The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1892-08-10
WHAT CONGRESS HAS DONE
Little Accomp ished Aside from Passing
Approximation Bills.

The future compiler of the official.
history OF the laws Of the United Stat
will not need much space in which TO
inscribe the really important laws en-
acted by the first session OF the Lid
congress, says Washington correspon-
dent. The session has not been re-
markable for its actual accomplishments
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 at
tention, but these, with a single excep-
ton, have failed Of accomplishment.
The sole measure of the first class in
Importance, not counting the appropria-
ton bills which have become a law, is
the Chinese exclusion bill, and political
expediency has much 10 do with it's
rapid Congressional progress This bill,
the Inman registry bill, the Black Hawk
and Seminole Indian wars pension bill,
the eight-hour bill, the bill to enable
the President tC enforce reciprocal
canal arrangements with Canada, the
army nurse bill, the intermediate pen
sion bill, and the bill TO increase the
pay Of life-savers are about the ouly
measures of much general interest en-
acted into law.
Free silver, the tariff, the anti-option
bill, retrenchment OF appropriations and
a $1,000, coo 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,
while the last is still before Congress.
The House passed approximately AIS
bills. Of which 2S4 were passed 10y the
Senate and sent TO the President. OF
the bills PASSED by the House 220 were
public bills, including measures relat-
ing to the District of Columbia; 151 pri-
vate pension bills; ~ bills TO remove
charges of desertion; AMI IL private bills
Of miscellaneous character.
The Senate passed 69l bills, only 113
Of which succeeded in running the gant-
let Of the House and reaching the Presi-
dent. Two of the latter number the
President vetoed, viz, the bill to send
the famous McGarrahan claim to tho
Court of Claims for adjudication and a
bill to amend the Court of Appeals act.
Three bills the President permitted to
become laws without his signature.
The noteworthy feature of the private
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 beneficlaries be-
The Bering Sea trouble with Great
Britain was the uglest complication
the Senate had TO consider behind closed
doors, and peaceful solution OF it was
found i'm its reference 20 an arbitration
commission. The Gillian muddle also
occupied some of the Senate's attention
in executive sess on.
The total number Of bills and Joint
resolutions introduced in the House was
1885, and in the Senate 1904. In tho
House 2, LOG reports were made on bills,
and in the Senate ,097 written reports
were made, no notice being paid to UNI
written reports.
Aside from the passage OF the regular
annual appropriation bills the moh>
interesting feature OF the Congress has
been what it did not do rather than
what it did.