New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-01
WHAT CONGRESS HAS DONE.
MORE INTERESTING SILL. WHAT 1T HAS
NOT DONE.
REVIEW OF THE WORK OF THE FIRST SESSION
FEW REALLY IMPORTANT LAWS
ENACTED.

Official history OF the laws OF the lml'n states VIII
not need much space in which to inscribe the really
f,rortant laws enacted by The first session Of the
Ina Congress. Tire session now drawing to close
has not been remarkable for It's accDmpl ,hmcns, SO
far as respects large legislation. Efforts, more or
less vigorous have been made TO pass through both
houses OF Congress bills dealing with questions that
occupy large share Of public attention. but these,
with a single exception have failed OF accomplishment
The sole measure Of the first class IN Importance.
not counting the appropriation bills which has become
a law, Is the Chinese Exclusion bill, and political
cXpcdiency had much 10 do with It's rapid progress
This bill, the Inman Registry BILL the Black Hawk
and Seminole Indian Wars Pension bill the Eight
Hour bil the bill 10 enable the President 20 enforce
reciprocal canal arrangements with canada the Army
Nurse hill the Intermediate Pension bill and The bill
% Increase the OF esavors arc the only measures
OF much general interest enacted.
Free silver, the tariff the Anti-OptOns bill. re-
Geoclunent of appropriations and $5oOO0Oo loan
10 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
retrenchment of appropriations entered largely into
the makeup Of the appropriation bills, and prevented
single public building bill from passing the House.
the session being unique In this particular
The House passed approximately 40 DIS OF "h'ch
254 passed by tho Senate and sent TO the fTesi
dent OF the bills passed by the HOuse 800 were pub
lie bills including relating 70 the Distrlct OF
Columbia 81 private pension bills forty-eght DIS 10
charges OF descrtion. and fortyone private bills
OF miscellaneous character.
The Senate passed 69l bills only l13 OF which sue
ceeded In running the gauntlet Of the House and reach
Ing tho President Two OF these the President vetoed
the bill to send the famous McGarahan claim to the
Court OF Claims for adjudication and Dill % ahenu
the Court of Appeals act. Three bills the fresiHeht
permitted to become laws without his signature
The Senate not free as usual from election
fba Gu of Nh Ifli
Gall in Florida being contested. though unsuccessfuy,
by Mcssrs ClacScc and Davidson respectively.
The House had six elections contests ard four Of
chem have been practically settled IN the case OF
Craig agt Stewart from Pennsylvania. the House
unseated the Republican sitting member and gave the
place to Craig. the Democratic contestant, who died
last Friday night The Elections Committee recon-
mended the unseang of Rockwell the Democratic
sitting member In the New-Yort contest OF N0yes ag
Rockwell but the House refused to concur In the
recommendation and awarded the seat TO Mr.. Rockwell
The Of McDufDe sgt. Turpin. from Alabama
and Reynolds agt Sho1k, from PENNSYLVANIA, were
settled by the Recommendation of the committee, that
the sitting members keep their seats one
Democrat and the other Republican. Grccvy ngt
Scuu from Pennsylvania, and Miller agt Eliot from,
South Carolina, remnin in the hands Of the committee.
The Behring sea trouble with Great Britain the
ugest complication the senate had TO consider behind
closed doors and a peaceful solution Of II was found
Gillian matter also occupied some Of the senatc's at
tention in executive session
Tho total number of bills and Joint resolutions IN
troduced in the House 0. $50 and in the Senate
3.Go4. In the House 2.1OG reports were made on
bills and in the senate 1907 written reports were
made, no notice being paid 10 unwriten reports.
Aside from the passage OF the regular annual appro
pnstion bills the most Interesting feature OF the Con-
gress has been what did not rather than what did
DO The bill for the free coinage Of silver over
Swallowed AL other measures In importance and in
tercst. The coinage committee In the House was
made up largely Of friends Of free coinage. and it c
ported with promptness bill for free coinage but
when after stormy II to "a test vote in
the House, 1t necessary for the speaker to cast
his vote in order TO the silver bin from square
defeat, and. when the large anti-free coinage oppo
siilon began fllbuser the bill killed by re-
fuss on the part Of a majority OF the Democrats In
tho House 70 sign q request for closure rule with
out which request the speaker announced that he
would report rule for closing debate and fore
Ing measure on its passage. The Senate which had
been waiting the House far respected silver
legislation then took hold Of the subject and In June
by a majority Of four votes passed the Stewart Free
Coinage BILL This again brought the House face TO
face with the issue and vote majority Of four
teen was found 70 be opposed silver legislation at
this time that the spectre Of free coinage, which
had been hanging over many members, was at last
banshed
The Ways and Means Committee Of the House
wrestlcd with the taiif problem, and after mature
deliberaton decided TO attack the Mckinley law ty
means of separate tariff bills dealing with special
items, instead of by bill mailing general revision of
the tariff. Prominence given the SPRUCE bin.
placing wool the free list and reducing the duties On
woollen manufactures the chief exponent OF party
policy on the tariff question, and with this measure
as basis there long tariff debate. The bill was
passed by the House and followed by two other
co-fI IouC and
and cotton bagging machinery, and the other binding
Irvine on the free list, the Binding Irvine bill being
passed under suspension Of the rules.
There was then "a lul in tariff matters to see what
course the senate would take. The SFnatcs policy
was made apparent by the action Of the Finance Com
mittee pgeonhong all three bills. and of them
has yet emerged from the seclusion Of the committee
room, though occasionally their sumbers were dis
turbed by efforts CT the Dcmoclatc senators 10 have
them reported.
The Agricultural Committee I'm each House had be,
fore II some Of the most important measures OF the
session. bill reported, and under suspension Of
the rules, passed by the House. 10 prohibit dealing In
futures which under the generic title OF the Anti
Options BILL now remains the Senate calendar as
the unfinished business at the beginning Of the next
session.
The Senate Committee Agriculture took the lead
In framing Naturalization bill, and passed what
Is generally known the Paddock Pure Food bill.
This bill is number in the list Of Senate bills,
having been the first measure introduced. 1t has been
reported favorably from the House Committee on Ag-
riculturc and is now on the House Calendar Among
impor ant bills which were passed by the House, but
failed of action in the senate the bills for the
admission to statehood of NewMexlco and Arizona;
providing a local government for Utah. and requiring
all railroads TO provide themselves with automatic
car-couplers.
The policy announced by the majority party in the
IIodse in favor OF retrcnchment OF appropriations
resulted in an unusually close scanning Of the esti-
mates, and In the non-alTowancc OF appropriations
for nearly all work, or for work which existing
law did not make Considerable legislation
was accomplished by the incorporation Of paragraphs
indn ANIMAL augmentation hllls In