The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1911-03-10
PERCY HELPS KILL
SULLOWAY PENSIONS.
MisSissIpipoi Senator Makes Str0n8
Opposing Speech.

Z
in it and the thorough study of the pen
sion system of the government shown,
bit because it was the first speech
made on the floor of the senate by a
Southern senator against an increase in
pensions.
Immediately following the speech,
and as an answer to the challenge con =
tanned in it, the pension appre priation
bill was taken up and the Suiloway PEN
sion bill was offered as an amendment
the senate, on motion of Senator Lodge
of massachusetts,, ruled that the
amendment was out of order, and the
general pension bill las then passed,
this means the defeat of the Sulloway
pension bill, against which Senator
Percy's speech was directed, unless it
can be passed as an independent
measure, and owing to the evident eff
feet of this speech and the short time
left for Iegis lation, it not believed that
this can be done
1t is generally believed that the
speech aided materially in the defeat,
of the Suiloway biil-a me asure most
obnoxious to the Southern senators.
Senator Percy, in opposing the Gre
ating the tariff commission, under dis
cussiOn today, ventilated his pension
views. He said the information sought
to be cottectsd by the proposed tariff
h1, ri iiXrr cf
tion of manufactured articles in all the
countries of the world and the cost of
such production in this country in this
country. Such Information could only
be useful to Republican congress
framing a bill to guarantee reasonable
profit to the manufacturers here, taking
into consideration the greater cost of
production in this country. This in
formation wouId be valuable to a Re-
publican congress, but of no value to a
Democratic house which would frame O
+Hriff bill as a revenue measure only,
- -'ie"+;na. only such snriH viii bt.
sufficient to supply the revenues of a
government economically administered,
and not believing in the right of the
government to insure an exorbitant
profit, feir profit or any other profit
to American manufacturer by the tax
alton of the American people.
He asked if the object of forcing dis
cussion of this bill to the exclusion OF
consideration Of pending appropriation
bills was to force the passage without
discussion of such appropriation bills,
carrying millions of dollars.
As illustrating the extravagant and
wastefel character of the legislatioE
which the Republican party proposed
to enact in the remaining two days of
the session without an opportunity for
discussion he mentioned the Subway
pension bill, and thoroughly reviewed
it and the pension Legislation. Senator
Percy said that the proposed measure
was startling because coming as it
does fort five years after the close of
the Civil War, it carries an increase in
pensions of So0,GOO,OOO to be added to
a general pension bill of $4,000, 900
The proposed bill will add $685., ,OOO, 900
to governmental expenditures in ten
years.
He showed that the pension roll had
increase d fro m los. 600 in 1870, with an
appropriation of S29.0O0,0OO, to 921, 900
pensioners in 1910; that under the ex-
listing pension laws, out of 636, 900 sur
vivors of the Civil War. 562 coo were
drawing pensions, and in addition
thereto $4,000 widows and dependent
relatives were draw ing pensions. No
class entitled to consideration has
been overlooked.
Senator Percy dec'ar "Tlc course
of legislation has been such as to pre-
sent the anomalous spectacle of a con-
stantly dwindling band of survivors
coupled with not only a constantly
swelling appropriations, but constant
ly increasing number of pensioners
Death has scarcely been bnsier thinning
the ranks of the old soldiers than legis-
lation has been recruiting the ranks of
the pensioners.
He referred to the first general PEN
sion bill based upon service alone and
present disability received during SER
vice which was enacted in 1887 and
vetoed by President Cleveland; yet ut
that time the pension appropriation
was $75,Oo0.0 GOO a year, ans the bill
which was vetoed carried with it the
requirement OF incapacity in such ; de-
gree as TO be unable to earn support,
and the pension was allowed only to