The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-03-04
Congress Is Dying, With Much
Work Left UndOne.
REPENTANCE COMES roo LATe.
Conferees Unable to Agree Upon Three
Appropriation Bills.
The Cepyright Bnl May He Defeated
After All-Hawsiian Cable Scheme
Dropped The Prssidens Approves
Many Bills.

WASHINGTON CITY, March 3.-This cOns
gress is having . remarkable closing.
There is an air of extraordinary calmness
about the proceedings which consume the
closing twenty-four hours Of congress, and
they are almost devoid of interest, There
is perhaps more than the usual rush in
the Hobbies by those who are eager to press
through measures. The lobby is very ac-
tive, and is in measure successful.
though all that was expected in the WY
of getting little measures through" will
not be accomplished. The work done to.
day was chiefly in the conference commit.
tees, the two houses merely acting on =.
ports.
The friends Of the copyrighs bill are
working hard to have the Sherman amend.
ment given up by the Senate, a. they feel
that if the Senate does not recede the bill
will fail. The result of the struggle to put
miscellaneous items on the appropriation
bills is still in doubt. and therefore it II
not possible at this time to tell Just what
the aggregate appropriations fern this -
sion will be. These miscellaneous items
count up enormously during the rush oK
the closing hours of the session. At tho
close of the last session, q very liberal csti~
mate was made by the committee, fixing
the sum of those items at $5,O00,O 600, but Il
turned out that the aggregate was $i0, ,O00.>
600. It's safe to say that the aegreeato
Of appropriations will exceed $525 200, ,OoQ
and possibly will be considerably more.
Agreements have been reached by com
ference committees on all but three Of the
annual appropriation bills yet remaining
ficiency and agricultural. On the first.
named bill the hitch is over making clerks
to senator's annual, instead Of session en-.
ployes. The deficiency conferees Were il
session the first time at 10 o'clock toniehf.
and the progress made at that hour on th6
very great. On the agricultural bill there
are two or three matters in dispute, the
principal one being the irrigation project,
but it is thought they can be amicsbly ors
ranged without . great deal Of dificuIty.
OF the other appropriation bills the
army, military academy, fortificatiCns and
naval have become laws. The sundry civil
awaits the presidents approval, and tho
consular and diplomatic and pension bills
have been agreed upon by the conferees,
and the adoption OF the conferences reports
is all that delays the sending Of the bills
to the president The confereea on the
pension appropriation bill have reachedap
agreement providing that hereafter no
pension attorney shall receive 3 feo of
more than so in any claim for increase u
pension. No compensation shall b "a,
lowed for securing special act Of couGroso
granting pension or increase AZ po6nfom
in any case that has been preoes1te1 q the
pension Office or 10 allOwahlo undnr the
general pension law. Theee provfofoan
shall not apply to any case now pending
where there Is existing lawful contract,
express or implied"
The deficiency bill promises to furnish
the most interesting tight Of the last day
of the session. The conference report q
much different from the measure passed
by the House. containing among other
claims, about 81 ,O0O, 900 for war claims of
the different states, and s., 100000 to nay
the Judgment in favor Of the Central Por
cific road and against the government.
This last measure was killed by the House
by an overwhelming majority, but the
Senate without dissenting vote insisted
that the provision should be replaced, and
the conferecs did not styike -
of. The feeling against these Addi-
tions is very strong, and the
speaker has just announced to & frioud
that he sees no way out of it except to let
the House entertain itself in the small
hours of the morning by having 3 rough
and tumble fight over the Objectionable
measure. The conference reports will not
come in before 2:30 O'Clock, il then, and
then the fun will begin, with no inter
ference except from the sergeant-At-arms
if knockdown arguments are resorted ia.
The whole bill is endangered by the bittcr-'
ness which exists on account OF the added
features, and unless some compromise b
agreed upon, it may be defeated with its
load of nearly thirty millions, mostly pens
siOnS.