Omaha daily bee., 1889-02-18
COMING WEEK IN CONGRESS-.
Important Measures Pending in the
House and Senate,

WAsnISGToN, Fob. 1.-THE present indi-
cations pont to week of business activity
in the senate. Mr.. Hale will tomorrow call
up the census bill, with amendments recon-
mended by the committee and 1t is also the
day for the presentation to congress by Mr..
Palmer, in behalf of the state of Michigan,
of the bronze statute of Lewis Cass. After
q weeks hard work the subcommittee in
charge of the sundry civil appropriation has
completed it for submission to the full
committee tomorrow morning and probably
to the senate during the day, so that it may
be taken up on Tuesday. The committee on
amendments make 4 large increase over the
amount appropriated by the house Chair
man Allison expects that the entire week
after Monday will be occupied by cOnsidera-
tion of the appropriation bills.
The diplomatic, consular and military
academy bills have passed both houses and
gone to the president. The district of Co
lumbia, fortitication, legislative and pension
bills are in conference. The naval dill is be-
fore the house committee on appropriations
with senate amendments. The sun
biii bills have have passed the he house 1 sc and
are before the senate committee The In
Dor bills have been reported to the house and
are still on the calendar. All those bills will |
undoubtedly get through before the ses sion
closes, except possibly, the deficiency bill.
If they become laws IN anything like the
shape given them by the senate, they will 90
far towards disposing of one argument for an
extra session OF congress. The agreement
on the direct tax bill wipes about S2O,OO0,OO0
of the surplus, and appropriations that seem
to be agreed on as necessary Will practically
absorb the balance for the coming year. In
the opinion of those who have made a study
of bills during the past week there has been
a decided change of sentiment on the ques-
ton of an extra session, and among the
senator's, ut least, the conviction now is quite
general that an extra session Will not be
called before October, if at all.
The present week promises to be one of in
terest in the house and will probably be
ushcred in by q day of filibustering ION sus-
pension Monday" Tho chairman of the
committee on Pacific railroads stand ready to
offer, under suspension of the rules, resolu-
tlon fixing an early day for consideration
of the Union Pacific funding bill, but he eX-
poets to be met with the same opposition en-
cOuntered on similar occasions in the past
Mr.. Mills has sgniied an intention of calling
up on Tuesday the resolution reported from
the committee on ways ond means, declaring
that the senate mas no constitutional right to
originate a tax bill under the guise of n sub
stitute for n house bill. This will uudoubt-
cdly give rise to a debate in which the CON
stitutioGal question will bo made subordinate
to the question Of the comparative merits of
the Mills bill and the senate substi-
tute. Dependent on the outcome of this
debate, and the vote which follows it,
is the question whether or not the Mills bill
will remain upon the calendar as the first
barrier to be encountered By the friends of
the Cowlcs bill, when Mr.. Randall will ask
the house to go into committee Of the whole
for consideration of revenue bills Should
this barrier rcmur on the calendar and be
successfully surmOuntcd, two more obstacles
will still have to be removed or overcome
before the Cowics bill can be reached. These
arc the measures now known as the McMil-
Ian and Breckenridge bills, which have been
reported from the committee on ways and
means for the purpose of placing in the
hands of that committee weapons with which
to cope with the committee on uppropra-
tons. The advocates OF the Cowles bin,
however, arc confident of their ability to de-
feat the ways and means committee in any
Cwcnt,