Evening star., 1925-01-11
Capital Sidelights


against attempts to dribble away the
revenues to persons who think they
have claims against the Federal
Treasury. Individual members of
Congress are besieged and spend the
major portion of their time In trying
to determine which are the meri-
torious claims and which should be
rejected.
1t is refreshing-and, in fact, a
surprising revelation to most of the
veteran members-that Representa-
tive Charles Brand of Ohio has dis
covered one of his constituents, now
30 years of age, who seems In every
way entitled to a pension and who
Is fighting stubbornly against at
tempts by his family and friends to
get one for him in recognition of his
services in the Civil War
This man Is John S. Dear, North
Hampton. Ohio. He enlisted in Com
pany l. Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in
1852. when he was 1s years of age.
Afterwards his company was trans
ferred to the Sth Cavalry Here he
remained until the close of the war
serving "a months. He received an
honorable discharge. During his
war service he suffered a sunstroke
which prevented him from indulging
In manual labor during his later
years. His old comrades declare he
was an ususually good soldier.
One of his neIghbors was in the
loo-day service" and got as far as
columbus at the time that Morgan
was coming UP into Ohio, Represen-
tative Brand explains. This fellow
contracted rheumatism so bad he
walked with two canes. The Govern
neht gave him a pension Of s24 per
month and $1,000 back pay, which so
rejuvenated his spirits that he
promptly threw away the canes
This case so riled Mr.. Dear that he
"oulo not apply for a pension and
repeatedly told those who urged him
TO do so that there were too MANY
getting pensions already who don't
deserve them When his son and
oausnter, who have for many years
10 apply for a pension to provide
comforts for his closing years Mr.
Dear hid his papers and the som and
oauehter, although they have hunted
hisn ana low, cannot find them.
X Z
mere, there and everywhere in the
feoeral service are careful little
traps that ensnare counterfeiters and
others who oftentimes turn unusual
talent into tricky channels to frus-
trate the law of the land. When
o Sa" sets out TO trip up these
smart Aecks it's lOO-to-l bet that
ne VIII 90 So because the Federal
service commands the cleverest tech
noiosists in almost every line.
AS an up-to- date example we find
that seven men were convicted at
PITTSBURGH when charged with one OF
the biggest whisky frauds ever prose-
| cuted under the Federal prohibition
law, through careful study of the
fraudulent permits in the paper-test-
ing laboratory of the Government
Printing Office. This showed that the
800 suspected permits were printed on
| paper varying from atwood pulp to
20 per cent rag content and that
| none of them contained the SO per
| cent rag content which was used in
printing the genuine whisky with
drawal permits
AS still further check, il was
found that while the fraudulent per
rnits were on paper which bore the
special watermark Internal Revenue
Prohibition" this watermark was
| across the machine direction instead
OF lengthwise the sheet as in the
Government paper.
While verbally f1agillating his home
State colleague, Senator Dial, for the
speech in which the South Carolina
Senator said that President Coolidge.
was better Democrat than most
Democrats themselves, Representa-
tive William F. Stevenson compared
his lame-duck Senator colleague to
a combination of John the Baptist
who cried out Repent ye, repent ye,'
and Elijah, who went back into the
mountains and said There is nobody
| left but me-"
| The Congressional Record is now
| and then and occasionally used for
all sorts of publicity, usually to the
| self-advancement of some individual
| member. But now We find it extou-
| ing the Southern mocking birdS-and
| IT took two members of Congress to
pull off this little publicity stunt
Representative J. E. Rankin of Mis-
| slssippi made a speech on this sub
ject before the Mississippi Society of
| Washington. and Representative Fritz
Lanham of Texas had the remarks
| extended in the Record"
| Representative Rankin said: IF, as
| the poet Burton has said, a nightin-
/ gale dies for shame If another bird
| sings better then one melodious trill
Of Dixie's matchless songster would
| put a world of nightingales to in
stant and shameful death" He calls
| this mocking bird Of the Southland
"the Caruso of field and forest, the
Mozart of wild music, the grand
opera of Nature" and says that ''he
seems to embrace within his bound
| less repertoire the songs of all the
birds that have ever lived and those
| that are yet to come" Still further
idealizing this bird, Representative
| Rankin said: "As courageous as the
| eagle, he guards with valor and
vigilance his nestlings and his mate,
| repelling tbe invasion of the dreaded
| hawk, and scattering a flock Of in
truding crows in ignominious flight.
AS gentle as the dove, he manifests
the highest attributes of civilization
| as prescribed by the Golden Rule by
rejecting in hsi daily life the senti-
ments of his song"
x X y =
| While the Army appropriation bill
was under consideration, signal dis
ttnction was paid to Gen. Isaac r.
! Sherwood, the oldest man who ever
| sat in the National House OF Repre-
| sentatives, who will be 80 years old
| next August and who is retiring at
the close Of the present Congress.
| When the proposal was advanced
| that the United States Government
should preserve for future generation.
| the historic points or the battle
| ground at Franklin, Tenn, known as
the bloodiest and fercest battle of
the Civil War, attention was called to
| the fact that Gen. Sherwood was one
of the chief actors in this battle, a
| commanding general on the Union
| side, and that it was the turning
point in the war. -;
| Emphasis was placed by Repre-
sentative W. G. Salmon of Tennessee
| on the fact that 13 generals and more
than 40 colonels were either killed or