Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-02-09
A BIG WEEK IN CONGRESS.
AN EXTRA SESSION TREMBLING
IN THE BALANCE.

I
| AN EXTRA SESSION TREMBLING
IN THE BALANCE.
River and Harbor Bill Cohorts Banded
/ for stubborn Fight-Friends of the
Regular Appropriation Bills to Make
Desperate Rally to Rush Them
Through
| W AsHINGTON, Feb. S.-Whatever may
De the purpose Of the leaders Of the pOliti.
cal parties in Congress. its business is
rapidly drifting to the point where an ex-
ira session Will be almost inevitable. Ii
Is denied by the prominent men OF both
parties that they desire an extra session.
but they admit that there is danger of it.
A mass Of business Of an important char
acter has been put off from session to ses-
/ sion, and lately from week TO week, until
now there is total stagnatiOn. Not bill
can get through, except it be a general
/ appropriation bill. or one which is tSJo un-
! important to stir up.OppOsitiOn from ten
/ members OF the House. The calendars
/ grOan under the accumulation OF thou
/ sands of bills, many of which relate to In
/ terests national in their character. Great
! projects 1Or revlving the navy undermining
/ the coast defenses, restoring millions of
/ acres OF unearned land grants to the pub
I lie domain, measures for important
! changes in the national banking acts,
/ the suspension of silver coinage and other
/ questions equally important have been
! delayed until the last month of the ses-
/ sion.
CHANCES OF THE BILLS.
/ 1t is safe to say that scarcely a single
/ bill of public interest will be passed un-
/ less it be forced through in the form of leg
/ lslatlon upon an appropriation bill. This
| form OF legislation is repugnant to the
/ rules OF the Senate, and that body will re-
| sist 1t in almost every case. Senators saw
| that while they do not want an extra
! session Of Congress, it Will not be their
/ fault but that of the House. which has
/ persisted in putting of everything until
| the last minute, and now asks the Senate
| 10 accept its appropriation bills, in
| Guiding general legislation. without sufi-
| cient time for consideration. They say
/ that the Senate does not wish an extra
| session, but as the Senate will have to
remain here anyway, perhaps the
/ course of the leaders of the House
means that they also desire to remain in
/ session after March 4. The Democratic
management of the business of the House
is open to the charge of stupidity or to a
deliberate purpose to secure an early
convention Of the FOrty-ninth Congress.
hEf bBLlCAN BLOII1NNT.
The Republican leaders are cOntribut-
lug to the difficulty of the situation by
their treatment Of the questions which
daily arise. They protest against the
do nothing policy of the Democrats and
declaim against the rules of the House.
yet never fail to encourage whatever
tends TO increase the embarrassment of the
situation, ana sometimes actively par
ticipate IN obstructive movements. Many
hot }, IL,
/ daY expressed suspicion that the secret
purpose of Mr.. Randall and his followers is
/ to permit the appropriation bills to fail,
| while he publicly protests against it.
| Others are convinced that the hand of
| Mr.. Blaine guides Messrs. Reed and His
| cock and their Republican followers in
| Congress to cuGningly shape the course
| of events so that the Cleveland admins
/ tratiOn Will be troubled by the presence
| of Congress during the summer Mr..
! Randall has gone TO New York, it is said,
/ to talk over the situation with Tilden and
/ Cleveland. and when he returns the policy
/ determined upon must soon develop it.
/ self.
| The Republicans begin to see that an
| extra session at which the Democrats
could put through the land grant for
| feiture bills, the bankruptcy bills, the
| reconstruction of the navy bill, the bill
/ Tedeeming the trade dollar and suspend
| ing the coinage of the standard dollar
and like bills whose passage Cleveland
will recommend would help the Demo-
Gratis much more than it would hurt them.
| They may change front and fight against
an extra session instead Of for it as they
have during the past week.
POWER OF THE MINORITY.
The condition of business in Con-
gress is such that the minority
in either House can easily force
an extra session, but if a purpose to do
so is anywhere entertained the fact has
not been made known, and the leaders in
both Houses express the opinion that the
appropriation bills will all be passed be-
tore March 4, in which case of course no
extra session viii be necessary. This
will require the abandonment of mary
important measures which have been per-
fected in one house or the other. 1t may
be added that not much general legisla-
tiOn other than that which may be at
tached to appropriation bills can in any
event be enacted. The action of the
House tomorrow is looked forward to
with much interest, as it is supposed
that the chances for an extra session will
thereby be either increased to a proba-
bility or reduced to nothing.
THE RIVERS AND HARBORs.
The body will assemble at 10 O'Clock as
in continuation of the last legislative day.
The most active promoters of the river
ana harbOr bill have announced their pur-
pose to resist the adjournment fOrmality
at noon and immediate reassembling as
on the next legislative day. They viii
endeaVOr to continue the last legislative
day throughout the week, If necessary to
secure the passage of their measure. In
the vote to take recess instead of an adj
jOuurment last night the friends of the
river and harbOr bill were found to be in
a strong majority, but the issue was not
then squarely made as between that
measure on the one hand and one of the
regular appropriation bills with
prospective extra session on the other.
Such will be the issue tomorrow.
WHAT Is BEFORE THE SENATE.
The course of affairs in the Senate dur
ing the present week is involved in con-
siderable doubt. Wednesday will be de-
voted to the counting of the electoral
votes. The pensions appropriation bill
will probably be taken up tomorrow and
passed. The Indian, army and agricultu-
raj appropriation bills are in the hands of
| the Senate Committee on Appropriations,
and may be reported in time for action
upon one or two of them before the end of
the week.
The unfinished business Is the anti
silver coinage bill, and several Senators
have prepared speeches upon it. If the
measure be not set aside by other than
appropriation bills, there is a prospect
that it may be disposed of before the end
of the week.
HOPES OF THE SILVER MEN.
The silver men, VINO at first threatened
to prevent action upon this bill, now
claim to have strength enough to strike
out the feature which looks to stopping
the coinage of the standard dollar and so
have less reason to postpone action.
In the House, if the Appropriations
Committee is successful tomorrow in
opposing further consideration of the
river and harbOr bill, the post office ap-
preparation bill will be called up. Imme-
diately after its passage the legislative,
executive and judicial bill will be pressed
for consideration. The Appropriations
Committee expect to report the sundry
civil bill so that it may be taken up next
in turn. These three measures VIII prob
ably be sufficient to consume the week.
CLEVELAND WITH TILDEN.
SFOuIfon5a T2anOrt Of His