDRY CIVIL BILL
MEASURE PASSED By HOUSE
WITHOUT DIVISION.
Army Bill Returned to Conference
Post Office Bill Taken UP
In the Senate.
SUNDRY CIVIL BILL

In the Senate today Mr.. Patterson intro
duced bill for the amendment Of the Chi
nese exclusion act Of 1902, giving notice
that Wednesday next he would address the
Senate on the bill. In giving this notice he
said he had received what he considered
definite information that the Chinese gov
eminent had denounced the treaty between
that government and the United States and
| that the treaty would expire December Z
next. Unless the law should be amended
Chinese can come into the United States
after that time without obstruction. Mr.
Platt of Connecticut expressed a dissent
from this view.
The following bills were passed:
Authorizing the free transmission through
the mails of books for the blind.
Constituting a SUPPORT of entry of Lewes
Del.
tistics in Hawaii.
Authorizing the detail of retired officers
of the army and navy to schools as instruc-
tors.
The Recent Pension Order.
Mr.. Mallory then addressed the Senate on
the Carmack resolution instructing the COM
mittee on the judiciary to make inquiry
into the legal right of the Secretary of the
Interior to issue the old-age disability pen
sion order recently promulgated. He said
at the outset that there need not be any
apprehension that the resolution was in
tended to affect the status of the pension
ers for there was no such intention or desire
on the part of democratic senators. He
commended that the question of liberality to
the veterans is not involved in any respect
whatever but the only point was whether
the executive branch of the government
had not transcribed its authority and
usurped legislative functions in establish
ing the rule by the new order. He con-
tended that such usurpation had occurred
and agreed that this order was not in line
with the order given by Judge Lochren dur
ing Mr.. Clevelands administration.
He acknowledged, however, that Mr..
Lochren had transcribed the law in fixing
seventy-fve years as evidence of total dis
ability.
Mr.. Mallory said that Mr.. Lochren had
no authority to fix seventy-five years as
the age of even presumptive disability, nor
was there any sanction for the recent Or
der reducing the age to sixty-two years.
The law, he said, requires due proof" Of
fnfirmity, and consequently either pre-
sumption was entirely unjustified.
Mr.. Foraker took exception to Mr. NAL
lorys characterization of the new ruling
as arbitrary, saying that it fixed sixty-two
years only an "evidential fact Of disa-
bility."
Mr.. Mallory argued that the operation of
the order might work great hardship as
the effect would be to award pensions re-
CARELESS of the length of service or the
cause of disability aside from age
Mr.. Mallory entered upon line of argu-
ment to show that the order of Secretary
Hitchcock is in some respects equivalent to
a service pension law. Mr.. Spooner inter-
rupted with the statement that Congress
had fixed the age of sixtytwo years as the
age Of disability in the case of Mexican
veterans THAT he said, was not a
service pension BILL
Mr. Mallory replied that Congress had a
Dprfpct aS in hat naS xuhi
an executive official has not
Congress acted them interrupted Mr..
Carmack. because it didn't have Secre-
tary of the Interior to legislate for it. Con-
sequently Congress had to act for itself"
Another Daniel come to judgment" re-
marked Mr. Spooner