184 



CONGRESS. (PENSIONS.) 



relief the recipients of charity from those 

 who are not legally bound for their support 

 and there has been added, because of that class, 

 an average of five to each county, giving a total 

 of 12,905 in all. That added to the other num- 

 ber makes a total of 26,249 probable pensioners 

 in the event of the passage of this bill. That 

 is the estimate of the committee. Then, in ad- 

 dition to that, the committee considered the 

 further fact that there were pending in the 

 Pension-Office claims of those who perhaps 

 could bring themselves within the provisions 

 of this bill, who were now receiving a small 

 pension, and they added on that account a con- 

 siderable number, 6,856 persons in all. So that 

 the grand total of those who are to be benefited 

 by the passage of this bill is estimated by the 

 committee, from the best available sources, to 

 be 33,105 persons at an annual expense of $144 

 each, or a total aggregate of $4,767,120 per 

 annum. 



" This estimate, Mr. Speaker, which I have 

 given to the House, is based upon the number 

 of soldiers in the last war. Now, in addition 

 to that, the other soldiers of other wars must 

 be taken into account. It will be liberal, I 

 think, to say that not more than 10 per cent, 

 would be added to it, and even if 15 per cent, 

 more would be added under this section, it 

 would still require less than six million dollars 

 per annum to pay the expenses of all the pen- 

 sions provided for in the bill. 



"This, then, Mr. Speaker, is not only a broad 

 and philanthropic measure, but it is a reason- 

 able and conservative proposition. It is not 

 wild and is not extravagant. It is in the line 

 of action suggested by the Chief Executive in 

 his last annual message." 



In criticism of the measure Mr. Warner, of 

 Ohio, said: 



" While I may not vote against this bill, there 

 are some features of it which I deem very ob- 

 jectionable, and I hope that at least in one par- 

 ticular an amendment will be allowed. 



"There is no subject, Mr. Speaker, upon 

 which Congress is called to legislate where it 

 is more important to adhere to sound and con- 

 sistent principles than in legislating upon the 

 subject of peni-ions ; and yet there is no sub- 

 ject on which we are so likely to be carried 

 away by sentiment, by emotion, and, if I may 

 say so, by demagogy, as on the question of pen- 

 sions. 



" The first section of this bill I heartily ap- 

 prove. I think it entirely sound in principle. 

 There is every reason to suppose that a soldier 

 who was killed in the war if he were living 

 would extend aid now to his aged parents if in 

 need. The question should not therefore be 

 were they in need at the time of the soldier's 

 death, but are they in need now ? This bill 

 differs very widely in principle, too, from the 

 bill passed at the last session of Congress which 

 I voted against, and if I ever cast a righteous 

 vote I think that was one ; I allude to the bill 

 increasing the pensions of that small class who 



were already receiving very large pensions. 

 That bill to the few who had much gave more, 

 and to those who had nothing it gave nothing. 



"But, Mr. Speaker, the principal objection 

 which I have to this bill is to the pauper feat- 

 ure of the second section. Indeed, the bill is 

 made by this section rather a pauper bill than 

 a pension bill. I do not like that feature of it. 

 In 1818 a bill was passed not unlike this re- 

 lating to the soldiers of the Revolutionary War ; 

 it was a bill granting pensions to those who 

 were indigent or paupers, but it did not stand 

 long. It was modified the next year, I believe, 

 so as to include all who had not property of the 

 value of $300. It never gave satisfaction, and 

 led to frequent amendments, and finally was 

 repealed entirely. The principle of this act 

 was frequently condemned in the debates in 

 Congress." 



The rules were suspended, and the bill passed 

 by the following vote : 



YEAS G. E. Adams, J. J. Adams, C. II. Allen, 

 C. M. Anderson, J. A. Anderson, Atkinson, Bacon, 

 Baker, Bayne, Bound, Boutelle, Boyle, Brady, C. E. 

