Evening journal., 1890-09-29
THE WORK OF CONGRESS-
Resume of the Business of the
First Session.
1T HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT ONE.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29-The record of
the first session of the Fffty-hrst congress
b an important one In the senate debate
ON the tariff bill WAS brought to an end
only by an agreement on the part OF mem
bers OF the majority that the federal cleo
tions bill would not be called up during
this session. Ths bill therefore goes over
Fhe useful work accomplished by the ses-
sion is Of especial interest because it Is the
first congress Ia many years in which one
OF the two great 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, number Of important
changes In existing law having been
agreed 30 in conference and approved by
the house. They need now only the ap-
proval of the senate and the president.
The Fight Over Reciprocity.
The feature OF the new tariff law which
has attracted widest attention, and which
bore greater significance from the fact that
u threatened for a 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,
whieh,has been suggested in past years by
! Senator Aldrich and other statesmen, was
brought very prominently to the notice o I
congress and the country by letter of che
secretary OF state, transmitted to congress
BY the president urging the necessity of re-
quiring some concessions from Latin
.4Hat. . a.
% tho United States Of sugar and other of
their products. The recommendation was
ignored by the house Of representatives
bat was later adopted in q modified form
by the senate and agreed 10 ia conference
between the two houses.
silver Legislation of Congress.
Next In Importance to the new tariff law
is the silver legislation enacted by con
gress. On July IA, 1890, new law went
into effect providing for the Issue OF coin
certificates based on gold or silver buAion,
with requl. ement that the secretary OF
the Treasury should purchase 4,5o0 ,00O
ounces of silver bullion each month The
bill az It passed the senate was pract ical
free coinage bill, but the conferrees on the
part OF the two houses agreed upon com
promise, 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 i'm
mediate advance In the price of silver
eliminating at figure higher than any
known in history.
The Soldier Remembered.
The promise Of the Republican party
made in the last campaign that NOR.
liberal pension legislation would be en-
acted was fulfilled In the passage Of the
disability pension act under which pen
sion Of Si2 a 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 worb
| of the pension office that il was necessar,
for congress to vote an additional appro
prtation for the employment Of nearly 50l
clerks In that office and In the war record
division Of the department of war. The
addition Of four new states to the flag
made by the last congress has been supple.
mented this session by the admission into
the Union OF the states OF Wyoming and
Idaho. Early in the session OF congress q
law Ia restraint OF trusts and combinations
was enacted. No opportunity to enforc,
1T has yet occurred and, as 1t was generally
regarded as but a tentative measure, Its
value cannot be estimated at this time
A general land grant forfeiture act, tn,
result OF many years discussion in the tw,
houses of congress, has passed congress
and will go to the president for signature
today. II provides for the forfeiture of al
unearned lands granite to aid in the con
struction Of railroads opposite portions o.
the road uncompleted at the time Of th,
passage of the law.
The Anti-Lottery Law.
The question OF lotteries having been
brought to public attention by the effort
of the Louisiana Lottery company to OBJ
tain charter In North Dakota and later
co obtain a renewal of its charter in
Louisiana, the president made the matter
the subjectof special message 60 oon-
gress In which he Transmitted a bill pro
posed by the postmaster general to pro
hihit the transmission through the mall
ofletters and circulars relating to lotteries
and Of newspapers containing lotter,
advertisements. This bill was passed
promptly by both houses without modifica
tion and without material opposition, anC
was signed by the president.
After lively controversy congress pass
ed a law creating a national commission
and establishing the Worlds fair at Chi
cag0. AS a result principally Of the pro
hihition which shuts American meat out
of certain markets abroad a law was en-
acted prohibiting the expectation Of adul
terated articles of food and drink and ena
bling the president 10 prevent the importa
tion Of impure or adulterated articles o.
food. An important feature of the present
session was the defeat Of the Blair eduea
tional bin In the senate. 1t had passed
that body in several other congresses, and
its rejection was quite unexpected.
other Laws Enacted.
Among the less important laws enacted
by this congress are the following: Requir
ing the superintendent of census to collect
statistics OF farm and mortgage indebted
ness; increasing the pension of those to
tally and permanently helpless to s72 pei
month; providing for an assistant secre
tary Of war; providing for an assistant
secretary Of the navy; authorizing the
president TO cause the promulgation Of reg
ulations necessary to prevent the spread ol
contagious diseases from one state to an
other; granting certificates of discharge
to persons who enlisted under assumed
names in the war of the rebellion; grant
ing to Canadian vessels the right to assist
disabled Canadian property in the waters
OF the United States, provided that like
privilege is granted United States vessels
by Canada; 10 prevent desertions from
the army by retaining temporarily a part
or the soldiers pay; providing for the ex
portation Of fermented liquors in bond
without payment Of internal revenue tax
authorizing the construction of a bridge
across the Hudson river at New York. ex
| tending the criminal iuriedirtiou of this