Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-01
FEW PAGES NEEDED
Upon Which to Write the History of
the Fifty-Second Congress.
A HUGE BODY OF DO-NOTHINGS.
Little Important Legislation Accomplished
This Session.
A REVIEW OF TIE PAST FEW MONTHS

L
WASHINGTON, July 3l-The future
compiler of the official history of the laws
of the United States will not need much
portant 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 q close has not been remarkable
for its actual accomplishments, so far as re-
spects large legislation. Efforts, more or
less vigorous, have been made to pass
through both Houses of Congress bills deal
ing with questions that occupy a large
share of public attention, but these, with q
single exception, have failed of accomplish
ment Summary of the sessions work fol-
lows:
The sole measure of the first class in i'm
portance, not counting the appropriation
bills, which has become a law is the Chinese
exclusion bill, and political expediency had
much to do with its rapid Con-
gressional progress. This BILL the Inman
registry bill, the Black Hawk and Seminole
Indian wars pension bill, the eight-hour
force reciprocical canal arrangements with
Canada, the army horse bill. the intermedi-
ate pension bill, and the bill to increase the
pay of life savers are the only measures of
much general interest enacted into law.
The Live Topics of the Session.
Free silver, the tariff, the anti-options
bill. retrenchment of appropriations and a
S5,00O 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 ap-
preparations, entered largely into the make
up of the appropriation bills and prevented
a single public building bill from passing
the House. the session being absolutely
unique in this particular. Many of the bills
providing Tor new wexpenditures-the omni-
bus ligh house bill. for instance-fatled be-
cause of the retrenchment policy sought to
be issued.
The House passed approximately 475 bills,
OF s p the
by the House go were public bills. including
measures relating to the District of Colum-
bia; l5I private pension bills; 4S bills to re-
move charges OF desertion, and Al private
bills of a miscellaneous character.
The Senate passed 69l bills, only ll3 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 McGarra-
nan claim to the Court of Claims for ad-
judication, and bill to amend the Court Of
Appeals act. Three bills the President per-
mitted to become laws without his sigma
ture.
south -rn Reu~f1cIaries of Several Wars.
The noteworthy feature of the private
bills which became laws was the large per-
centaae of them relating to services in the
Mexican war, the Indian wars and the war
OF 1872 the benef1ciaries being chiefly
Southern men.
Tho Senate was not aS free as 11Sual from
election contests, contestants being unsuc-
cessul. The House had six election con-
tests, and iour of them have been practi-
caliy settled.
The Bering sea trouble with Great Britain
was the ugliest complicati ton the Senate had
to consider behind closed doors and a peace
full solution of it was found in its reference
10 an arbitration commission. The Chilean
muddle also occupied some of the Senate's
attention in executive session.
The total number OF bills and joint resolu-
tions introduced in the House was 9,oS5, and
in the Senate 1904. In the House 2, 106 reports
was made on Lills and in the Senate l,t97
written reports were made, no notice being
raid to unwritten reports.
Aside from the passage of the regular
annual appropriation bills, the most in ter
esting feature of the Congress has been
what it did not, rather than what 1t did do.
How Free Coinage Was Laid Out.
The bill for the free coinage of silver over
shadowed all other measures in importance
and interest. The Coinage Committee in
the House was made up largely of friends of
free coinage, and it reported with prompt
ness bill for free coinage, but when,
after a 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 silver bill from a square defeat
and when the large anti-free. coinage opposi-
tion began to filibuster, the bill was killed
by a refusal on tile part OF a maj ority OF the
Democrats in the House to sign request
for closure rnle, without which request the
Speaker announced that he would not re-
port u rule tor closing debate and forcing q
measure on its passage.
The Senate, which had been waiting on the
then took hold of the subject, and
in in June, by a majority of tour
votes, passed the Stewart free coinage
bill. This again brought the House face to
of IA was found to be opposed to silver legis-
lation at this time, so that the specter of free
coinage which had been hanging over many
members was at last banished
The Ways and Means Committee of the
House wrestled with the tariff problem, and
after mature deliberation decided to attack
the Mckinley law by means of separate
tariff bills, dealing with special items in
stead of by bill, making q general revision
of the tariff.
The Tariff Tackled In Instanments.
Prominence was given to the Springer
bill, placing wool on the free list and re-
ducing the duties on woollen manufactures
as the chief exponent of party policy
on the tariff question, and with this
measure as a basis there was long and
on the whole, very uninteresting tariff
debate. The bill was passed by the House
and was followed by two other bills, one
placing cotton bagging, cotton ties and gins
and cotton bagging machinery and the other
binding twine on the Tree list, the binding
twine being passed under suspension of the
rules.
There was then lull in tariff matters to
see what course the Senate would take.
the action of the Finance Committee in
pigeon-holing all three bills, and none of
them has yet emerged from the secluston of
committee, though occasionally their slum-
bers were disturbed by efforts of the Demo-
Gratis to have them reported.
After time other tariff bills were reported
from the Ways and Means Committee, and
passed, as follows: To make silver-lead ores
Tree of duty Whenever the silver in
the importation exceeds in value
the lead; to limit to 500 the amount
of personal baggage which returning
tourists may bring into the United States.
and to place the tin plate, terne plate and
date These bills met in the Senate the
fate of their predecessors.
Mckinley Bill Error Corrected.
A bill was passed by the House and re-
ported from the Finance Committee to the
Senate to correct the clerical error in the
Mckinley bill, by which chocolate was made
dutiable as confectionery, but it has not
been acted on.
Various other tariff bills were considered
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