Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-10-20
The End Of the Longest and Most
Remarkable Session Ever
Held.
A Far Larger Number Of Documents Intro
duced in Both Houses Than
Ever Before.
Lists of the Most Important Measures Now
Pending and Still in Committee
The Work Accomplished
General News.

| o'clock the first session of the tiftleth
congress will end. the longest continuous
session in the history of nearly century
of congresses, having lasted 32l days. The
| longest previous session ran 302 days, end
| ing September 80.
Apart from the prolonged but interest
ing discussion of the tariff question IN both
| houses and the unparalleled deadlock"
| during the discussion of the bill to refund
the direct tax, the session was remarkable
in several ways, but mostly in the enor-
nous number of measures introduced in
| both branches of congress. Ia the senate
| 3,64 0bills and CPL joint resolutions were
presented, and in the house the record ran
up to the unequalled figures Of II ,59S bills
and 230 joint resolutions, making the
grand total of Il, $50 measures introduced
| in one session.
In the senate 1884 measures were re-
| ported back from committees and placed
on the calendar, a much larger proportion
| than in the house, where S,305 measures of
the total number of II ,S2S introduced, still
| slumber in the committee rooms.
Among the measures OF public interest
| that have become laws are the following:
| Relating to permissible marks on mail
matter; for the division of the Sioux reser-
| walton; for a conference with the South
and Central American nations; limiting
the hours of letter carriers; making
Lieutenant-General Sherman general of
the army: to establish a department
of labor; for an international maritime
conference; requiring the Pacific railroad
companies to maintain telegraph lines; to
prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers to
the United States: for the establishment
of rules in respect to the Sault st. Marie
and other canals; to create boards OF
arbitration and to settle controversies
between common carriers and their en-
ployes; to prevent the return Of Chinese
laborers to this country: aid state homes
for disabled soldiers, and changing the
date of opening of the electoral college.
In the next stage that is, in conference be-
tween the two houses are the two bills OF
the first Importance. namely, repeating the
presumption and timber culture laws and
providing general homestead law and
declaring forfeiture of unearned railroad
land grants.
Pending before the senate is the house
tariff bill and the senate substitute. The
senate passed bills to divide Dakota and to
aid common schools (the Blair bilD, but
they never reached the house for action.
In the senate the same thing can be said
of the following bills which passed the
house: The fisheries retaliation bill whose
passage was recommended by the presi-
silver certificates; allowing the regulation
by states of railways chartered by the
United States
The following are the most important
bills Enacted upon the senate calendar: For
admission of Montana and Washington
territories; to prohibit the alcoholic liquor
traffic; declare trusts unlawful
The following measures of Importance
were issued from house committees and
are still on the house calendar: To refund
the direct tax, vote on which Will be
taken early in December next under an
agreement by which the memorable dead
lock over this bill was broken; for the
payment of arrears of pensions; requiring
the Investment of the national bank re-
demption fund in notes; the Pacific railroad
funding bill debated, but never reached
the point of action; to include telegraph
companies in the interstate commerce act;
to promote commercial union with Can
ada; to incorporate the Nicaragua canal
company: for the organization OF the terri
tory of Oklahoma debated but never fin
ally voted ON.
The following are important senate bills
which slumber in committees: Request
ing the president to open negotiations
with Great Britain looking to the anneXa-
ton OF Canada TO tn United States: for
the free coinage of silver; to repeal the ole
omargarine act; to provide a naval reserve:
the Hennepin canal bill; to reduce
letter postage to l cent; to grant woman
suffrage and measures proposing radical
changes in the governments financial pol
icy.
The following are original house bills,
which were never likewise got out of COM
mittees: To repeal the internal revenue
laws and the tobacco tax; to prohibit
mailing newspapers containing lottery adj
vertisements; to lay a graduating income
tax; for bounty on sugar; to repeal
the civil service laws: for full re-
ciprocity between the United States and
Canada; to restrain judicial proceedings
to be brought against the Pacific railroads;
to provide more efficient mail service be-
tween the United States and South Ameri-
ca; to break up trusts, and various meas
ures proposing changes in our pension,
tariff and financial laws.
The most important private bill of this
session were those pensioning Mrs. Logan
and Mrs. Frank A. Blair, both of which
became laws, and the bills to pension Mrs
Waite and Mrs Sheridan, which passed
the senate but were never acted upon by
the house.