Morning journal and courier., 1889-03-04
THE FIFTIErH CONGRESS.

tory Principally for Four Things l The Large Amount of Business in
 troduced Exceeds Anything in tn
 Previous History of that Body-Th
 Enormous Number of Bills, ResOIu
 uOns and Reports Introduced I'm th | House-0ft the Bills and Resolution 1 Presented Not One in Thirty Passed l Both Houses.
 | WASHINGTON, March 3.-The Fiftieth Con 1 gress ends tomorrow at noon. At that houl 1t expires by limitation. The House dis i solves, but the Senate, continuing in exist. l ence meets in extra session to form a new 1 organization and confirm or reject such nom- | nations as the President may submit for ] action. The Fiftieth Congress will be noted in history for four things:
 First-The admission into the Union of four new States, North Dakota, South Da- kota, Montana and Washington.
 Second-For the tariff discussion, which consumed so much time in both houses of Congress.
 Third-For the creation of 8 new executive department.
 Fourth-For the amount of ilibustering that took place in the House.
 Undoubtedly the most important piece of business congress disposed of was the admis- sion of four new States to the Union. This action would have been almost an impossi- bility before the election, which settled the question of the Presidency. It was an action of great importance to the Union, adding to the strength of the general government and relieving it of great deal of responsibility. It is of importance to the Republican party,
 
 the next congress. The creation of the ex- ecutive department of agriculture gives to President Harrison another cabinet office. The tariff discussion consumed great deal of the time of both Houses and senate, and although the legislation resulted to reduce the revenue and simplify it's collection, the debate served to outline with distinc- ness the policy of either rarty in the election contest, and probably opened the way to legislation in the next Congress. The Pacific railroad bill still stands on the calendar of the House, and like measure remains un- touched on the Senate calendar. The friends of the OkIohoma bill succeeded in carrying it through the House, but it remains uncon- sidered in the Senate. The Cowles bill was effectual1y disposed of by the flibusteIs. The power placed in the hands of the majority by existing rules is so great, and 1t has been ap- piled so ofter by this congress that it is not unlikely revision of the rules will be made
  The amount of business introduced in the fftieth congress is very much in excess of anything in the previous history of that body. This is largely due to the increase of measures for private relief, fact which emphasizes the necessity 50 often admitted of providing some tribunal for the arbitra- ton of the claims against the government which are now brought to congress for ad- judication. There were introduced in the senate in this congress 3,999 bills and 143 joint resolutions and 2,910 reports from committees.
 In the house there were 12,659 bills, 267 joint resolutions and 4,154 reports. In the S,358 senate bills, Il ,260 house bills, 11S senate joint resolutions, 266 house joint resolutions, and there were received from senate committees 1890 and from house committees 4, ,191 reports.
 Of the bills and joint resolutions in the present Congress- not one in twenty passed the House and not one in thirty passed both houses and went to the President for his sig nature. Of the bills that became laws at the first session of the present Congress the fol- lowing are the most important: Authorizing the condemnation by the government of sites for public buildings; establishing depart ment Of labor; providing for an annual mar- time conference; giving.$100 bounty to sol diers who were enrolled or enlisted for three years prior to July B, 1861 .and who were sub sequently honorsbly discharged from the ser vice.
 Authorizing the president to arrange con- ference with the South and Central Ameri- can republics; increasing pensions for utter deafness to $30 8 month; increasing the stringency of laws relating to timber cutting on the public domain or Indian reservations; extending the eight-hour law to letter car riers; restricting Chinese immigration @; widening the score of the law relating to pos Il T .so for railroads.
 Among the measures which have passed congress at the session just closing and which have received the signature of the president, are the following:
 Placing on the retired lists Generals Rose- crans, w. F. Smith and A. J. Smith; in- creasing the maximum amount of inter national money orders from $50 to $100; providing temporary home on receiving ships for discharged sailors of the navy; pro- viding that seamen may deposit their sav- ings with paymasters on whose books their accounts are borne; creating an executive department of agriculture; increasing the pension of those who have lost both hands to $100 Q month; for the admission of four ter- Iitories; providing for writs of error or ap- peals to the Supreme court in all cases in volving the question ot jurisdiction of the court below; appropriatlng S250,000 to en- able the President to protect the inter- 
 reugthening the interstate commerce law.
 The number of Presidential 7etoes re ceived by Congress has been very large. The greater portion of these measures have been private pension bills, although the President has refused his consent to some legislation Of general and very important character. In the first session of the Fiftieth Congress the President returned without his approval 129 bills Of these 103 were pen sion bills, 12 were claims and 6 were for public buildings. In the second session 27 vetoes were received from the president. Of those 21 were pension vetoes; four of the vetoed measures were relief bills, and the other bills disapproved by the President were the district tax bill and the bill to quiet the title of settlers on the Des Moines liver land.
 The record of the business done by Con- gress in the passage of bills and resolutions is much smaller than the amount of business left undone. Both houses of Congress leave their calendar well filled. That of the House is especially large It fills book of one hundred and forty-two pages. The Senate calenday, though much smaller, contains some very important measures.
 The following bills have passed the Senate and are still of the House calendar:
 To settle the claims of any State for ex- penses incurred in defense of the United States; to prevent the obstruction of naviga- ble waters.
 The following bills, which have passed the House, are on the senate calendar: bills to prevent the employment of alien labor on public work; to forfeit lands granted to the Northern Pacific; to provde for the payment of claims arising from Indian depredations. The following senate bills and resolutions have been reported from the senate commit tees and are still on the senate calendar: l To provide for inquests under national authority; to retire judges of the circuit and district courts who are disabled; to es- tablish United States land court; to estab- fish postal telegraph system; to establish bureau of harbors and waterways; to es- tablish bureau of animal industry; to in- corporate the Atlantic and Pacific ship 1 railway; to repeal the preemption and tins Der culture acts; proposing an amendment of the constitution prohibiting the man. l ufacture, etc, of alcoholic liquors; the Pacific railroad funding bill; to declare unlawful trusts and combinations in restraint of trade and production; to extend l the right of suffrage to women; to establish 8 national board of health, and to provide C., oI, ,1Et tl