224 



CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. (PENSIONS.) 



too strong anywhere, and considering that a 

 majority of one in Florida or in Oregon may 

 decide the most important of national elections 

 and determine the future history of the whole 

 country, I for one find it impossible to sleep in 

 peace over this volcano. 



"As will be seen by reference to tables in 

 the report of the committee and to the census, 

 the school age varies greatly in different States. 

 In some it is from five to fifteen, in others from 

 four to twenty -one, and with great diversity be- 

 tween those extremes. .In a speech in support 

 of a measure, substantially the same as this, 

 made in the Senate June 15, 1882, after care- 

 ful consideration, I stated the number of our 

 population who should be in schools as, in my 

 opinion, 18,000,000. I believe it to be now 

 20,000,000. By the census of 1880 the num- 

 ber within the school ages was 15,303,535. Of 

 this number were then enrolled, that is, their 

 names were on some list of pupils, 9,780,773, 

 leaving 5,522,762 not attending school any- 

 where. But there were 567,160 enrolled in 

 private schools, making a total of 10,347,933 

 enrolled in all schools of the country, both 

 public and private, and leaving 4,955,602, or 

 nearly one third of the legal school population, 

 not attending either public or private places of 

 instruction. 



"If, now, the total enrolled in public and 

 private schools be increased one eighth, as in 

 previous calculations, we have a present school 

 population in process of mental training of 11,- 

 641,424. If I am substantially correct in as- 

 suming a present population of 20,000,000 who 

 should be either in public or private schools, 

 from our total of at least 56,000,000 now liv- 

 ing in this country, there will remain 8,358,- 

 576 who do not attend schools of any kind 

 whatever, unless it may be of liberal or pro- 

 fessional training. Making all allowances 

 which can be reasonably claimed, there must 

 be 8,000,000 of less than twenty-one years of 

 age who are not enjoying school privileges of 

 any description whatever. But look still fur- 

 ther, in order that we may judge of the effi- 

 ciency of our system in dealing with those act- 

 ually enrolled. By the census, out of the 

 9,780,773 on the public-school registers, there 

 was an average daily attendance of 5,804,993; 

 so that the real fact is that the net educational 

 result is the same as though the latter number 

 had attended the whole school period yearly, 

 which is perhaps five months of the twelve in 

 the whole country, and 9,499,542 had not re- 

 ceived a single hour of school instruction for 

 the year." 



The bill as submitted wns amended by chang- 

 ing the term of its operation to eight years in- 

 stead of ten, and appropriations to seven mill- 

 ion for the first year, ten for the second, fifteen 

 for the third, thirteen for the fourth, eleven 

 for the fifth, nine for the sixth, seven for the 

 seventh, and five for the eighth. It was also 

 amended by the insertion of a clause restricting 

 the appropriations to non-sectarian schools and 



by the substituting for the third section one 

 providing for careful reports from the Governor 

 of each State and Territory in its school system 

 and a statement as to whether there is any dis- 

 crimination therein on account of race or color, 

 over and above the establishment of separate 

 schools, the filing of such a report with the 

 Secretary of the Interior to be preliminary to 

 the grant of aid. The -twelfth section w 

 stricken out, and a clause added to the tin 

 teenth, giving the Secretary of the Interior au- 

 thority to hear and examine complaints of mis- 

 appropriation or unjust discrimination in the 

 use of funds granted under the act. The bill 

 as amended passed the Senate April 7, by the 

 following vote: 



YEAS Blair, Brown, Call, Cameron of Wisconsin, 

 Colquitt, Conger, Cullora, Dawes, Dolph, Edmunds, 

 Frye, Garland, George, Hampton, Harrison, Hoar, 

 Jackson, Jonas, Jones of Florida, Kenna, Logan, Mc- 

 Millan, Mandereon, Miller of New York, Merrill, 

 Pike, Platt. Pugh, Eansom, Eiddleberger, Sawyer. 

 Williams, Wilson 33. 



NAYS Bayard, Butler, Coke, Groome, Harris, 

 Hawley, Maxey, Miller of California, Morgan, Pen- 

 dleton, Saulsbury 11. 



ABSENT Aldnch, Allison, Anthony, Beck, Bowen, 

 Camden, Cameron of Pennsylvania, Cockrell, Fair, 

 Farley, Gibson, Gorman, Hale, Hill, Ingalls, Jones of 

 Nevada, Lamar, Lapham, McPherson, Mr.hone, 

 Mitchell, Palmer, Plumb, Sabin, Sewell, Sherman, 

 Slater, Vance, Van Wyck, Vest, Voorhees, Walker 

 32. 



The Honse took no action on the measure. 



Pensions. In the House, January 24, 1884, a 

 bill was reported from the Committee on Pen- 

 sions granting pensions to soldiers and sailors 

 who had served in the Mexican, the Creek, the 

 Seminole, and the Black Hawk wars. Mr. 

 Hewitt, of Alabama, who was in charge of it, 

 endeavored to have it considered July 2 and 3, 

 but on both days the House refused to take 

 it up. March 3, Mr. Townshend, of Illinois, 

 moved to suspend the rules and pass a bill 

 granting pensions to the soldiers and sailors 

 of the Mexican War. The motion was agreed 

 to, 227 to 46. The bill is as follows : 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 

 tives of the United States of America in Congress as- 

 sembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be and he 

 is hereby authorized and "directed to place on the 

 pension-roll the names of the surviving officers and 

 enlisted men, including marines, militia, and volun- 

 teers, of the military and naval services of the United 

 States who served sixty days in the war of 1846 and 

 1847 and 1848 with Mexico, or who, being enlisted as 

 aforesaid, actually served with the Army or Navy of 

 the United States in Mexico in said war, or were actu- 

 ally engaged in a battle in said war, and were honor- 

 ably discharged, and to such other officers and sol- 

 diers and sailors as may have been personally named 

 in any resolution of Congress for any specific service 

 in said wars, although their term of service may have 

 been less than sixty days, and the surviving widows 

 of such officers anct enlisted men as were married to 

 such officers or soldiers or sailors prior to the discharge 

 of such officers and enlisted men : Provided, That 

 such widows have not remarried : And provided fur- 

 ther, That this act shall not apply to any person not 

 a citizen of the United States. 



SECTION 2. That pensions under this act shall be at 

 the rate of $8 per month, and payable only from and 



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