The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-04-02
CONGRESS-.
Scenes and Incidents Attending Its Closing
Hours.
: Washington Cor. chicago Tribune.]

SccheS anu incidents Attending Its Closing
Hours.
Washington Cor. Chicago Tribune
The close of the Forty third Congress
was unmarked in the House by special
incidents, save that which followed the
final address of Speaker Blaine. When
his last words and the hammer fell. there
was scene which the Oldest members of
Congress do not remember to have ever
Witnessed in the hall of the House.
NLembers-elect, ladies, and visiting
strangers thronged the floor, every foot Of
which was occupied. AS his speech CON
cluded, the immense audience on the
floor and In the gallaries manifested the
greatest enthusiasm, and cheered until
1t seemed as If the applause would never
end. Blaine himself, relinquishing his
gavel and his chair, descended to the
desk of the reading clerk, and was so
moved by this spontaneous manifestation
OF non-partisan approval that for mo-
ment this strong man bowed his head to
conceal his emotions
just prior to the adjournment the
Maine delegation insC Congress had placed
on the Speakers table large morocco
iewelry case containing a present from
that delegation as an acknowledgment
of their high regard. The case contained
silver gavel and tankard.
An amusing incident of the closing
minutes was the dispatch of messengers
from the House to the Senate with the
enrolled bills, in order that they might
receive the signatures of the Vice-Presi-
dent and the President before Congress
should end. House pages, as the bills
were hastily signed and presented to the
House by the Speaker, would snatch
them one by one, dash through the
crowd in the main aisle, traverse the
length of the Capitol and arrive breath
less at the Senate Chamber. Gen. Chip
man, delegate in Congress, closed his
career by acting IN this capacity. A bill
to incorporate the Inland and Seaboard
Coast Company of this District, which
passed the Senate last session, had re-
ceived a verbal amendment in 4ess than
ten minutes before the Congress ex-
pired. The House concurred. In this
brief space, the bill would become dead
document or a law. Chapman previously
enrolled it with his own hand, had it ap-
proved by the Committe on Enrolled
Bills, presented it to the Speaker, and
snatching it with the signature undried,
himself ran with the bill to the Senate
and saved it, it being signed by the Pres
ident as the minute-hand reached the
hour of noon. This incient was not
without its lesson upon the House. It
SQOWSu, rs Lie u1OSU GADGEl0uCGd 10t5IS-
lators are agreed, that the present method
of enrolling bills and the processes of
final legislation are exceedingly imperfect
and dangerous. The enrolling-clerks of
Congress for the last forty-eight hours
have sat at their desks without sleep, and
almost without food, engaged in enamel
ing upon the cumbersome parchment the
bills which became the basis of the laws
of the land. Last year, a slip of comma
in this parchment enrolment cost the
Treasury millions of dollars in the silk
ribbon cases. The miracle is that those
clerks, working with almost superhuman
energy in the closing hours, do not make
blunders of the grayest character. In all
this haste, every j must be dotted and t
crossed, and compared with the original
bills. This is done under the super
vision of standing committee of both
houses. No one who should watch these
processes of enrolment would fail to dis
cover an opportunity for intentional
fraud. The pressure of time is too great
for knavery. The danger is from the
accidents incident to haste and fatigue.
It was remarked by the Oldest enroll
ing clerks that never in the history of
Congress have SO many large bills been
presented for enrolment or completed
in so short a time.
exact figures the aggregate amount of
money appropriated at this session of
Congress. The Clerks of both houses
are SO entirely overcome by the exhaust
ing labors of continuous session of
nearly three days and three nights that
the footing has not been made. A very
near approximation, however, is possi-
BILE. The approximate appropriations,
from which it is thought the official foot
ings viii show very slight deviations, are
these
Legislative Appropriation bill. 613, 900
Army. -.------.--- 2,aoo,ooo
Navy ..................-... 17,000,0 900
Consular and Diplomatic. 1.350, GOO
Pension. 80 0o0, goo
River and harbor Coco, 900
Sundry Civil. ..................... q, 100000
Relief biiis and private claims 2,isi 900
The policy of abolishing indefinite APP
preparations, which, was begun last year,
has been strictly followed and greatly
extended !; all the appropriations of mo-
ment this year are what Is known as per-
manent. In the matter of public build
ing there is a strict limitation upon every
appropriation, the limitation being such
that, with two exceptions, there are no
appropriations for public buildings for
which there is not an actual plan and de-
tailed statement of estimates.
Speaker Blaine at one time despaired
of the passage of the Sundry Civil and
the Deficiency bills. The most wonder
full speed in legislation ever known was
on the conference report to the Defici-
ency bill. 1t came from the Senate with
thirty-five amendments. Each of these
amendments was considered, some OF
them modified, and all caused some de-
bate. Yet the conference report was
adopted in thirty-five minutes from the
time the bill reached the House.
A Nights Experience ON the Branch
The Illinois Central branch to Centra-
liza in times aoone furnished material Fr,