The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-08-13

The first session of Congress which
ended last Thursday covered period
of seven months and twenty eight days.
OF this time the Senate was in session
l64 days and the House 1876 days.
During that time there were introduc-
ed in the two houses 13,203 measures,
of which 1904 were House bills, PA
House joint resolutions and 1891 bills
and SO joint resolutions of the Senate.
The measurers proposed for enactment
into laws exceeded in number by 2949
those introduced at the first session of
the 48th Congress which sat for seven
months and four days, or 165 days of
actual working time. They covered
all sorts of subjects, from the payment
OF laborer at the capital tor extra
services, to complex questions of tariff
Legislation and Legislation with respect
to the railroad finances. OF the entire
number comparatively few were of what
might be termed national Importance.
The greater number were measures of
private nature or of merely local i'm
portance, such as relief and pension
bills for the erection of public build
lngs for bridging rivers for grant.
ing right of way to railroads through
military or Indian reservations for
the removal of political disabilities; for
changing judicial districts for the es-
tablishment of new land offices for
changing the names or location or in
creasing the capital stock of national
banks; for printing the public docu-
ments, &c, &c. \ very small percen-
tage of the whole number of bills in
troduced of either a general or private
nature become laws comparatively a
small number succeeded in getting
through the committees to which they
were referred, and reaching the calen-
dars of the respective houses. Some
secured passage in the house in which
they originated but failed of action in
the other branch aud very large
number of measures that passed both
houses was 1,l01, being 231 Senate
bills, and $50 which originated in the
House. 1905 of these were received
by the President, and of that number
Sl4 were approved, l57 became laws
without the signature, 1l5 were vetoed,
and nine failed, for want of signatures
at the time of adjournment, 10 days
not having expired since they reached
the President
OF the new laws TAG were House
measures and PAL Senate measures.
The laws that became such by limita-
tion were, with two exceptions, private
pension and relief bills. The except-
ions were the bill to authorize the Kan
sas City, Fort Scott and Gulf Railway
Company TO construct railway through
the Indian Territory, and that to retire
Lieutenant Randall. OF the measures
vetoed by the President SO, were
Senate bills and II bills of the House.
Twenty eight of the Senate bills vetoed
were private pension bills. Three
were tor the erection of public build
ings at Dayton, Ohio, Sioux CITY,
Iowa and GAINESVILLE Ohio. One was
to grant to railroads the right of way
through the Indian Reservation in
Northern Montana, One to make
Springfield, Mass, a port delivery
One to provide that the bodies of paup.
ers, criminals and strangers, diving
within the District of Columbia un.
claimed within specified time after
death shall be turned over to the medi.
cal colleges, and one to quiet titles to
settlers on Des Moines river lands.
and ore to provide for the construction
OF a bridge across Lake Champlain.
VI q House bills disapproved by the
PRESIDENT, "a were private pension
bills and three were for the erection of
public buildings. The proposed public
were for Asheville, N. c.:
Duluth, MINI. and Springfield, Mo. The
number OF measures vetoed during the
session, ll3. While nearly ali the
vetoed bills of the Senate were report
ed back from committees with recon-
that they pass notwith-
standing the Presidents objection, and
while similar action was taken in some
Of the House bills only one, that of
granting pension to Joseph Romaser, |
vas passed by the two houses over the |
'eto. The Des Moines river bill pass |
ID the Senate over the veto but failed |
o receive the requisite two-thirds vote |
II the House. Motions to pass bills to |
grant pensions to Mary Anderson and |
o Andrew j. Wilson over the Presi
lents veto were defeated in the House. |
consideration of the other veto mes
ages has been postponed until the
lext session.