200 



CONGRESS. (TARIFF MEASURES.) 



and wounded not less than six months, and who is 

 without other adequate means of support than her own 

 daily labor, shall, upon making due proof of the fact, 

 according to such rules and regulations as the Secretary 

 of the Interior may provide, be placed upon the pension 

 roll of the United States and be entitled to receive 

 $12 per month ; and such pension shall commence 

 from the date of filing the application in the Pension 

 Office after the passage of this act : Provided, That 

 any pension granted "under any former law to any 

 applicant under this act shall terminate from the 

 date of commencement of the pension under this act : 

 Provided, further, That no person now receiving a 

 pension as army nurse under any special act shall be 

 entitled to receive a pension under this act. 



The report of the Committee on Pensions in 

 favor of this measure is as follows : 



From the best authorities attainable, it is ascer- 

 tained that the number of persons who would become 

 beneficiaries under this bill would not probably ex- 

 ceed three hundred, if, indeed, it would reach that 

 number. 



The Association of Army Nurses, with headquarters 

 at Washington, D. C., and the Woman's Eelief Corps 

 of the United States, have both been engaged, during 

 the past two years, in conducting a thorough corre- 

 spondence throughout the entire country, with a view 

 to secure a complete list of sucri women as served as 

 army nurses during the civil war. 



While their lists do not absolutely harmonize, there 

 is sufficient in their statements, when compared, to 

 show that together they have secured the names and 

 addresses of approximately the entire number of such 

 nurses, and such correspondence does not secure a 

 list even as large as that stated three hundred who 

 could possibly become beneficiaries under this act. 



This small band of noble women are the sole re- 

 maining representatives of a class of patriotic women 

 who came from every section of our land. In their 

 service they knew no North, no South. As angels of 

 mercy they came to care for and comfort both blue 

 and gray. They ministered to the needs of the suf- 

 fering everywhere. On field or in hospital their 

 sweet voices were heard, and their gentle touch was 

 given to assuage sorrow and pain. 



Many of them were women of wealth, who left 

 comfortable homes and worked without pay ; many 

 even giving of their own means to relieve the suffer- 

 ings of the sick and wounded soldiers. 



Others, who received small payment for their serv- 

 ices, parted with that scanty sum of money to pur- 

 chase food and medicine for the soldier boys under 

 their charge. 



Many were broken down in health, and such, if 

 living to-day, are among the sufferers from that war. 



The benefits of this oil! apply only to such army 

 nurses as " are without other adequate means of sup- 

 port than their own daily labor." 



The measure passed the Senate and was ap- 

 proved by the President. 



The '' intermediate pension " bill also became 

 a law. It provides for an " intermediate pen- 

 sion rate," $50 a month, for those incapacitated 

 for manual labor by reason of injuries received 

 or disease contracted in the service of the United 

 States in the line of duty, and yet not totally 

 helpless. 



There was also a measure passed granting 

 pensions to survivors of the Black Hawk and 

 feeminole wars. 



The Presidential Succession. On Feb. 9, 

 1892, the House passed the following bill with- 

 out a division : 



Be it enacted, etc., That in the first section of the 

 act of which this is amendatory there shall be inserted 

 after the words " Secretary of the Interior" the words, 



" or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, 

 resignation, or inability, then the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture." 



It is an amendment to " An Act to provide 

 for the performance of the duties of the office 

 of President in case of the removal, death, res- 

 ignation, or inability both of the President and 

 Vice-President," approved Jan. 19, 1886. Mr. 

 Powers, of Vermont, said, in explanation of the 

 measure : 



" In 1886 an act of Congress was passed pro- 

 viding that in case of death or inability of both 

 the President and Vice-President, the succession 

 to the presidential office should devolve upon the 

 different members of the Cabinet in the order of 

 thtir commissions. At that time the last official 

 in the line of succession was the Secretary of the 

 Interior. Since that time the Department of 

 Agriculture has been created, the Secretary of 

 that department being made a Cabinet official. 

 In order, therefore, to preserve the harmony of 

 our legislation and to avoid a seeming discrim- 

 ination against the Department of Agriculture, 

 this bill provides in reference to the succession 

 to the presidential office that the Secretary of 

 Agriculture shall stand after the Secretary of 

 the Interior." 



The bill passed the Senate April 22 without 

 a division, and was approved by the President. 



Other Bills that became Laws. The fol- 

 lowing bills, among about 400 that became laws, 

 may also be mentioned : 



For the permanent preservation and custody 

 of the records of the volunteer armies. 



Increasing the maximum pay of members of 

 life-saving crews to $65 a month. 



To appropriate $50.000 for a site and pedestal 

 for a statue of Gen. Sherman. 



To establish a military board to review the 

 findings of courts-martial. 



To regulate promotions in the marine corps. 



For the completion of the allotment of lands 

 to Cheyennes and Arapahoes. 



For the investigation of mining debris in Cali- 

 fornia. 



To set apart land for the use of the Lick Ob- 

 servatory. 



To release steamers on inland waters from ob- 

 ligation to carry life-saving projectiles. 



To protect foreign exhibitors at the World's 

 Fair. 



To permit enlisted men in the army to be ex- 

 amined for promotion to second lieutenancies. 



Tariff Measures. Much of the time of this 

 Congress was taken up in the discussion of reve- 

 nue measures; but no changes of the tariff law 

 were brought about, as the Republican majority 

 of the Senate stood in the way of the legisla- 

 tion adopted by the Democratic majority of the 

 House. One important measure that passed the 

 latter body was a bill to place wool on the free 

 list and reduce the duties on woolen goods. It 

 was as follows : 



Be it enacted, etc., That on and after the 1st day of 

 January, 1893, the following articles, when imported, 

 shall be exempt from duty, namely : All wools, hair 

 of the camel, goat, alpaca, and other like animals, and 

 all wool and hair on the skin, all noils, top waste, 

 slubbing waste, roving waste, ring waste, yarn waste, 

 card waste, bur waste, rags, and flocks, including all 

 waste or rags composed wholly or in part of wool. 



