Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1893-03-16
THE WORK OF THE FIFTY-SECOND
CONGRESS.

WASHINGTON, March 5.-The sill
yer and tariff questions, the anti-op
tion bill and the reduction Of appro
priations were the leading topics o
consideration by the Fifty-Secorc
Congress, which expired by consti
tutional limitation at noon yesterday
Secondary only in Importance tc
these matters were the measures re
lating TO the Worlds Fair, equip
ments of railroads with automatic
car couplers, national quarantine and
immigration, Behring Sea and Ha.
waiian annexation. Nothing of ar
affirmative nature, except to prevent
two items in the Mckinley law TAX
ing effect, was actually accomplished
as far as respects silver, tariff OF
anti-option = action taken on each
one of these questions In one branch
of Congress being negatived by the
action or non-action of the other
branch.
The result of the agitation of the
necessity for retrenchment Of expen-
ditures is not apparent in any con-
siderable change in the aggregate
appropriations carried by the national
supply bills, for they amount to
about as much as in the Fifty-First
CongresS-laws on the statute books
preventing some large reductions,
which otherwise would have been
made, while the decrease which it
was possible to effect was offset by
increased appropriations for pensions
and rivers and harbors.
The condition of the public tre-
sury, however, though it did not re-
suit in the Fifty-First Congress get
ting below the billion-dollar limit,
undoubtedly influenced legislation to
a considerable extent, and prevented
the aathorization of many proposed
new expenditures for improvements
of the public service, for public build
ings, for the payment Of claims and
for other purposes. a notable in
stance of the operation of this infu-
ence is seen in the fact that not a
single public building bill passed the
House, and it was only by putting
number Of them on the sundry civil
appropriation bill that any authorize
were secfnEer for public buildings
The silver questlo-
lily before the attention OF St~stead-
b. the alternate efforts of the advo-'
Gates of free coinage and of the re-
peal of the Sherman law. The coin
age committee of the House, in the
first session, reported a free silver
bill, which, after an exciting debate,
was saved from defeat by the casting
vote of the Speaker, but was after
ward filibustcred to death, the friends
of the bill failing to secure the sigma
lures of majority of the Democrats
to petition asking for cloture rule
IN it's behalf. The Senate then
passed free coinage bill; but when
the free silver men renewed their
fight in the House, they were out
numbered by IA votes and Of course
failed.
The anti-silver men met similar
fate in their efforts to secure the
repeal of the present law, the Senate
refusing, by decisive vote, to con-
sider it, and the House killing the
Andrew Cate bill by declining to
vote so as to give its friends the par
liamentary right to move cloture on
it, without which it concededly
should never be forced to vote in
the closing hours of Congress.
On the tariff, the dominant party
in the House adopted policy OF at
tacking the Mckinley Act in detail,
largely for political reasons, and
partly for the reason that in view of
the political complexion of the Sen
ate it was practically out of the ques-
ton to pass a general tariff revision
bill through the Senate, while spe-
cial measure might stand more show
OF passage. The result was the en-
actment into law Of two. bills, con-
tanning block tin on the free list and
fine linen at 35 per cent ad calorem.
Under the Mckinley law, large
duties were to take effect on these
items in the near futsre. Other
separate bills were passed through
the House only to be pigeon-holed in
the Senate as follows: Free wool
and reduction of duties on woollen
manufactures, free cotton bagging
machinery, free binding twine, free
silver lead ores, (where the value,
not weight, of the silver exceeds that
of lead in any importatlon), free tin
plate, terne plate, and taggers tin,
and the limitation to 500 of the
amount of personal baggage return
ing tourists may bring into the Uni
ted States.
The anti-option bill passed both
Houses, but was killed by the refusal
of the House to suspend the rules
and agree by a two-thirds vote to
the amendments put on the bill by
the Senate, the opponents of the
measure maneuvring so as to pre-
vent Mr.. Hatch making effective bis
majority in favor of the measure and
forcing him at the last moment to
trv suspension of the rules.
The pure food bill, the running
mate of the anti-option bill, passed
the Senate, but was never able to
get consideration in the House.
Worlds Fair legislation comprised
a grant Of s2,500,000 in souvenir hall
dollars in aid of the fair, the closing
of its gates on Sunday, the approprla-
ton Of various amounts for different
fair purposes and the passage OFFS sun.
dry Acts of special nature and m1nol
importance.
The automatic coupler bill, shorr
of It's drastic features, was enacted