Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-10-02
THE ACTUAL WORK
DONE BY THE FIF FTY-
FIRST CONGRESS


agreement on the part of members OF
the majority that the federal election
bill would not be called up during this
session. The bill therefore goes over.
The actual work accomplished by the
ifty-first congress is of especial interest,
because it is the first congress in many
years in which one of the two great
political parties has had control of both
the legislative and executive branches
of the government. A change in rates
of customs duties has practically been
brought about, a number of very i'm
portant changes in existing law having
been agreed to in conference and ap-
proved by the house. They need now
only the approval of the senate and of
the president. The feature of the new
tariff law, which has attracted widest
attention and which bore greater
significance from the fact that it
threatened for time to create division
in the Republican party, was the pro-
vision for the
Establishment of Reciprocal Relations
between the United States and the
Latin-American countries. This idea
which has been suggested in past years
by Senator Aldrich and other statesmen,
was brought very prominently to the
notice of congress and the country by a
letter of the secretary of state, trans
mitted to congress by the president,
urging the necessity of requiring some
concessions from Latin-American cOun-
tries for the free admission to the United
States of sugar and other of their prod
Tho LOT frr,,o ,.al
by the house of representatives, but
was later adopted in a modified form by
the senate and agreed to in conference
between the houses. Next in import
ance to the new tariff law is the silver
legislation enacted by congress. On the
14th of July, 1890, new law went into
effect providing for the issue of coin
certificates based on gold or silver bull
ion, with requirement that the secre-
tary of the treasury should purchase
4, 100000 ounces of silver bullion each
month. The bill as it passed the senate
was
A Practical Free Coinage Bill,
but the conferees on the part of the two
houses agreed upon a compromise, the
general impression being that while the
majority in both houses favored free
coinage the compromise was rendered
necessary by the fear of an executive
veto. The effect of the new silver law
was an immediate advance in the price
of silver, eliminating at figure higher
than any known in history. The prom
Use Of the Republican party made in the
last campaign that more liberal pension
legislation would be enacted was filled
in the passage of the disability pension
act under which pension of S12
month is given to any soldier who is
now disabled from whatever cause. The
applications received under this law
since its enactment so increased the
work of the pension Office that it was
necessary for congress to vote an addi-
tional appropriation for the employment
of nearly 500 clerks in that office and in
the war records division of the depart
ment of war.
The Addition of Four New Stars
to the flag, made by the last congress,
has been supplemented at this session
by the admission into the union of the
states of Wyoming and Idaho. Early
in the session of congress a law in re.
straint of trusts and combinations was
enacted. No opportunity to enforce it
has yet occurred, and, as was generally
regarded as but tentative measure, its
value cannot be estimated at this time.
A general land grant forfeiture act, the
result of many years discussion in the
two houses of congress has passed con-
gress and will go to the president for
signature to-day. 1t is very compre-
hensive, and, in brief, provides for the
forfeiture of all unearned lands granted
to aid in the construction of railroads
opposite portions of the road uncom-
pleted at the time of the passage of the
law.
The Question of Lotteries
having been brought to public attention
by the effort of the Louisiana Lottery
company to obtain charter in North
Dakota and later to obtain a renewal of
its charter in Louisiana, the president
made the matter the subject of Especial
message to congress, in which he trans
mitted bill prepared by the postmaster
general to prohibit the transmission
through the mails of letters and circu-
lars relating to lotteries and of news
papers containing lottery advertise
ments. This bill was passed promptly
by both houses without modification
and without material opposition and
was signed bv the president. After
lively controversy over the question of
selecting site, in which the cities of
New York, Chicago, st. Louis and
Washington were concerned, congress
passed law creating a national COM
mission and
Establishing the Fair at Chicago.
As result principally of the prohibi-
tion which shuts American meat out of
certain markets abroad law was enact
ed to provide for the inspection, under
the direction of the secretary of agri-
culture, of meats intended for export,
prohibiting the expectation of adulterat-
ed articles of food and drink, and en-
abling the president to prevent the i'm
portation of impure or adulterated arti-
cles of food. An important feature of
the present session was the defeat of the
Blair educational bill in the senate. 1t
has passed that body in several other
congresses and its rejection was quite
unexpected.
Among the Less Important Laws
enacted by this congress are the follow
ing: requiring the superintendent OF
census to cOuect statistics of farms
and mortgage Indebtedness; increasing
the pension of those totally and perma-
nently helpless to S72 per month; author
1zlng the president to cause the promul- |
CATION of regulations necessary to
prevent the spread Of contagious dis
eases from one state to another; author
izing the construction of bridge
across the Hudson river at New York.
Joint Resolutions Passed.
Congratulating the people of the
United States of Brazil ON their adOp-
tion of a republican form of govern
ment. Authorizing the secretary of
war to issue rations to destitute persons
in the Mississippi river overflow district
and making an appropriation for their
relief. A number of important meas
ures are hanging fire which may go to
the president before adjournment. al
though the chances are greatly in favor
of their postponement until the next
session.
A Great Deal of Important Work
will be left unfinished on the adjourn
ment of this session of congress, and
there are very poor prospects that it
will receive much consideration at the
session which begins in December. The
most important of this business has
come from the house to the senate, and
now rests on the senate calendar. Ex-