 Brown, W. W. Brown, Brumm, Buck, Bunnell, 

 Burncs, Burrows, Butterworth, Bynum, J. M. Camp- 

 bell, J. E. Campbell, Cannon, Carleton, Caswell, 

 Clardy, Cobb, Conger. Cooper, Curtin, Cutcheon, 

 Davenport, Davis, Dingley. Dorsey, Dougherty, Dun- 

 ham, Eden, Eldredge, Ellsberry, Ely. Ermentrout, 

 Evans, Everhart, Farqubar. Eisner, Fleeger, Foran, 

 Ford, Frederick, Fuller, Funston, Gallinger, Gay, 

 C. H. Gibson, Goff, Grosvenor, Grout, Guenther, Hale, 

 Hal), Harmer, Hatch, Hayden, HayneSj D. B. Ilcn- 

 de_rson, Henley, Hepburn, Hermann, Ihestand, Iliil, 

 Hitt, Holman, Holmes, Hopkins, Howard, F. A. John- 

 son. J. T. Johnston, Kelley. Kctcbam, Kleiner, La 

 Follette, Landes, Lawler, Le Fevre, Lehlbach, Lib- 

 bey, Lindsley, Little, Long, Lore, Louttit, Lovering, 

 Lowry, Lyman, Markham, Matson, McAdoo, McKen- 

 na, McKinley, Merriman, Millard, Milliken, Moffat, 

 Morrill, Morrison, Morrow, Murphy, Neece, Negley, 

 Nelson, O'Donnell, Charles O'Neill, J. J. O'Neill, 

 Osborne, Outhwaite, Owen, Parker, Perkins, Peters, 

 Pettibone, Phelps, Pindar, Pirce, Plumbj Randall, 

 Ranney, Reed, Rice, Riggs, Rockwell, Rotneis,Rowell, 

 Rusk, "Ryan, Sawyer, Scott, Scranton, Seney, Sey- 

 mour, Shaw, Sowden, Spooncr, Springer, Stahlnecker, 

 Steele, Stephenson, E. F. Stone, W. J. Stone of Mis- 

 souri, Strait, Struble, Swope, Taulbee, E. B. Taylor, 

 I. H. Taylor, J. R. Thomas, O. B. Thomas. Thompson, 

 Townshend, Van Schaick, Viele, Wade, Wadsworth, 

 Wait, Wakcfield, J. H. Ward, T. B. Ward. A. J. 

 Warner, William Warner, J. B. Weaver, Weber. A. 

 C. White, Milo White, Wilkins, Winans, Woliord, 

 Woodburn, Worthington 180. 



NAYS J. M. Allen, Ballentine, Barbour, Barksdale, 

 Barnes, Bennett, Blanchard, Bland, Blount, Bragg, 

 C. R. Brcckinridge, W. C. P. Breckinridge, Cabell, 

 Caldwell. Catchings, Clements, Compton, Comstock, 

 Cowles, W. R. Cox, Crisp. Croxton, Culberson, Dar- 

 gan, A. C. Davidson, R. H. M. Davidson, Dawson, 

 Dibble, Dunn, Glass, Glover, W. J. Green, Ilulsell, 

 Hammond, Harris, Hemphill. J. S. Henderson, Her- 

 bert, Hutton, Irion, T. D. Johnston, J. H. Jones, J. 

 T. Jones, Laffoon. Lanham, Martin, McCreary, Mc- 

 Millin, McRae, Miller, Mills, Neal, Gates, O'Ftrrall, 

 Peel, Perry, Richardson, Robertson, Rogers, Sadler, 

 Savers, Singleton, Skinner, Charles Stewart, Storm, 

 J. "M. Taylor, Throckmorton, Tillman, Trigg, Tucker, 

 Turner, Van Eaton, Wellborn, Wheeler, \\ illis, Wise 

 76. 



NOT VOTING Aiken, Barry, Belmont, Bingham, 

 Bliss, T. M. Browne, Buchanan. Burleigh, Felix 

 Campbell, T. J. Campbell, Candler, Collins, S. S. 



