National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-12-05

That C mmittec was created IN the closing
buuls of the thirty eighth Congress and
given the same Jurisdiction and powers
with iCspcct to the general appropriation
bills posstsscd 10y the committee on ways
AID meal S, which, from It's creation IN 1902,
had prepared aud reported said bills
Until tic first session of the forty-fourth
Congress the rules Of the House strictly
prohibited legislation on general appro-
l1ution bills, On the nth OF January, 1875,
MIR. Cox reported from the committee on
rules the following amendment Submitted
by MIR. Holman) to rule 1907 dNor hall
any provision IN any such bill or amend
meht thereto, changing existing law, be In
order, except such as being gcrmane to the
subject matter of the bill. shall retrench
expenditures"
It was urged by Mr.. Hurlbut that the
proposed rule would practically abolish
all committees except the committee on
approrriations;' by Mr.. Garfield that IL
would enable II to "recast all the legisla-
ton concerning the public service;" by Mr..
Banks that 1t would scoop all legislation
into the committee ON appropriations" by
MIR. Rasson that IL would "depriye the
the committees that have specific portions
Of our jurisdiction committed to them, and
practically give to one committee the whole
Of that jurisdictions" and by Mr. Hale, that
II conferred an immense power on the
committee and, IL adopted, "would run
into an enormoussevil." In conclusion, Mr..
Hale, who had served for years on the com
mittccc, said: "My experience has been
that the most dangerous legislation that
ever goes out Of the halls Of Congress is in
Appropriation bills, and will not vote for
anything TINT In any way, under whatever
gu so II may be urged, or however hon
cstly i may be urged, will increase the
loweTto legislato upon appropriation bills
The amendment was, however, adopted by
yeas ltO. nays l02-a strict party vote-and
thus tie House of Representatives made n
"new departure of the greatest import
aDce IN its procedure.
N 1881 the House adopted a rule requir-
ing u e general appropriation bills to be re-
ported within thiity days after the appoint
ment II the committee, and subsequently
added n clause that, in the event of failure
to so report said bills, the reasons for such
failure should TO reported. That provision
was omitted in the revision, and RUE 100
Including the "llolman amendment") was
reported without Recommendation, for the
reason that the committee, having decided
that lis report should be the unanimous
agreement Of the committee, decided to re-
port intact such rules as they could not
agree uron unanimously, and as to this rule
there was a very decided disagreement.
The "cnormous powers conferred on the
committee by tie "Ilolman amendment
we've still further increased by charging
and Widening the scope of legislation on
generol appropriation bills, while indi-
iCctly, by reason of the distractions thrown
in the way Of independent legislation, its
power and importance were vastly in
creased. When the fact is stated that, in
the forty-sixth Congress, the House pro-
ceeded to business in regular order on the
union calendar but once, and the House
calendar twice; in the forty-seventh Con-
gress but twice TO each calendar, and In the
toIty.eighth Congress hut twice TO the
union and three times to the House calen-
dOr, it will be readily understood why the
appropriation bills, which must 90 through,
are sought TO be made the vehicles of ali
manner of general legislation.
AT the close of the last Congress there
were on the union calendar 1917 bills, on
the House calendar 1856, on the private cal
endar 3s5, on the speakers table 25l SEN
ate bills, and there were besides numerous
especial ordersn and matters of diminished
business" and among them being several
important bills which had also died on the
calendar and speakers table with the ex-
piration of the forty-siXth aud forty
seventh Congresses.
In an article published in the June num-
Der of an eastern magazine for 1872 by the
late President Garfield, entitled "National
Appropriations and Interpretations, he
said: perhaps the most reprehensible
method connected with appropriation bills
has resulted from change of one of the
House rules made in 1876, by which any
general legislation germane to bill may
be in order If it retrenches expenditure.
The construction recently given to this
amended rule has resulted In putting great
mass Of general legislation upon the appro-
priation bills, and has so overloaded the
committee as TO render it quito impossible
for its members TO devote sufficient atten-
ton to the details of the appropriations
proper. If this rule be continued In force
1t will be likely TO break down the commit
tee On appropriations, and dispense the
annual bills to the several committees"
The assertion of Gen. Garfield, that the
committee had become overloaded" is
fully borne out by the history of the appro-
priGtion hills for the last i've Congresses.
II has been found impossible, apparently,
to avoid reporting some of these bills In the
closing hours of dying Congress, when 1t
was impossible to give them the careful
scrutiny they should receive, and, as re-
suit, the practice of passing them under
suspension OF the rules has lately grown
up, and which, In spite Of its almost uni
vcrsal condemnation, seems likely to be-
lishtd practice OF the House. The result
Of this is that the general appropriation
ILLS are "piled in,h SO to speak, upon the
Senate committee on appropriations, which
is obliged to sit almost constantly during
the last few weeks of a session at great per-
sonal inconvenience to the members, while
the Senate is obliged frequently to sit all
night in order to prevent an extra session,
and then has to rely almost entirely on the
too 10 hal atn lie nft I,a
AS illustrating this II may be stated that
eight of the Thirteen general appropriation
bills passed the House within three weeks
Of the close Of the last session, four of them
within eight days, and two within four
days-the sundry civil and defciency-both
being passed under suspension Of the rules.
In addition to the criticisms made Of this
system of legislation may be added the
practical one Of the impossibility of accu-
rate enrolment of the appropriation bills,
as the numerous errors made In the past
few years attest. 1t is simplya physical im.
possibility under the present practice, to
avoid them, and the wonder Is, all things
considered, that more are not made. On
three bills alone during the last session
there were COS Senate amendments, while
the conference reports on eight bills were
not disposed Of until within the last three
days of the session, and the reports ON the
naval, ueUclcucy, ana bunury CIVIL DIE
within ten hours Of the final adjournment
Of Congress. Indeed, such was the con
dition Of affairs that 1t was within the
power Of one member, after midnight on
the 3rd Of March, to defeat at least two OF
the appropriation bills by simply demand,
ing quorum, and thus force an extra ses.
sion of the forty-ninth Congress. The
last roll-call taken thereon, about midnight
showedsbarely quorum, and from that
timO until about ii o'clock u. M on the 4th
Of March, when the vote was taken on the
Senate bill for the retirement Of Gen. Grant
no quorum was present. Members were
worn out, the House having been In session
almost constantly from the previous Mon
day at II O'Clock, all proceedings, includ-
ing the disposition OF conference reports
owing tothe "Glibusteringn against con.
tested election case-being had by unani
nous consent, and 1t was only by the most
superhuman efforts on the part Of the clerk
Office shat the bills were enrolled, none
being examined or compensation want OF
timely the committee on enrolled bills.
The conflict between the two houses as to
LEGISLATION on 0anarnl anprnnriatinn hilIa