The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1891-12-11
WORK FOR CONGRESS
Legislative Outlook for the
Fifty-Second Session.
OPINIONS OF LEADING MEN.
rhl. Being . New Session All Work Must

Number of Measures Before the Last
Session VIII BE Brought Up Before
This One-InternatiOnal Questions OF
Great Importance VIII Be Considered.
WASHINGTON, Dec. THE legislative
outlook for the Fifty-second congress-
in the opinion of leading men OF both
houses is not clearly defined. There are
no continuing subjects which either
house, can take up of itself and pass 10
completion. This being new congress,
all legislation must originate de novo.
A number of important measures passed
by the last house were pending In the
senate when it adjourned. Among them
were the elections or force bill, national
bankruptcy bill, the pure lard bill ana
others. Il
There is no probability Of an attempt
20 rav;va the elections bill during the
next congress. It is thought desirability
Of adopting some national system OF
regulating bankruptcy may engage the
attention of the senate committee on
commerce. Senator Paddock. of Ne
braska, will endeavor to present MS
pure food bill as substitute for the
| lard bill. Senator Cullom has some |
amendments to the interstate commerce |
bill to propose. .
The silver question in various shapes
was pending when the Fifty-6rst con- |
/ gress terminated and there was an IN
| yestigation into the workings of the Nc |
| Kinley tariff act in progress by COM
| mittee of the senate. Should the result
of that investigation be actively brought
| to the front it might preclpltate tarln
| debate in the senate. There Is a o1spo-
| sition, however, on the part of leading
senators of both parties to leave the
| Initiative tariff matter to the house
where it belongs and not to force the
fighting in the senate on any issues
which will enter into the presidential
| contest of 1882.
Senators believe that a very large in
terest of the coming session Will be CEN
| tered in the executive sessions. Inter-
| estino information is expected in regard
To o,1I relations with Chill. If in the
time that has gone by or at the present
time our relations with that country
have assumed phase which might nave
endangered or which still endangers
peace. the facts will be laid before the
senate either by public message or by
confidential communication, in either
case to be considered in executive ses-
sion.
If is thought that not all the reciproc-
ity agreements which have been negou-
ated with Spain and Spanish American
countries under the reciprocity clauses
|
clause. Some of them present points
recurring concurrent action by the
senate.
The increasing gravity of the situation
in China may impose upon the United
States the necessity of taking action for
the protection of American interests In
that country.
: information will undoubtedly be laid
: before the senate as to the proposed
arbitration of the Behring sea question
with Great Britain. The correspondence
: on this subject, when the senate last
: heard of it, had reached a stage VINE
Great Britain proposed to limit ar6ltrs.
ton to the question of what rights Great
, Britain had conceded to Russia In the
8 Behring sea before the purchase of
Alaska by the United States, and to
q limit United States authority over
8 Behrina sea by the decision thus to be
9 arrived at. To this the United States re-
Q piled that such form of submission
would not be calculated to assure con,
!, clusion satisfactory to either party, and
Q proposed, instead, six points OF arbitra-
y ton:
First-what exclusive jurisdiction as
Q TO seal fishery did Russia exercise before
); the cession to the United States
;; SecOnd-How far did Great Britain
acquiesce2
the pQIoSS ACAl4C OOOoA ucC~A - eASS%SJ
= Of 1922
/; Fourth-Did not all Russia's rights pas:
to the United States9
Fifth-What are now the rights OF the
% United States in the seal fisheries out
. side the three-mile limit?
y Sixth-What international regulations
: are necessary fer closed seasons ii.
V The senate will probably be informed
10 70 what extent Great Britain has agreet
70 to submit tn sss questions to arbitration
II This is expected to be done in specia
70 message. ,.t
Is In the matter of confirming appoint
re ments the executive sessions of the sen
le ate are likely to be important. Tit
c. names of nine new circuit judges OF ap
70 peals, two interstate commerce commits
N sioners and secretary of war will prob
or' ably be among the first nominations sen
" in.
Changes in the personnel of the senat'
le will necessitate a complete reorganiza
ton of the senate committees. Senator
IN Edmunds, Evarts, Ingalls,, Payne, and
Is others who have hitherto borne a larg'
e. share of the committee work, have lef
n their places to be filed by others.
N The element of new membership WI
is play still more important part IN tn,
n! organization of the house. OF the ~
:" Democratic members entitled to ente
Of into the organization of the house, 10
d. congress. Nearly every state in tn
;" union is represented on this list OF new
Id members.
KS When to these are added twenty eigh
ii new Republican members and eigh
Id Farmers Alliance men it will be seel
ne that the speaker will have herculeal
m task before him in ascertaining as ia
ed as possible the preference of 141 new
ds members who know nothing abou
ee committee work and making assign
Sp ments that will be satisfactory to all o
rs them. 1t is not in the least likely tina
as the committees can be arranged and tn
I'd house be organized for Legislative busi
or ness until after the Christmas holidays
it On whatever basis the house commit
sp tees may be eventually organized it
ne reasonably certain from official pre-
h. nouncements already made by all tn
ne party chiefs, that tie five or six com
be mittees which share with the committe
p on appropriation the control of the e1
of penditures will be organized with
n view to cutting down the appropriation
e. to the lowest possible limit. Mr.; Ho
ut lnan saws: "It will be a horizontal II
is, auction. Everything but the pension
or INST lie reduced. They are fixture.
d: