Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-05-26

The Final Disposision Of Acts 81 Cen.
gYess,

HOW BILLS Reach THE srArR DEPARTMENT IRON
THE cAPrroL-rHx IMPORTANT STOP AT rHB WHITE
HousE-How THE LAWS ARE PREPARED FOR rHK
PRrNTER-A COMPLETE RECORD OF LEGBrArroN.
An act OF Congress has by no means a sinecure;
It's course Is far from lazy one; Its route In travel
ing from Its birthplace 10 its tomb is circutous,
and It's pace is rapid. It rst breathes the air of
legality on parchment scroll, large or small, as
the needs OF legislative clearness require. 1t
sometimes with cruel brevity and legal precision,
sets forth the law on a single sheet and In q
few lines; again it describes with painful
minuteness and excruciating repetition Its
provisions and scope. 1t Is written In q
large, legible hand on wide parchment, with
formidable heading, preceded by its title, its
baptismal name. The officers of the two Houses
OF Congress sign on It's back the clerk OF the House
In which IL originated attests TO its correct enroll
| the uncertain hook OF Executive approval With
out delay IL Is sent by trusty hands to the White
House for final inspection. There iJ is scruttnized
stamped with the date OF its receipt For ten days
now IT'S fate will be In the balance unless the course
70 1 more
the bills that thus come for the Presidential name,
and for each letter Is written to the head of the
there be any reasons why it should not be ap-
proved. Accompanying this letter are frequently
sent other documents tnat may throw light on the
case, reports OF committees, and sometimes COM
munications from other sources. Thus encum-
bered the little crafts are sent forth on side-way
make the trip quickly, returning within day;
others are delayed for two and some for three or
four days Occasionly bill IS kept for eight or
even nine days and Is returned TO the President
just In time to be signed.
BACK AGAIN.
When the bills come in again, laden with depart
mental opinions, they are presented to the Presi-
dent; and here inscrutable fate holds full sway.
No eye can penetrate the depth Of Official gloom
BILL OF considering its effect-perhaps It's cause as
well-of deciding upon its ACCESSIBILITY, Of judging
as a 70 It's economy vel drawn through which
peep, and when they peep they keep eternal ST.
lence. In the course OF time the bills emerge
made laws, others disapproved and sent back TO
the mandatory either for amendment or complete
destruction. Approval Is accomplished by sigma
ture. In the present Administration the President
writes In his fine, even hand the following phrase
immediately under the body OF the bin on the left
hand SIDE OF the Sheet approved May 49, 1883
methods OF signing. Some have written out the
words OF approval and date, as does the President
this form engrossed on the bill by a clerk and
merely write the executive name. President Ar
thur followed the latter plan. Disapproyal is ex-
pressed by a "veto message which, setting forth
In form the reasons for n0n-consent, is sent with
the bill TO the house where it originated.
AFTER APPROVAL.
As soon as the bills are signed by the President
they become, in legal vernacular, acts, and the
next step In the process of their existence Is their
registry and filing at the Department OF State
They are sent over by a messenger, who delivers
them to the chief clerk of the Department. They
are Immediately stamped with the date of their
There they are hastily examined and marked ac-
cording to their character. "pubiic" or 'private
each being given number ranging from the first
act received. The numbering given the bills at
the Capitol is diSregarded with one exception,
thus: When number OF acts come in at the same
time those which originated IN the senate are re-
corded first, and these are arranged according to
their calendar numbers. This REMEMBERING Is
necessary since the bills seldom become laws in
their number, and also because-tO the grief OF
some and to the Joy OF others-there are hundreds
OF measures that never start on their way to the
In this way there are two sets of numbers run
ming through each session, and the acts are re-
corded in register which gives their characters,
whether public or private, and their titles For
example, IAN act entitled an act for the relief OF
Timothy Titcomb," would have marked on its
becomes part Of the act an reference to a law
Der :, first session, Fiftieth Congress. BY means
OF this system an exact account Of every act is
easily kept.
GETTING READY FOR THE PRINTER.
The Congressional Record is carefully scanned
finally passing are checked. Printed copies of
these bills such as are distributed at the Capitol
among the members, are then secured, and every
thing Is prepared so that when the signed act
reaches the Department 1t can be prepared for the
printer as quickly as possible. Speed is the most
important factor at this point. Experienced
clerks read the printed bin and the approved act
any mistakes OF spelling that may occur on the
parchment. or original copy. The comparison is
carried to the punctuation, particular attention
commas n nc.
cas1onally been shown how valuable the use of a
comma may be In an appropriation act. All sums
OF money are read twice. first by the "proOf-
reader" and then by the cOpy- holder" In order to
insure perfect accuracy. AS soon AS the reading
Is finished the verified printed copy Is sent to the
Public Printer, with a requisition for, say 800
copies OF 'Public act number so-and-sO." When
theprinting is done the copies sent to the De-
pared with the work OF the printer. the first CON-
parisOn being duplicated, even to the rereading Of
the sums OF money. Thus all figures indicating
have passed inspection at the Capitol and White
House, read four times before they finally appear
10 print The printed copies are then sent to the
secretaries OF the Interior and the Treasury or
Affect
THE PARCHMENT COPY
has fulfilled its mission the bearer OF legislative
action and is filed in large room adjacent to the
library, filled TO the ceiling with sombre cases
marked with dimnutive figures At the end OF
each session all Of the acts passed are bound in
one volume, or II the legislative mill has CHANGED
TO run with particular rapidity In two or more
volumes One, however, Is generally sufficient,
And thus while sessions pass and Congressman
come and go, the laws sleep on with, perhaps, the
tnanimate conscience that a little has been done
toward the running OF the great machine called
1.-THE United States of America" This room con-
talns every act signed since the beginning OF the
Government; every law that has been entered on
the statute books OF the country.
THERE Is STORY SLEEPING
in this room OF time when the British came to
Washington in 1872. An unknown hero it IL
said, desiring to serve his country, was seized
with patriotic fear for the safety OF the public
valuables. Hastily deciding upon plan, he drove
one-horse wagon to the department, then located
In the Treasury Department building, near the
south front OF the present Treasury, with the
haste OF fear-rum0r said that the British were In
sight-toOk all that he could carry in his wagon
including the volumes OF archives with which he
drove furiously into the country. He went some
distance up the river and securely hid the precious
documents in the woods. Thus the legal chain has
been preserved unbroken.
II is the duty Of the state Department to furnish
AL who may apply for them with certified copies
OF acts OF Congress-. 1t occasionally happens that
member OF Congress, or perhaps an OFFICIAL or a
constituent, feeling unSatisned as to the correct
ness OF the copy or a certain act which he may
possess, will want TO be perfectly that there
Is no mistake and he applies at the Department
Tor certified copy OF public or private act number
sO-and-So OF such-and-such Congress- The act Is
drawn from its hiding-pla and the process OF
comparison repeated. 1t never happens that
haF 10 md nwA HH. IL