The sun., 1893-11-09
THE WORK OF CNGRESS.
WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED ny THE
SPECIAL SESSION.
silver Repeal and the Chinese Bill
the Only Measures OF Prime Impor-
tnnce which Become Lnws-Digest
of Results I'm Each House.

of Results i'm Each House.
Washington, Nov. 3.-The session of
the senate will be long memorable for
the contest over the bill providing for
the repeal of the silver purchasing clause
of the act of 1890 known as the Sher-
man law. The extraordinary session was
called for the purpose of accomplishing
tlis repeal, and the other work accom-
plished was merely incidental. That bill
reached the senate after passing the
house on Aug. % and was not passed
by the senate until Oct. 80. How for
these two months the senate contcnded
over the issue involved, but at last
brought the bill through and passed it
by safe majority, is familiar to the
public The hill provides i'll effect for
the cessation of the purchase and COIN
aye of silver, and may be said to mark
a revolution in the financial history Of
the country. While the records show
that it was the house bill which bectme
law, that is only technically true, as
the senate substituted a measure of its
own and the house accepted the substi-
tute.
The bill of next greatest Importance
!,ouses of congress is the bill extending
the time in which Chinese laborers can
register under the Chinese act, known
as the Geary law. Much interest at
tached to the bill providing for a bridge
across the Hudson at New York. This
bill passed both houses. OF the 1,152
bills introduced i'll the senate during the
passed that body, and of these only
three passed the house, received the pres
identS signature and became laws. Of
the three new laws originating in the
senate one is in aid of the mid-winter
international exposition to be held in
San Francisco; another grants certain
settlers in Oklahoma Territory the right
to commute their homestead entries, and
the third relates to clerks in the Office
of the commissioners of the District of
Columbia.
These Also Passed.
The other bills which passed the SEN
ate are as follows: Making appropria-
tons for the purchase of ground in Wash
ington for building to be used as Il
hall of aecords; granting to California
per cent of the net proceeds of the cash
sales CT public lands in that state; to
extend the time for making final pay
ments on entries under the desert land
act; authorizing certain Cherokee allot-
tees or claimants to purchase certain
tracts held and claimed by them; to
donate to the county of Laramie, WyO.,
certain bridges on the abandoned Fort
Laramie military reservation; to author
iZe the Chattanooga Western Railway
company to construct bridge across
the Tennessee river near Chattanooga;
to grant the right of way to the Kansas
Oklahoma Central & Southwestern Rail
way company through the Indian Terri
tory and Oklahoma Territory; to aid the
States of California, Oregon, Washing
ton Montana TIohn TVroD,iprr
Colorado and South Dakota to support
schools of mines; for the relief of w. II.
Ward.
The senate has in addition to those
bills of its own passed fourteen house
bills, the most important of these being
house bill No. /, for the repeal of the
purchasing clause of the Sherman act.
The others relate to lands in the Sioux
Indian reservation in Nebraska and
South Dakota, to the United States
, courts in Idaho and Wyoming and South
Dakota; to the New York & New Jer-
sey bridge; to steam revenue cutters for
the great lakes and for the New England
coast; to the annual work on unpatented
mining claims; to the increase of officers
of the army detailed at colleges and to
the amendment of the Chinese exclusion
act, the rest being bills of q private
character The senate also passed four
Joint Resolutions
which originated in that body and twelve
which originated in the house. The
cnly one of the senate joint resolutions
of Importance is the one which provides
for the construction of hall of records
in Washington. which also passed the
| house. Of the house resolutions which
passed the senate, those worthy of note
are: Relating to the Mormon church
| property in Salt Lake City; providing for
the publication of $4,000 additional
| copies of the compendium of the eleventh
I
| licts, and comforting diplomas upon
worlds far artisans through the board
| of lady managers. The total of the sen
ate bills and joint resolutions, and of
house bills and joint resolutions, all told,
is only fOrty-two.
The senate will not be without mate
| rial to work upon when it reconveneS in
| December. The calendar issued to-day
| shows sixty-fve bills and resolutions re-
| ported by committee and ready for the
| attention of the senate. A large proper
| ton of these bills and resolutions relates
| to private claims, and there are also sew
eral relating to the finances which had
connection with the repeal bill and which
| are not now pertinent. Probably the
| most important bill upon the senate cal
| endar now is that for the repeal of the
| federal election laws. A similar bill has
| passed the house. Senator Voorhees, has
bill concerning national bank note cir
1
| joint committee of the two houses to
| consider questions of finance, has place
| on the calendar, as has Mr.. Stewards
| resolution concerning the coordinate
| branch of the government, and also Mr..
| Peffer's relating to interstate COM
merce. Senator Palmer's bill concerning
INVALID pensions paid to non-residents is
| in shape for consideration at any time.
| There are on the table resolutions by
| Senators Hoar and Martin relative to
the election of senators by the direct
vote of the people, and a resolution by
| Senator Call dispensing with the civil
service commission.
Results i'm the House.
The chief bill that failed in the extrl
| session of the house was that providing
1 fer urgent deficiencies. The most inn
| portant item in this measure was that
which provided for the janitOrs and GUS
tedians of public buildings. There was
an item of 100000 to pay clerks to mem
| bers but that can be passed later without
c:.using any hindrance to public busi-
ness like the first-named appropriation. A
| house joint resolution passed the house
| providing for a reduction of so per cent
| of the duty on all goods sold at the
worlds fair. 1t was amended SO as to
| admit duty free such goods as might be
| used for the Chicago useum to be cs-
| tablished in the art juilding on the
worlds fair grounds, put the so per cent
! reduction for goods was stricken ont.
There have been introduced in the house
at this session session 1890 bills and 81
joint resolutions OF this entire number
lG6 have been reported from committees
and 56 have passed the house Most of
those which passed are of special interest
to the sections where they apply, and
have been pressed to meet some necessity
which existed. Some of these have be-
come laws. Others are yet in committee
or on the calendar of the senate.
Of those that have become laws the act
next i'll Importance originating in the
house after the silver repeal is the Chi
nese bill. An important joint resolution
which became a law provides for an in
ternational agreement for the marking
and removal of derelicts and wrecks in
the ocean. One of the number of Joint
resolutions passed tenders the acknowl-
edgments of the United States to the for
eign governments which participated in
the worlds fair; another restores to the
Mormon church in Utah money and
property that have been in the hands of
a receiver since 1887: another fixes the