Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-01-23
thirds vote to suspend the rules for that

thirds vote to suspend the rules for that
purpose.
For the purpose of tracing the
progress of q bill from its Introduction
to its final passage it is hereby assumed
| that everything is favorable. The com.
mittee has made favorable report, and
the bill is put upon its passage. 1t is
usually read in full the third time if OF
much Importance, or ii it is desired to
amend it, but this formality may be dis
pensed with if no one objects. Bills
may be-and hundreds are-passed
without any one voting, the absence of
objection being equivalent to an atfima-
tive vote. The speaker rapidly repeats
the usual formula. and announces the
bill passed if no member raises a point
of order or calls for the yeas and nays.
This method of procedure, however, is
confined to measures not likely to be-
come the source OF contention between
the great political parties. Bills of
greater importance and all the appro-
priation bills, have the yeas and nays
recorded. When bill has finally
passed the House, the next step is to
to have it "engrossed." This means the
copying of it upon large sheets Of paper
nearly two feet long and half as wide.
/ The first sheet is called Il "header," and
has printed upon it at the top the
number of the Congress and session
and the enacting clause.
| Then follows the text of the bill writ
ten out in full, no figures being allowed,
the Clerk of the House "attests" the
COPY with his signature, after the words,
Passed the House of Representatives"
with the proper date The House Com
mittee Oh Enrolled Bills is then given
charge of the document, which, after
proper notification of its accuracy, is
reported to the House.
Thence the clerk of the House takes
it to the Senate while in session. He
is escorted midway down the central
aisle by an officer of the Senate and
says in voice, more OF less voluminous,
to the presiding officer, "NIr. President,
am directed by the House of Repre-
sutatives to announce tlc passage by
tine House, of bill (H. Il. No. y for
the relief of John Smith" or whatever
the purport of the bill may be. A hun
bred or two bills are sent to the Senate
at once, the clerk reads the title of the
first and includes the rest by adding to
his verbal announcement "and sundry
other bills. The clerk bows aud retires,
and page conveys the manuscript bill
to the Vice Presidents chair. 1t is
then referred to the proper committee
of the Senate, considered, "pigen-
holed," or reported with or without
amendment, and placed upon the Sen
ate calandar. If favorable report has
been made the bill may be called up at
the proper time and passed in the same
manner as in the House.
The Secretary then takes it back to
the House, his presence is officially all.
nounced, his message" verbally deliv-
cred, and the action taken lands the
bill, in parliamentary parlance, con the
Speakers table," If it had been
amended by the Senate it might be re-
ferred to committee, or the amend
ments concurred in by the House with
reference. If not amended it would be
sent to the enrolling room, where the
enrolling clerk, or his assistants, would
again transcribe it-this time upon
parchment, specially prepared, in large
sheets, for the purpose, with dates and
enacting clause similar to the engrossed
bill. 1t is convenient to remember, in
this connection, that an "engrossed"
bill is one passed by either branch of
Congress and written upon paper. An
"enrolled" bill, one that has passed by
both branches, and written upon parch-
ment. A manuscript bill, only, is le-
gal, and any number of bills might be
passed by both branches of Congress,
and still fail to become laws, unless
there was time to "enroll" them prop
erly. No matter how great the i'm
portance, or how urgent the situation, a
printed document is an outcast between
the two Houses. The enrolled bill has
upon the back of the last sheet the
words: II certify that this bill origi-
mated in the House of Representatives, I"
attested by the clerk. 1t is egain re-.
ported to the House, after examination,
and "prooting" by the Committee on
Enrolled Bills, and signed by the
Speaker, who proclaims the fact in
open session.
Once more it is "messaged" to the
Senate, as before, by the clerk, received
and referred to the Senate COMMITTEE
on Enrolled Bills, where it is critically
examined, again reported, signed by
the presiding officer of the Senate in
open session, and thence conveyed to
the President Of the United States for
his approval. Receiving his signature,
it is afterward sent to the Government
Printing Office to be printed in the
Statutes, and finally reaches its last
resting-place among the thousands OF
similar documents on file in the State
Department. Now this is the shortest
possible way in which bill can become
q law in Congress-when nobody op.
poses it, and nobody wants to. It can
be sent over the route named in an
hour, or it may reach the end in year.
In either case the methods are the
| same.