Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-08-02
REMARKABLE
For the Small Amount of Work
Accomplished.
The First Session of the Fifty-Sec-
ond Congress.
But One Measure of Great I'M
portanCe Made a Law,
AND THAT WAS THE BILL ExCLuD-
ING THE CHINESE.
SILVER, TARIFF, OPTIONS, ETC,
LOST IN THE SHUTTLE.

The Eight Hour Bill, the Intern ediate
Pension Bill, the Bill to Enforce Re-
ciprocaI Canal Arrangements with
Canada and the Bill to Increase the
Pay of the Life-Savers Among the Few
Measures of General Interest Which
Were Enacted Into Lava Resume of
of What Our Senators and Representa-
tives Have Been Doing for the Past
Few Months.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2.-The future
compiler of the official history of the
laws of the United States will not need
much space in which to ins cribe 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 ses-
sion now drawing to a close has not
been remarkable for its actual accom-
plishments so far as respects large legis-
lation. Efforts more or less vigorous
have been made to pass through both
hou es of congress bills dealing with
uues i)ns that occupy large share of
public attention, but these, with single
exception have failed of accomplishment.
The sole measure Of first-class import
ance, not counting the appropriation
bills, which has become a law, is the
Chinese exclusion bill.
This bill, the Imam registry bill, the
Black Hawk and Seminole Indian wars
pension bills, the eight-hour bill, the bill
to enable the president to enforce re-
ciprocal canal arrangements with Can
ada, the army nurse bill, the intermedi-
ate pension bill to increase the pay of
life-savers are about the only measures
of much general interest enacted into
law.
These Cry from Their Graves.
Free silver, the tariff, the anticipation
bill. retrenchment of appropriations and
a Al, 900, 900 loan to the worlds fair have
been the live topics of the session. The
first three subjects have been killed. at
least until after the election. The last
is still before congress, and the fourth
question that of appropriations, entered
largely into the makeup of the appro-
priation bills, and prevented single
public building bill from passing the
house, the session being absolutely
unique in this particular. Many other
bills providing for new expenditures,
the omnibus lighthouse bill, for instance,
failed because of the retrenchment pol
icy.
The policy announced by the majority
| party in the house in favor of re-
trenchment Cf appropriations resulted
in an unusually close scanning OF the
estimates and in the non-allowance of
| appropriations for nearly all new work.
The worlds fair was closed on Sunday
by a paragraph in the sundry civil bill,
not yet passed.
A provision of interest to soldiers in
| one of the bills makes the action of the
| second auditor on all back pay and
| bounty claims final, except that an APP
| peal may lie within six months to the
/ controller
| Collection of statistics relating to our
expectations by railroads is provided for,
no statistics except coastwise statistics
| Icing now obtainable, so that our ex-
ports to Canada and Mexico are matters
| of guess.
In the river and harbor bill the policy
embarked on in the preceding congress
| of permitting contracts to be entered
into for the completion of some of the
largest public improvements was mate
rally extended.
In the legislative bill a provision was
Inserted which stops the gauging of liq-
uors coming out of rectifying houses.
1t is always gagged as it comes from
the distillery, and the result of this pro
vision is expected to make an annual
saving of $4,000.
Money order reports are to be made
only monthly, instead of at least once a
week, as at present.
Some of the Bills Passed.
Among the bills originating in the
house which have become laws are the
following To appropriate $50, 900 for the
preparation of site and the erection of
pedestal for statue to the late Gen
eral Sherman; to add the secretary of
agriculture to the list of officers entitled
to succeed to the presidency; for the
opening of q part of the Colville reserva-
ton in Washington; for the investigation
of mining debris in California.
Among the bills originating in the
senate 10 become laws were the follow
ing: To authorize the day of the four
hundredth anniversary of the discovery
of America to be proclaimed general
holiday; increasing to $50 per month the