| Show IT PASSED TIE PENSION BILL BLL Culmination of a Week of Work in the House of I Representatives I BARTLETTS GREAT FIGHT Bill Carries 50000 Less Than Was Estimated The Blind Chaplain Prays For the Success of the Cuban Insurgents and He is Soundly Applauded Unusual Demonstration in Any Deliberative Body Pensions and I Vested Rights Vested WASHINGTON Jan 17The house today to-day passed the pension appropriation bill tothe consideration of which it has devoted the entire week and then adjourned ad-journed until Monday Mr Bartlett raised points of order against all new legislation proposed in the way of amendments such as that looking to making a pension a vested right etc and Mr Dingle who was in the chair sustained them In this way the clause in the bill changing existing laws bo as to allow widows to obtain pensions under the act of 1800 whose net income did not exceed J500 per annum was stricken out Mr Bartlett however did not raise the point against the provisions making pensions under the act of 1890 rejected suspended or dismissed and afterwards allowed to date from their application I was announced in the debate today that the bills covering the amendments ruled out today would be reported from I the invalid pensions committee The pension pen-sion bill as passes carries Hl32o820 about 50000 less than the estimate The bill was passed fifty days ahead of any previous appropriation bill THE PROCEEDINGS There was a most unusual demonstration demonstra-tion at the opening of the session of the House today The blind chaplain whose ardent Americanism has frequently occasioned oc-casioned remarK prayed fervently today for struggling Cuba and the success of the battle for independence Vhen he concluded the sentiment he had expressed I ex-pressed was given a hearty round of applause ap-plause The presidents special message urg nig the necessity of immediate legislation legisla-tion to extend the limit of the time allowed al-lowed the government to bring suits to annul grants of public lands was r erred t the committee on public lands The house than went into committee r of the whole for the consideration of the pension appropriations under the five I minute rule Mr Steele Rep Ind offered a amendment amend-ment in the shape of a proviso requiring requir-ing the commissioner of pensions to make public all rules and regulations regarding regard-ing the prosecution of cases in matters of evidence to conform to the rules of the courts and to give claimants and attorneys at-torneys for prosecuting cases access tO all documents and papers relating to the cases with which they were connected Mr Bartlett Dem N Y raised the point of order that the amendment changed existing law The chair sustained sus-tained the point of order Mr Herman Rep Ore offered an amendment which was practically a per diem pension bill That also went down under a point of order Mr Mahon Rep Pa offered an amendment declaring pension to be a vested right not to be suspended on charles of fraud until such charges have been proven in a court of law A point of order was raised against this amendment amend-ment which was temporarily passed over to allow Mr Bartlett to raise his point of order against the provision in the bill requiring a widow to prove that her net income does not exceed 500 ne 5 before she can receive a pension under the act of 1890 The present law requires that a widow under the act of 1890 shall prove that she is dependent upon her daily labors for her support This was the clause in the bU against which Mr Bartlett had been directing di-recting his assaults throughout the week His point of order was that it changed existng law The point was sharply contested con-tested by several Republicans They contended con-tended that the provision in the bill simply construed the act of 1500 and did not change it I interpreted the words in the law without which means of support sup-port to mean not to exceed a net income in-come of 500 a year Mr Dockery Dem Mo took the position posi-tion a a friend of the provision that the chair should not be embarrassed by being forced to rule on a very questionable question-able point but that the apppal of members mem-bers should be directed to Mr Bartlett to induce him to withdraw his point But Mr Bartlett declined Mr Cannon Rep I while in favor of the proposition on its merits thought it was in spirit new legislation and was amenable to the rule Mr Dingley who was in the chair in an elaborate ruling in the course of which he expressed his sympathy with the supporters of the provision sustained sus-tained the point of order and the provision provis-ion was stricken from the bill Mr Stone then offered the provision in a modified form but it also was ruled out In view of Mr Dingleys rulings in these two cases Mr Mahon withdrew his amendment I Mr Wood Rep I offered an amendment amend-ment providing that pensions should be paid quarterly to those on the rolls at the rates now allowed by existing law or at such increased rates as hereafter may be allowed Mr Bartlett made the noint of order that the amendment changed existing laws No pensioner could be dropped from the rolls for fraud or any reason The chair sustained the point of order On motion o Mr Connolly Rep I the words because of any defect or infirmity in-firmity in the application were stricken but in the clause allowing pensions rejected re-jected suspended or dismissed to date from their first application At the conclusion of the consideration of the bill Mr Graf Rep Ill said that in justice to himself and those like him who believed that a pension was a vested right he desired to state that his amendment had not been offered because be-cause of the manifest disposition of the chairman of the committee to rule out but he confidently predicted that the committee com-mittee on invalid pensions would shortly report a bU for that purpose The committee then rose and the bill as amended was passed Then at 450 p m the house adjourned until Monday |
