Morris tribune., 1892-08-03
REVIEW OF WORK
WHICH HAS BEEN DONE BY THE
FlFTY-SEcoND CONGRESS.

OF the Two Thousand Bills Placed on
the House Calendar Four Hundred and
Fifty Have Passed-Important Meas
ures Acted Upon in Each Branch.
WASHINGTON, Aug. latter session
of eight months the first session of the
Fifty-second congress is about to end
and review of its work may prove in
teresting. The house devoted the first
two months to the discussion and adop-
ton of code Of rules, after which reg
ular business was taken up. Bills to the
number of 1857 have been introduced in
the house and referred to committees.
Of this number 2,115 have been reported
and placed on the calendar and about
450 have passed the house. The most
important measures considered by the
house, excepting the general appropria-
ton bills, were the silver bills; the tar
if measures reported from the ways and
means committee; the Chinese exclusion
act; the "intermediate" and army nurse
pension bills; the bill to enforce recip-
rocal commercial relations with Canada;
the bill increasing the pay of the life
saving crew; to establish lineal promo
ton In the army; for the better
control Of national banks in
regard to loaning mohey to directors and
officers, and to add the name of the Sec
rotary of agriculture to the cabinet Of
fcers who may act as president in GER
tain contingencies. The Bland silver
bill failed in the house, as did the free
coinage bill WHICH passed the senate
The several tariff bills passed by the
house failed in the senate. as did also the
bills providing for the admission of New
Mexico and Arizona as states.
Of the 3,49s bills introduced in the
senate 1 ,0la were reported upon by COM
mittees and 500 Of them passed. Among
the most important measures passed by
the senate and not accepted by the
house were the following: To facilitate
the settlement of claims for arrears of
pay and bounty; for the construction of
revenue cutters two each) for service
on the great lakes and the Pacific coast;
the 'pure food" BILL; to increase the
rate of pension for certain cases of deaf
ness; to fix the price Of lands entered I'M
der the desert land laws; to authorize
the secretary of war to cause a survey
to be made for the ship canal from Phil
adelphia across New Jersey to New
York bay and the better enforcement of
the immigration laws. A large number
of public building and claim bills passed
by the senate also failed in the house.
Four hundred and three bills have
passed both houses and been sent to the
president for signature. There are
twenty of these bills still under consid-
Grafton by the executive; one has been
returned to the house by its request
without signing; two have been vetoed
the bill to amend the organizing of
circuit courts of appeals so as to give
them jurisdiction Of certain Indian
cases, and the bill referring the McGar-
rahan claim to the court of private land
claims.
Investigations were feature Of this
congress especially in the house and
committees devoted much time to them.
The pension Office and its management
received the attention of special COM
mittee which reported Encouragement |
of the bureau generally under the ad-
ministration of Commissioner Raum
and recommended to the house that the |
be asked to dismiss that off
cial. The committee on public lands |
looked into the management of the Vel |
lowstone national park and reported a
bill to rectHy the condition of affairs
there. Thereport also criticised Russell |
B. Harrison, the presidents son, for his
with leases there. The COM
mittee appointed to investigate the CEN
sus office began their work late in the |
session and finally postponed it until
next session.
In both branches Of congress large
Of important bills which had |
been referred to committees and re. !
ported back will retain their place On
the calendar in the SECOND Sess;on
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