Show II FUN oyEPENSIONS O P N I Eat Mingled With Caustic Humor Were Nuggets of Truth HOW DEMOCRATS STAND POSITION CrnEAEI Y STATED BY iiosoir OF OHO Cinnons Pigurcs and I Warning Ales Pigtuss s and His Bidicule Wonderful Padding of the Pension Pen-sion Soil Republicans Owned Grover Cleveland Proceedings of Eou I Wsbin ton Dec 9The house tod > y of the entered upon the consideration pension appropriation bill and stirred up a debate that promises to continue for several days Several of the southern Democrats offered criticisms of various classes of pensioners and Private John Allen of Mississippi who led the assault in a speech replete with his characteristic humor presented a series of amendments amend-ments designed as he said to correct setae of the most glaring evils They prohibit the granting of pensions to widoW whose applications were not filed during their widowhood and the granting of pensions to widows whose applications were based on marriaces contracted alter the passage of this ater at and to permanently prohibit insane I in-sane or idlBtic minors who had reached their majority The northern Democrats Demo-crats however vied with the Republicans Repub-licans in their professions ot friendship friend-ship for the soldiers and one of them Mr Norton of Ohio declared that the Republicans could not make the bill too large foi nm I was admitted on both sides of the house during the discussion that the 140000000 carried by the bill for pensions would not cover the expenditures ex-penditures but a congress would be in session Mr Cannon said it would be easy to make good any deficiency that might occur CANNONS FIGURES Mr Stone In charge of the bU yielded yield-ed to Mr Cannon chairman of the committee com-mittee on appropriations who took occasion oc-casion to make a general statement of the estimates submitted by the sec tary of the treasury for the public service ser-vice of 1S99 for the purpose he said members of disabusing the minds of and of the country of the false impression impres-sion mae by comparison of these esti mates with those of preceding years The estimated revenues for 1899 were 484000000 the expenditures 504000000 showing a estimated deficit of 21 000000 Mr Cannon solemnly warned the house that the large anticipators importations im-portations would keep the revenues under un-der the present law down to the minimum mini-mum and he appealed to his colleagues to see to it that while the public service ser-vice Is sufficiently supplied with money not one dollar is appropriated which Is not absolutely necessary to the best interests of the public service ALLENS FIGURES Mr Allen Dem Miss attacked Mr Cannons statement in a speech in which there were flashes of his inimitable inimit-able humor that set the house into a roar of laughter He gravely commended commend-ed Mr Cannons appeal for economy but avowed that the figures of the chairman of the appropriation committee commit-tee did not do the situation justice He produced figures that showed a estimated mated deficit for the next year of 72 000000 He referred to the increase in the pension roll under the present administration ministration and ridiculed the idea of a doorcase unless the increase was to be attributed to the exigencies of the recent campaign in Ohio He read from Commissioner Evans testimony before the appropriations committee predicting a deficit of from S000000 to 10000000 in pension expenditures during dur-ing the next fiscal year The maximum had not yet been reached This Question of the maximum of the pension roll observed Mr Allen Is one of the things that has nro tractcd my stay in congress Wen I first came here they were talking of the maximum I stayed ten or fifteen years to see it but it has not yet come and I guess I will have to comeback come-back again Laughter FAKE REVENUE PRODUCER ll Allen directed the batteries of his humor at the Dingley law a a revenue reve-nue producer picturing the intense anxiety of the chairman of the ways and means committee at the extra ses skii to get a bill on the statute books that would strike a balance between the receipts and expenditures and receipt expendiues predicting pre-dicting another season of anxiety on ilr Dingleys part next spring a another other extra session called for the same purpose In conclusion he spoke of the hardships this great tax burden placed on the people of the south who were he said being relentlessly burdened bur-dened by the gold standard and 4 cent cotton Mr Lacey Rep In defended the present liberal pension policy WONDERFUL INCREASE When Mr Lacey concluded Mr Allen I Al-len again got the floor and disclaimed any intention of attacking the federal soldiers on the pension rolls But he said he could not but marvel at the fact that 976000 names were now on the rolls and that there were 600000 applications ap-plications in the pension office There had been but 2200000 men in the federal feder-al army and he was reminded of a meeting between an exconfederate and an exfederal at a blue and gray reunion re-union They were felicitating themselves them-selves on the disappearance of all hostility hos-tility If there should be another war said the exfederal we will be standing stand-ing shoulder to shoulder under one flag I will but jou wont retorted the exconfederate What do you mean asked the ex federal Legally you are disabled Laughter Laugh-ter POSITION OF DEMOCRATS Mr Norton Dem 0 declared that i was not the Democratic side of the house which was assaulting the pension pen-sion roll He charged that Commissioner Commis-sioner Evans both on the streets and before the pension committee had advocated ad-vocated a law that would hereafter cut off the widow and the orphan He protested his friendship for the old soldier Bring on your pension bill he cried addressing the Republican side Raise it as high as you dare and It will have the vote of every northern Democrat on this side Messrs Meyer Dora Ind and Campbell Dem His submitted brief remarks In favor of liberal pensions HEPBURNS REPLY Mr Hepburn Rep Ia replied to some of the criticisms of the pension roll which came from the other side He was especially sever in his condemnation condem-nation of a remark by Mr Norton which he characterized as monstrous The statement was to the effect that the regulations of the pension office compelled most soldiers to stand on the rejected list or commit moral and legal perjury to reach those rolls Mr Norton disclaimed having used the word most With a change of that word to many he said he stood by that statement The pension office required testimony which was not In existence He stood ready to aid In sweepinj awtiy these senseless regula NOT GODS GIF While your party had the presidency and the senate and the house asserted assert-ed Mr Stone Rep Pa why did you not remedy aome of the principles When God or the country had the misfortune to give the only Democratic president we have had since the civil war replied Mr Norton we found it too late He belonged to you and you owned him Democratic applause Remedies do not begin with the president Interrupted Mr Stone but with congress Why did a Democratic congress do nothing but reduce the pension roll I does not lie in your mouths to complain Republican applause I we committed a wrong replied Mr Norton why should you sit supinely su-pinely and not seek to correct Democratic Dem-ocratic applause and Republican jeers Mr Hepburn denied that he had put any words in Mr Nortons mouth On the contrary he insisted that he had heard the word most and that he was corroborated by all the members about him and by the official reporters notes The gentleman from Ohio withal with-al his boasted courage was trying to run away from the foul slander he had uttered the At house this point adjourned the committee rose and |