Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-14
ERRORS IN BILLS.
Mistakes Made by the Enrolling Clerks 1t
the Capitol.

l A0AsOhko IN BILLS.
| mistakes Made by the Enrolling Clerks 1t
the Capitol.
soxE OF THOSE ALREADY DISCOVERED ARE Sc
CRAVING AND PRINTING ONLY S37 ARE Ap-
PRoPRIATED, WHEN IT SHOULD BE S37 900.
The rush and excitement at tending the clos
ing hours of Congress usually result in mistakes
in the enrollment the bills last under cousidera-
ton and they occur too late toadmit Of their
rection even IL they are discovered before the
adjournment. 1t generally happens that these
mistakes are not discovered until the bills
reach the State Department and are copied for
the printer. The bills are written on
parchment sheets and in order to become laws
must bear the signatures Of the Speaker Of
the House, the President Of the Senate and
finally the signature of the President Of the
United States. Whom this formula has been
observed they are sent to the State Depart
ment and become part Of the archives Of the
government. There copies are made for the
printer and after the printed copies have been
revised and corrected so as to conform exactly
with the bill as enrolled and signed, certified
printed copies are delivered to the department
to which they relate for execution under the
law.
NO DECEPTION AT THE STATE DEPARTMENT.
The officials OF the State Department have no
discretion whatever in the matter and are com.
PEELED to promulgate the bill in identically the
form in which it is received by them. 1t is
copied seriatim ct literutim. special attention
being paid to the original punctuation. and
errors cannot be corrected no matter how man.
ifest and important.
The apparent errors discoyerei in tho IeCis-
lation enacted at the close Of the last session
are not SO numerous nor so important as some
made on previous occasions. For instance, at
the previous session the river and harbor bill as
received at the State Department allotted
$4,000 900 for the improvement of small river
In Indiana when only 100000 was actu-
ally appropriated by Congress. The enrolling
clerk had accidentally inserted an additional
cipher. No advantage was taken of the
error, however. and an attempt to do SO would
undoubtedly have been frustrated by the ac-
counting officers of the treasury. At the same
session provision OF q general appropriation
bill appropriating $780, 600 for the purchase of
seeds was stricken out in conference but was
included in the bill as enrolled and approved.
Ibis mistake occurred early in the session,
however, and was corrected by subsequent
legislation.
MISTAKE AS TO THE FAIR.
Probably the most serious mistake in the en-
Cured in the legislative, judicial and executive
appropriation bill, in which, by some misunder-
standing, an appropriation Of $500, 900 for the
benefit OF the worlds fair was inadvertently
placed to the credit Of the lady managers of the
fair. when it is obvious from a reading of the
entire section that only Sl00. 900 of that amount
was intended to be so disposed.
TROUBLE FOR THE BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND
PRINTING.
No little excitement was caused at the bureau
OF engraving and printing when it was found
that certified copy Of the deficiency bill fur
nished by the State Department showed that
only $37 had been appropriated for the salaries
OF the clerks and employees of the bureau other
than plate printers and engravers, when it was
generally supposed that S37, 900 had been pro-
vided for that purpose.
An examination of the tiil as engrossed
showed that 1t had been copied literally The
amount was written in words and the all i'm
portant word Thousand" had been omitted bv
the enrolling clerk in writing ''thirty-seven
Thousand dollars" The error will make n
good deal of trouble for the man who will sue
coed Capt. Meredith as chief Of the bureau and
Will work great hardship to number of de.
serving employees.
According to the Congressional Record the
sum OF S3o5, 600 was appropriated in the gen.
eral deficiency bill for fees and expenses Of ex-
amining surgeons in army and navy pension
cases, but the enrolled bill received at the
State Department and promulgated as the law
on the subject makes the appropriation for this
particular object three hundred and thousand
dollars" the word five" being omitted
AS TO CLAIMS ALLOWED.
Another manifest error in the same bill is
contained in the following provision relating to
claims allowed by the sixth auditor: "For de-
hciency in the postal revenue, 1880 and prior
years, S1.177.66.'
That the clause reading as follows: William
MilIgan, administrator Of George Wattles
deceased, twenty-one twenty-one thousand
eight hundred and thirty dollars, in the act
making appropriations to supply deficiencies in
the appropriations for fiscal year ending June
thlrtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-one. and
for prior years. and for other purposes passed
March third. eighteen hundred and ninety-one
(paSe nine hundred and four Of volume twenty
SIX. United States Statutes at LARGE, be- and
the same is hereby, amended SO as to read
as follows:
"'William Mulligan, administrator Of George
Wattles, deceased, twenty-one thousand eight
hundred and thirty dollars; and the award in
this case shall not be paid until the Court of
Claims shall certify to the Secretary of the
treasury that the personal representative on
whose behalf the award is made represents the
next OF kin, or in the event the court shall find
there were no next OF kin and that there is a
widow. then that such widow is SO represented"
lending June thirteenth. eighteen hundred and
niHty-oue, and for prior Years, and for other
purposes. to be paid to the person or persons
entitled to recover and receive the same, to be
ascertained by the Court Of Claims upon suf-
hcient evidence and certified to the Secretary
OF the treasury
MAY BE MORE.
In the above quotation the brackets are used
only to indicate a portion of the provision hav-
ing no apparent relation to any other part Of
it. There are no brackets in the original and
they DO not appear in the law. The instances
mentioned above only those that have
already been brought to the attention of the
department.. There may be other similar omis-
sions, additions or Inconsistencies that will de-
veiop in time to add to the strength of the
argument against the habitual delay of i'm
portant legislation till the last hours OF dying
Congress.
Peculiar Nevada Legislation.
The Nevada legislature has Just adjourned.
and it il discovered that a bill was lost in some
way. The missing bill provides for the reduc
ton Of state officers deputies salaries from