Norwich bulletin., 1920-06-01
WASHINGTON AFFAIRS
fspecial to The Bulletin.) )

the sums they will receive vary from $1S0 to S720 a year, according to the length of service they have seen and the amount of their annual salary. The new law is contributory and workers must give 1-2 per cent of their annual salary toward this fund. It includes all employees in classified civil service in the United States and certain other classes of erfi- ployes not technically within the classi- fled service, but the character of whose work is practically the same. The retire
 ment age is fixed at 70 years except for mechanics, city and rural letter carriers and postoffice clerks, whose age limit is
 fixed at ,65, and for railway postal clerks at 62. A minimum of Is years service is required to become beneficiary under the law. Particularly efficient workers may have an extension of two-year period if they are recommended for it by certificate The administration of the law will be under the commissioner of pen sions, the civil service commission is to keep record of service, and the funds will be in the hands of the secretary of the treasury. An important feature of the bill is that employees who have served for period of less than 15 years but who 1 become totally disabled by disease or in- jury not attributable to their own fault will be retired under the law.
 The fiat statement that "the house l passed the bonus bill by vote of 2Ss to | 92' doesn't tell the story. Sparring for i parliamentary advantage. recriminations
 as to loyalty to the soldiers, charges of playing politics and personal attacks so 1 bitter that it is a wonder they were per | mitted to remain in the records, marked | the day the measure was adopted. The galleries were crowded practically every | iT1 h znof Tr l the morning several test votes showed | decided opposition to the bill by nearly the entire democratic side of the house. l Bitter speeches were made by democratic 1 leaders accusing the republicans of put i ting the bill over as partisan move to get the soldier vote, and to judge from 1 the speeches one would have thought
 every man on the democratic side would
 shout NO" when his name was called
 But did that happen? Not bit of it. 1 Democrats and republicans alike scram- bled to get into line and scores of men who had indicated by word and previous vote that they opposed the bill shouted
 'Yes '" and registered in its favor when i the final vote was taken. While the I debate limited to 40 minutes, was under 1 way. the scene in the house was un- precedented. Disorder reigned, catcalls jeers. interruptions. shouts of derisior and stamping of feet by the democrat:
 made the talk of republicans entirely in audible to men three feet away. Oficia I reporters, book in hand, ran round tht great hall trying to keep within earsho O. the men speaking, many of whom haC been allotted only one minute, or perhaps a half minute, in which to register thei
 opinions. Finally Frear of Wisconsin, re publican, who has voice that makes
 lions roar belong to the piker class go
 the floor and rebulzed the noise-makers il a way that proved effective-and so pu
 an end to the confusion. All the whil the speakers gavel kept up continuou
 pounding, and it wa sa close call that tn
 sergeant at arms was not required t
 quell the disturbance.
 Congressman John o. Tilson stood b
 his guns and voted against the bonus bi
 when it came before the house Saturday
 making a strong speech stating his posi- [ ton just before the vote was taken. Col onel Tilson urged waiting until the De e cenber session before taking action o e the ground that the present bill was nc only unsatisfactory but that as it coul I not become operative for more than /. year there was nothing to be gained b
 passing the present measure. He followe e the same line of argument he had at g vanced earlier in the session and sai e with great earnestness that the bill wa q nothing but a little pension lasting onl e two and a half years and that it dea f very unjustly with soldiers who had borr a the brunt of service, as the 18th divisio = had done, for it gave them no more tha Il it gave men who had served a muc 2 shorter time. The Connecticut delegatc S cast it's final vote as follows Again $ the bill Tilson, Freeman, Merritt, Glyn 0 For the bill, Lonergan. A great majorit 1T of the New England delegation votE n against the measure. The combined vo " of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshi ' and Connecticut in favor of the measu lo was only out of the 2e cast.
 n Senator Walsh of Massachusetts hi if put resolution before congress askir " that the interstate commerce commissi' H investigate the coal shortage in tl country and report to the senate. I d urged an embargo on bituminous coal u or less a commissioner is appointed to lo' se into the situation and protect Americ; le industries. Senator Walsh stated Ne
 Englanu suffers more than other parts f. the country and that her industries " T+ be stlsT ended unless help comes. He . :. tributed the present shortage to thr lu factors-the car shortage, the underpr It. duction at the mines and the extraort " nary increase in eXportation of coal ed foreign countries, especially Great Br be ain MT. Walsh showed by figures whi m he said had been officially verified tn sa the mines are producing less than 40 T . cent. of their normal supply, while t l0 shipments to foreign countries is as mu Ill or even more than when the mine outr h. was 100 per cent. The Massachuse er. senator said that some of this coal e. being carried to Cuba, where it is (
 changed for sugar, which in turn is tax
 to England This is done by shipping
 British bottoms. "We have permit
 foreign agents" said MT. Walsh, to b ne up our coal at prices prohibitive in t Ia country and ship it to foreign countri
 while our own industries are suffering
 the point of cessation" MT. Walsh s; ds it required not less than one million te he of bituminous coal month for N
 England, and that less than that cons
 tHted shortage. He added that WI ,, New England industries suffered for ls ' of that amount more than three mill eS tons a month is being shipped to fore on' coun tries. He urged congress to sec1
 an investigation and put the official ia
 before the president, in hopes the exc ess tive would then order an embargo tin fo1 eign shipments or take some decis nd ser to protect American industries n
 suffering because our coal is being u
 t0 aid foreign lnduStrleS. senator Wa
 is a prominent leader on the democrz eo side of the senate chamber.
 et-
 u1e Next Saturday will undoubtedly see
 adjournment of congress. Probably tn
 will be no session between that date
 the opening of the regular winter sess iei Dec. 1st, but, remembering the many s 'nd ups which have occurred in years r cry regarding a getaway, no one is will
 t0 ,a1r aCcArfinn
 vote for adjournment is actually ta or by both senate and house. A new Qt