The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1894-08-10
PASSED BY CONGRESS-.
NEW LEGISLATION DURING THE
PRESENT SESSION.
A Number of Bills of Great I'M
portance Have Become Laws-One
Of the Most Important Is the Bill
Repeating Federal Election Laws.

w sSiIltl-,t mug Ot--A ltNi~N VI tiiS
fgislatiSn hich has been accomplished
BY the first session Of the Fifty third
.ong"ass up to aud including Aug. )
shows that mu.l, has been done asite
fr. III the engiossin. tariff struggle.
which has la.r.nly diverted public atten-
lion from m .ers Which would under
other circumstances ben considered
)f great Importance.
one Of The most important acts OF
he session. Which passed both houses
1y strictly party vote, bein" i'll full
ilmcpt Of Il plann of the Democratic
,la.form was the ,ct repeating III laws
.reatiny federal supervisors ~ elections
,r defining their powers
The act to enable the people OF tan
70 form constitution and state gov
eminent and 10 be admitted into the
Tnion provides the machinery by which
The territory will he admitted proba
bly, in December, 1895. by adopting
constitution pro.idin@ republican
form or government ana lnsul1as
against the supremacy or any chtifcn.
the government ceding 1t much pabllc
and for educational and charitable III
stitu1ionS.
An act making the first Monday III
September Il legal holiday. to be called
Labor day. was passed largely 1T the
Instance Of labor organizations. Whlle
scientific societies urged the act TO de-
ine and establish the units Of electrical
measurement be made law.
Three bills were passed to give ef-
rect to the award of the tribunal Of
arbitration at Paris which adjudica-ad ad
he seal fisheries disputes; that acts
prohibiting seal fishing from May |
o July 81 of each year north OF dasi''e
s. north latitude and east OF degree
$50 longitude. and establishing cohdl-
ions under which he fishing can be
carried on outside of the closed season
with penalties for violations of the
Iaw, and machinery for its eHfoics-
nent.
Several measures were enacted IN ac-
,ordance with the Recommendations OF
he Dockery commission ,so-called) for
improving and ampl!fyn- the methods
II doing the government business Most
important were those chal giDg the
method Of auditing accounts III the
treasury department. improving the
methods Of accounting in the posfO e"
department and changing the money
order system an that regulating the
making Of properly returns by the
titled to mention are the appropriation
bills for the expense Of the government,
which form an important part or the
-egular work Of every session. although
generally the last to be finished. gen
,ral legislation is usually engraffed
upon these bills. and from this rule
hose Of the past session We're no eX-
ception. The postoffice department bill
authorized the postmaster general to
allow pOstmasters Of the first and sec
md class offices to disburse ut their
discretion the amout allotted for their
offices, and admitted to the mails Pc
riodical publications published at least
quarterly by benevolent and fraternal
societies and other organizations as
second-class matter Provisions were
included in the pension bills regulating
The fees lld methods OF examining
boards. The naval bill empowered the
president to fill vancancies In the grade
of ensign or assistant engineer by Sc
tecting from the graduation class or
lhe naval academy where the vacancies
exceed the number Of cadets in the line
division or engineer division. Also that
/ va;lcancy in the naval school from i
district which the secretary of the
navy is called upon to fill must be
iilled by tie appointment IT resi-
dent ri that district ct two years
standing.
In the diplomatic and consular ',ill
seycra! salaries were changed; that or
Tie minister to Belgium being raj ;ed
from $1,000 to $4,000. aud 4 provision
to make tho bureau If South American
republics partially self sustaining by
the sale OF it's publications was in
serted. No important legislation was
contained in the bill for the naval
academy. rhe fortlfication bill con
tanned nothing Of interest 7" the sener-
nj public ana the legislation was
equally ,,ninteresting. III the agricul.
iElal hlll were provisions governing lie
distribution of seeds by the depart
ment. Three cf the appropriation bills
have rot vet gone to the president
lii. river and harl'or. general dc,icien;y
and sundry civil Incidental to The
snndry civil is a provision granting
100000 acres OF the surveyed arid
public lands to each of the states to
which the desert land law is applicable
Nebraska, Kansas, and the Territories
Of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma
and Utah. to be selected. within ten
years. One OF the deciency bills con-
tanned legislation relating = the suS-
pension Of pensioners from the rolls,
a question which has excited endless
discussion during this administration.
[. vas forbidden to suspend them with
out thirty days notice and notification
of the charges against them -Four
general deficiency bills have been nee
essaly this session.
uIie first oye was signed Dec. Il,
1893, and its principal items We're xl27.-
jUO for tho pay of assistant ianltors
and custodians under the treasury t.
partmeI,t and $2t'O,00O for mileage Tor
members, the regular mileage appro-
D.iation f,r the first session having
been used during the special session.
Jhe second deficiency bill, signed the