CONGRESS. (MISCELLANEOUS PBECEDENCE AT INAUGURATION.) 



253 



Were such a provision made, it would go far to 

 make our military service an attractive one for re- 

 spectable men, and in this way to get rid of the disrep- 

 utable characters who take the first opportunity to 

 desert. 



It is scarcely necessary to say that desertion is not 

 only a great loss to the Government in men, money, 

 and material, but it is the source of serious demorali- 

 zation. 



The annual desertions from our army are between 

 three and four thousand, and any measure that would 

 lessen this number might well be considered an eco- 

 nomical one; but beyond the ^question of economy 

 stands that of justice. For it is no more than iust 

 that the soldier who has given all the best years ot his 

 life to the military service of the country should have 

 some provision made for his old age besides the pres- 

 ent Soldiers' Home, where he is separated from his 

 family. 



It is the opinion of the Lieutenant- General of the 

 Army that thirty years would be the proper period of 

 service to authorize the retirement of a private soldier 

 or a non-commissioned officer. The passage of this 

 bill would not entail much expense lor the Govern- 

 ment, because there are in the army only fifty enlisted 

 men who have served thirty years. 



Miscellaneous. A bill to provide permanent 

 reservations for the Indians in northern Mon- 

 tana, and for other purposes, passed the Senate, 

 but objection was made to its consideration in 

 the House. A bill to enable the President to 

 accept invitations of foreign governments to 

 international exhibitions and to appoint com- 

 missioners thereto, and for other purposes, 

 passed the Senate, but went no further. A 

 motion to suspend the rules in the House and 

 take up the bankruptcy bill failed to receive 

 the requisite majority. A bill to prohibit the 

 issue of treasury notes of less denomination 

 than five dollars, and to provide for the issue 

 of one, two, and five dollar silver certificates, 

 was rejected in the House. A bill to repeal all 

 laws providing for the pre-emption of the pub- 

 lic lands, originating in the House, was debated 

 at great length in the Senate and passed with 

 amendments, in which the House refused to 

 concur. A Senate bill to amend sections 2474 

 and 2475 of the Revised Statutes of the United 

 States, setting apart a certain tract of land ly- 

 ing near the head-waters of the Yellowstone 

 as a public park, was passed by the House with 

 amendments, in which the Senate refused to 

 concur. A bill to provide for the distribution 

 of the statutes of the United States and the 

 " Congressional Record " to designated incorpo- 

 rated bodies, institutions, and associations with- 

 in the several States and Territories was passed 

 by the Senate, but its consideration in the House 

 was objected to. A bill to prohibit the re- 

 moval of any honorably discharged Union sol- 

 dier, sailor, or marine, or the widow or de- 

 pendent relative of any deceased Union soldier, 

 sailor, or marine, from any office in the civil 

 service of the United States, except for specific 

 causes, was tabled in the House. An act lim- 

 iting the time for the presentation of claims 

 against the United States passed the House, but 

 fell by the way in the Senate. An act to es- 

 tablish a department of agriculture passed the 

 House and was reported in the Senate with 



amendments, but got no further. A bill to 

 quiet the title of settlers on the Des Moincs 

 river lands in Iowa, and for other purposes, 

 was discussed in the Senate at great length, 

 and finally passed at too late a day to get 

 any further. A bill to enable the people of 

 that part of the Territory of Dakota south 

 of the forty-sixth parallel of north latitude to 

 form a Constitution and State government, and 

 for the admission of the State into the Union 

 on an equal footing with the original States, 

 and for other purposes, passed the Senate, but 

 was not acted upon in the House. A bill regu- 

 lating the fees of pension and claim agents 

 passed the Senate, was reported in the House, 

 and debated, but not pushed to a passage. A 

 bill providing for the appointment of a com- 

 mission on the subject of the alcoholic liquor 

 traific passed the Senate. 



Precedence at Inauguration. In accordance 

 with the usual custom, the ceremonies connect- 

 ed with the inauguration of the President were 

 put in the hands of a senatorial committee of 

 arrangements, and their provisions for the ac- 

 commodation of the House gave rise to some 

 bitter feeling. March 2, 1885, Mr. Mills, of 

 Texas, offered the following resolution, and 

 moved to suspend the rules and pass it : 



Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the 

 committee appointed to arrange the inaugural ceremo- 

 nies for the 4th instant having declined to give to the 

 Eepresentatives in Congress their proper place, we will 

 decline to take any part in said ceremonies at the Cap- 

 itol. 



In support of the resolution, Mr. Reagan, 

 of Texas, said : " The President of the United 

 States is to be inaugurated and the two houses 

 of Congress are to adopt the usual courtesies 

 and regulations for the witnessing of that inau- 

 guration. The two houses make up the Con- 

 gress of the United States. It is not composed 

 of a Senate alone. Each house is entitled to 

 be respected and to have its voice in making 

 the appropriate arrangements and to occupy 

 its proper position in the ceremonies connected 

 with the inauguration. The Representatives 

 of the American people should not permit the 

 senatorial branch to take absolute, unqualified 

 control of the inauguration of the President, 

 ignoring the people's Representatives, and aft- 

 er they have accommodated themselves on the 

 right of the President who is to be inaugurated, 

 and placed diplomats, judges, heads of depart- 

 ments, bureau officers, military officers, and 

 everybody else in the second place of honor, 

 condescending to place the three hundred and 

 twenty-five Representatives of the American 

 people in the last place of honor instead of con- 

 sulting them and permitting them to occupy 

 the place that common right and common de- 

 cency and courtesy demand for them. 



" Until 12 o'clock of March 4 this House is in 

 existence, and a number of Senators will have 

 no longer tenure than the whole of the House; 

 and it is the Congress of the United States that 

 ought to make arrangements for the inaugura- 

 tion of the President according to custom and 



