Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-11-09
THE EXTRA SESSION.
Review Of the Work It Accom-
pliShed.
a flood of Bills Introduced and But Few
Enacted Into Laws = The Chinese
Given More Time to Register
"A Breathing Spell
Work of the Extra session.


WASHINGTON, Nov. 4.-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 Sherman act of 1890. The
extraordinary session was called for
the purpose of accomplishing this re-
peal, and the other work accomplished
was merely incidental. That bill
reached the senate, after passing the
house, August %, and was not passed
by the senate until October\ so. For
these two months the senate contended
over the issue involved, but at last
brought the bill through and passed
it by a safe majority. The bill pro-
vides in effect for the cessation of
the purchase and coinage of silver, and
may be said to mark revolution in the
financial history of the country. While
the records show that it was the house
bill, which became law, that is only
technically true, as the senate substi-
tuted a measure of its own, and the
house accepted the substitute.
The bill of next greatest Importance
to the repeal bill, which has passed
both houses of congress, is the bill ex-
tending the time in which Chinese Ia
borers can register under the Chinese
act, known as the Geary law.
Much interest attached to the bill
providing for bridge across the Hud
son at New York. This bill passed
both houses.
OF the 1,152 bills that were intro
duced in the senate during the session,
only twelve passed that body and of
these only three have passed the house
of representatives, received the presi-
dents signature and became laws. OF
the three new laws originating in the
senate, one is in aid of the midwinter
national exposition to be held in San
Francisco; another grants certain set
tiers in Oklahoma territory the right
to commute their homestead entries,
and the third relates to clerks in the
Office of the commissioners of the Dis
trict of Columbia.
The old bills which have passed the
senate are: Making appropria tions
for the purchase of ground in Wash
ington for a building to be used as a
hall of records; granting to California
5 per cent. of the net proceeds of the
cash sales of public lands in that state;
to extend the time for making final
payments on entries under the desert
land act; authorizing certain Cherokee
allottees, or claimants, to pur-
chase certain tracts claimed and
held by them; to donate to the
county of Laramie, Wyoming, GER
tain bridges on the abandoned Fort
Laramie military reservation; to au-
thorize the Chattanooga Western Rail
road Co. to construct a bridge across
the Tennessee river near Chattanooga;
to grant the right of way to the Kan
sas, Oklahoma Central &c Southwestern
Railroad Co through Oklahoma and
the Indian territory; to aid the states
Of California, Oregon. Washington,
Montana, Idaho. Nevada, Wyoming,
Colorado and South Dakota to support
schools of mines; for the relief of w.
ii. Ward.
The senate has, in addition to these
bills of its own, passed fourteen house
bills, the most important OF them be-
ing house bill No. 1, for the repeal of
the purchasing clause of the Sherman
act. The other house bills passed by
the senate 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 and
New Jersey bridge; to steam revenue
cutters for the great lakes and for the
New England coast; to the annual
work of union patented mining claims;
to the increaSe>of officers of the army,
detailed at colleges; to the amendment
of the Chinese exclusion act The
others are bills of private character