Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-02-09

PRICE OIL commodities, the same penalty
being provided against government en-
ploy"s who speculate in commodities
regarding which the government fur
nishes statistics.
Before voting on the railroad rate bill,
the House passed n Senate bill author
iZng the national bank at Graham, Va,
to change its location to Buefield, W. Va
The >army appropriation bill was re.
ported to the House by Hull. Ia
Anticipating the roll call on the rate
bill. there was a large attendance of
| members and the galleries were crowded
After the roll call, the announcement OF
the passage of the bill was received with
a ripple of applause.
Speaker Cannon stated the vote to be
3if yeas and nays.
Those voting against the bill were all
Republicans. They Were Littlefield. Me-.
Mccall and Weeks, Mass. Perkins,
Southwick and Vreeland, ~ Y. and Sib-
ley. Pa. Sullivan. Mass, voted present
and was not paired.
The pension appropriation bill was tax.
en- up in committee of the whole with
Madden, ILL.,. in the chair General de-
bate on the bill was limited to three hours
and Gardner, Mich, in charge of the bill,
took the floor. He said:
Forty years after the Civil war the
pension appropriation is at its maximum.
There are 100000 pensioners, all but So 424
of them from that war. with an annual
roll of s1Sa. 600 In the Sc. 424 arc repre-
scented Veterans of all
country ever had.
The Civil war cost $4,000 COO. Up to
the present time half as much again has
been paid out for pensions. and Gardner
predicts that before the end of its pen
sion roll comes. the first cost Of the war
will have been equalled. In 20 years from
now, he predicts, the pension rolls will
contain half million names. of which
132. 414 will be chargeable to the Spanish
American war. At the present time. he
says. the pension roll costs the govern
ment just one-fourth Of all other eX-
renses. In 1867. one year after the Civil
war. the interest on the public debt was
s143. 1,591. and the pension roll 800, ?a31 551
Now these two items are practically re-
verSed as to amount.
Gardner compared this pension roll Of
sl@.0OOOOO to that of France, with an an
nual expenditure of S26. 900 900: Germany,
SCI 100000: Austria Hungary, $4,000, 900,
and Great Britain. s9,0O0,N6 As to Span
ish war veterans, he said, today there
were more of them on the pension rolls
than were in Skaters entire army in
Cuba.
The necessity Of enacting the Presi-
dents order No. rs into law as provided
for in the bill. was explained. This Or
der was intended to work automatically
and to make age the only proof Of dis
ability. Commissioner Warner had found
the order in conflict with statute provis-
ions and it was thereby robbed of its
operation. Ely eliminating surgeons fees
Gardner estimated that by enacting the
order into law money would be saved the
government and benefit extended to the
veteran. The amendment he regarded as
a virtual service pension law. saying in
time It would place every soldier of the
Civil war on the pension roll at n maxi
mum pension Of sl2 month.
Garrett advocated higher pensions for
Mexican war veterans. The total for this
roll in 1905 was. he said, s6699l2. Ninety
per cent. Of the survivors of this war arc
now on the roll. In 10 years they would
all be gone. 1t would be a graceful act.
he declared, to increase these pensions to
$50 a month. This would entail an added
annual cost of but $4l5.0O0. He paid All
eloquent tribute to the services Of these
veterans.
Kline, Pa. advocated increasing to $50 a
month the allowance to pensioners totally
blind or bedridden.
The bill was read and was passed with
out objection. 1t carries s139,000,0O0 for
pensions and s1o45.oOO for the pension adj
ministratior.
At the suggestion of Clayton. Ala. 4
bill was passed to prevent officials and
employes Of the government from divulg-
ing information on crop statistics prema-
Continued on Page Five.)