The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-20
CONGRESS- LONG SESSION
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN THE
WAY OF LEGISLATION.

W ear toSoS-O4lS'
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19.-To-morrow at l
O'Clock the first session of the Fiftieth con
press will end 1t is the longest continuous
Sc sion in the history of the country of con-
crosses having lasted 32l days. The long
est previous session ran 302 days. ending
Sept. So Apart from the protracted but
interesting discussion of the tariff
question in both houses, and the un-
naralleled deadlock in consideration of the
hill to refund the direct tax, the session
has been remarkable in several ways, but
in none more than in the enormous number
of measu es introduced in both branches Of
congress. In the Senate 3,64l bills and 1l6
Joint resolutions were presented and in the
House the record ran up to the unequal5d
figures Of II sos bills and $50 joint resolu-
lions. making a grand total of 15,5S5
measures introduced in enc session. In the
Senate 2 39,4 measures ere report back
from the committees and placed on the cal
dar, much larger proproportlon THAI IN
tine House, whore S.305 measures of TIE tota!
number of II ,S2S introduced, still slumber
in the committee rooms.
IMPORTANT NEW LAWS.
Among the measures of public interest
ti,at have become laws are the following:
Relating to parmiss bic marks on mail
matter: for the protection of submarine
cables: for a division of the Sioux reSerVa-
tion: for a conference with the South and
C.; trail American nations; Ii hitting the
hours Of letter carriers; making Lieut.. sen.
Sheridan general Of the army; to establish
a department of labor for an inter
natio al maritime conference; to per
feet the quarantine service; requiring
the Pacific railroad companies to m iintain
telegraph lines; to authorize juries in the
United States circuit and district courts to
be used interchangeabiy to prohibit the
coming of Chinese laborers into the Unit ed
States: for an appraisers warehouse in New
York: to increase the detail of
army and naval officers to educ =
tjonal institutions; for the establishment
of rules in respect to ST. Marie and other
canals; to create boards OF arbitration TO
settle controversies between common car
riers and their employees; TO prevent the re-
turn of Chinese laborers to this country; TO
Investigate the practicability of cor struct-
Ing storage reservoirs i'll the arid regions;
to increase the pension iii case of deafness;
10 aid state homes for disabled soldiers;
changing the date of the meeting of the
electoral college.
IN CONFERENCE.
In the next stage-that is. in conference
between the two houses-are two bills Of
first Importance, namely, repeating the pre-
empton and timber cultuI o laws and pro-
viding a general homestead law; and de-
claring forfeiture of unearned railroad land
grants.
Pending before the Senate is the House
tariff bill and Senate substitute.
The ma passed bills to divide Dakota
and admit the southern half as a state and
to aid common school education the Blair
bill, but they never reached the House for
action. In the Senate the same thing
can be said of the following bills,
Il, 4la hn Geka
retaliation bill, whose passage was recon-
mended by the house; authorizing the issue
of fractional silver certificates; allowing
regulation by states of railways chartered
by the United States; for the printing of
government securities by hand to prevent
the use of the product of convict labor by
government departments or on public
works.
ON THE CALENDAR.
Ike following are the most important
bills Enacted upon on the Senate calen-
dar: To establish a United States land
court; to invest the surplus in United States
bonds; for the admission of Montana and
Washington territories; to prohibit the
alcoholic liquor traffic; to declare trusts
unlawful; to establish postal telegraph
system adversely reported from the COM
mittee).
The following measures of Importance
were reported from the House committee,
and are still on the House calendar:
To refund the direct tax IA vote on which
will be taken early in December next,
under an agreement by which the memora-
BILE dead lock over this bill was broken) for
the payment of arrears of pensions; for the
adjudication of the French spoliatiOn
claims adversely reported) to prevent the
introduction of contagious diseases; requir-
ing the investment of the national baukFe-
demption fund in circulating notes: the
Pacific railroad funding bill debated, but
never reached the point of action: to in
clude telegraph com oanies under the inter
state commerce act; to promote commercial
union with Canada; TO incorporate the Mic
aragua Canal Company to regulate the
manufacture of compound lard; for the
organization of the territory of Oklahoma
debated, but never finally voted on).
Following are the important Senate bills
which slumber in committees to which they
were originally referred: Requesting the
President to open negotiations with Great
Britain looking to the annexation of Canada
TO the United States; for the free coinage
of silver; to rer cal tie oeomargarine act;
to repeal arrears of pensions limitation to
provide a reserve; the Henuepin canal bill
to reduce letter postage to one cent; to
allow Americans to purchase foreign built
vessels; to grant women suffrage, aud
measures proposing radical changes in the
HOUSE BILLS LEFT IN COMMITTEE.
Following are the original House bills
which likewise never got out of committee:
To repeal the internal revenue laws and
tobacco tax; to prohibit the mailing of
newspapers containing lottery advertise
ments; to lay graduated income tax; for
a bounty on sugar; t. repeal the civil
service law; for free coinage Of silver: to
create navigable waterways between
Lake Erie and Lake Ontario !:
the Hennepin canal bill for full reciprocity
between the United States and Canada ;
directing judicial proceedings to be brought
against the Pacific railroad; to provide
more efficient mail service between the
United States and South America; to break
mp trusts; and various measures proposing
changes in our pension, tariff and financial
laws.
IMPORTANT PRIVATE BILLS.
The most important private bills of this
session were those pepsioning NJ s. Logan
and Mrs. Frank A. Blair, both of which
became laws, and bills to pension Mrs.
Waite and Mrs. Sheridan, which passed the
Senate, but never were acted upon by the
House.
The most important treaty which was
acted upon was the Canadian fisheries treaty,
which, contrary to custom, was considered
by the Senate in open session, aud, as will
be rendered, was rejected by strict party