Omaha daily bee., 1892-08-01
WHAT CONGRESS- HAS DONE
Brief Review of Its Work During the
Present Session.
IMPORTANT MEASURES ACTED UPON
Bills Introduced and Enacted Into Laws
The Tariff Policy of the House and
Its Desire to Economize-An
Interesting Resume.


the United States will not need much space
n which to inscrb, the really important
laws enacted by the first session OF the Fifty
second congress, now ready to close as soon
as the Worlds fair matter is out Of the way.
The session now drawing to a close has not
been remarkable for its actual accomplish
| mcnts, so far as respects large legislation.
Efforts more or less vigorous have been
made to pass through both houses of con-
gress bills dealing with questions that oc-
cupy large share OF public attention, but
these with single exception, have failed OF
| accomplishment. Tho sole measure Of first
class Importance, not counting tho approprl-
| alton bills which have become laws, is the Chi
nese exclusion bill, and political expedienoy
had much to do with its rapid congressional
progress. This bill, the Inman registry bill.
the Black Hawk and Seminole Indian wars
pension bill, the eight-hour BILL tho bill to
enable the president to enforce reciprocal
canal arrangements with Canada, the army
nurse bill, the Immediate pension bill and
the bill to increase the pay of life-savers are
about the only measures of much general
interest enacted into laws.
Live Topics of the Session.
Fres silver. the tariff, the auti-opton bill,
retrenchment of appropriations and 5000,
900 loan to the Worlds fair have been the
live topics of the session. The first three
su bjects have been killed, at least until after
the election; the last is still before congress,
and the fourth question, that of appropria-
tions, entered largely into the makeup of
the appropriation bills and prevented single
public building bill from passing the house,
the session being absolutely unique in this
expenditures, the omnibus lighthouse, for
instance failed because of the retrenchment
policy sought to be pursued.
The house passed, approximately 415 bills,
of which 2S4 were passed by the senate and
sent 10 the president OF the bills passed by
the house 220 were public bills, including
measures relating to tho District of Coluln-
bia; Isl were private pension bills; forty
eight bills to remove cha: ges of deserilon
and forty.one private bills of miscellaneous
character
The senate passed SOL bills, only 113 of
which succeeded IN running the gauntlet of
the house and reaching the president Two
OF this latter number the president vetoed,
viz: The bill TO send the famous McGir-
rahan claim to the court of claims for ad-
iudication and n bill to amend the court of
appeals act. The noteworthy feature of the
private pension bills which became laws was
the large percentage of them relating to
services IN the Mexican war, the Indian
wars and the war Of 1912, the beneaciaries
being chiefly southern men.
Election Contests.
The senate was not as Free as usual, from
election contests, contestants being unsuc-
cessful. The house had SIX election contests
and four of them have been practically set
tied.
The Beriug sea trouble with Great Britain
was the ugliest the senate had to consider
behind closed doors, aud peaceful solution
of it was found in its reference to an arbitra-
4. ,,;1 IL All Anl-
occupied some of the senate's attention in
executive session.
The total numbe, of bills and JOINT resou-
tions Introduced in the house was 1885, and
in the senate 1904 In the house 2, l06 re-
ports were made, and in the senate ,Og1
written reports were made, no notice being
paid to uuwrltten reports.
Aside from the passage Of the regular an
nual appropriation bills, the most interest
ing feature of the congress has been what
1t did not rather than what 1t did do.
The bill for the freq coinage of
silver ovcrshadowed all other measures
IN Importance and interest The coinage
committee in the house was made up largely
of friends of free coinage and II reported
with promDtness bill for free coinage, but
when, after stormy scene, it came to a test
vote in the house, 1t was necessary for the
speaker to cast his vote in order to save the
bill from square defeat, and when the
large anti-free coinage opposition began to
filihuster the bill was killed by a refusal on
the part OF a majority of democrats in the
house TO sign request for cloture rule,
without which request, the speaker an
nounced, he would not report a rule for
closing debate and forcing measure on ITS
passage.
The senate. which had been waiting on
the house. so far as silver legislation was
concerned, then took hold of the subject and
IN June, by majority of four votes, passed
the Stewart free coinage dill. This again
brought the house face to face with the
issue, and on vote majority of fourteen
was found to be opposed TO silver legislation
at this time, so that the specter of free
coinage, which had been hanging over many
members, was at last banished.
Tariff Policy of the House.
The ways and means committee of the
house was busy with tho tariff problem and
after mature dehDeration decided to attack
the Mckinley law by means of separate
tariff bills, dealing with special items,
instead of by bill making general re-
VISION of the tariff. Prominence was given
to the Springer bill, placing wool on the free
list and reducing ths duties on wool for
manufacturers as the chief exponent OF the
party's policy on the tariff question, and
with this measure as basis there was
a long and, on the whole, very uninteresting
tariff debate. The bill was passed by the
house and was followed by sixty-two other
bills, one placing cotton bagging, cotton ties,
gins and cotton bageing machinery aud the
binding twine bill being passed under sus-
pens ion OF the rules. There was then ull
In tariff matters to see what course the sen
ate wolld take The senate's policy was
made apparent by the action of the finance
committee In pigeon -holing all three bills,
and none of them has yet emerged from the
seclusion of the committee room, though
their slumpers were occasionally disturbed
by efforts on the part OF senators 10 have
them reported.
Buried by the Senate.
After a time other tariff bills were re-
ported from the ways and means committee
and passed as follows: TO make silver-lead
ores free OF duty whenever the silver exceeds
in value the lead to limit TO 800 the amount
of personal baggage persons returning from
Europe may bring into the United States
and to place tin plate, terne plate and aggers
tIn on the free list after named date
These pills met IN the senate the fate of
their predecessors.
A bill was passed by the house and re-
ported from tho finance committee TO the
sonate to correct the clerical error IN the
Mckinley bill by which chocolate was made
duIiable as confectionery, but has not been
acted ON. Various other tariff pills were
considered by the house committee on ways
and meaps aad there was much time given 10
the advisabihty OF reporting bills placing
refined sugar, salt. lumber and iron ore on
the free list and reducing the duty on barley,
but the committee failed TO embark on the
advocacy OF these measures, there being "a
difference of opinion as to Its wisdom at this