Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-02-12
4 CONTINUOUS BODY.
A Prediction That Congress Will
Take That Form.
The Present Session Promises 10 Be An In
usually Long One.

WASHINGTON, Feb. Ill Special -
How long will this session of congress lasts
Already political calculators are earnestly
asking this Question, for it is taken for
granted that a very long session usually in
Jures the majority party. Well, it has
started ont about Us the longest previous
session did ard has so far maintained the
pace Of that session, only little more SO.
The minority is rather more talented In OBJ
stf1iction than usual. The minority is not
yet well organized, and the third party is
decidedly cantaBkeroUs. The doubtful
members are more cyasive than usual, and
the senate seems not merely unusually but
alarmingly deliberative In fact, the sen
ate is growing steadily more leisnrey, and
40 Champ Clark says, I'VE shall see the dog
days through these beautiful stained win
Gows.s
Joe Cannon's Opinion.
On the other hand, the appropriations
committee will complete it's bills and re-
ports more than amonth earlier than usual,
and of the other bills appropriating money
there are 10 in all-but two are calculated
to excite long debate. On nearly all the
appropriation bills the minority and ma
iorty of the committee are su ,stintially
agreed, and Senator Voorhees, de la-es with
almost p1ofane emphasis that .hc senate
finance committee will pat through its
work very rapidly. For these and many
other reasons the enthusiasts say, ave may
get ..wny before the Fourth of July"
Joe Cannon gives it as his opinion that
there cannot be an adjournment until some
timp in August, and that in all probability
hone of the present generation Of politicians
will live to see the long session Of congress
close earlier than the first of that month.
There are" says he, s'at least % dozen
entirely new subjects Of legislation soon to
become prominent, and the country has
grown SO large that the number Of really
private but quasi public bills pressed upon
congress is enormous. Thousands of these
ought to be passed upon by the courts
Many thousands more ought to be cut off
by rigid statute OF limitations, and nearly
all even of those which come before CON
gress ought to be and might be classified
and disposed OF under general laws. But
the pressure upon every member is SO great
by his constituents who have private claims
that it has so far proved impossible to cias-
sify them and think will continue impos-
siblc. No, think that hereafter congress
will be practically a continuous body, tax
ing only short Vacation, rs business men
do"
Much Business to Do.
After the tariff battle closed, the house
sank into II sort of languor, like that of a
victorious army after Il big battle. Even
the Hawaiian question scarcely reused il
from its paralytic drowsiness, although
Messrs. McCreary, Hit, Boutelle Is Co. did
their best to Stir upt their respective PARTIES
BANDS seigniorage bill for Immediately
utilizing about So, 100000 worth of the sill
yer by certificates excited somewhat more
attention, but it took Il contested election
ease and some real live politics to bring the
house up TO its usual heat. The appropcia-
tons following in their order are for fortili-
cations, PENSIONS the District of Columbia
and sundry civil deficiencies etc, but there
IL no way of estimating the length of time
they will take Bills have been known to
10 through in two hours, and also to occupy
three months.
The strongest argument made by any Of
the dominant party for anticipating long
SESSIONS that this congress really has more
to do than any in peace times since that OF
1e49-5l In fact, says Mr. ISrookshire OF
Indiana, there is everything to do. Tar
lift public credit, internal revenue, currency
and the finances generally, the admission
of four new states, foreign affairs, pension
frauds, alleged mistakes in the naval de
partment and many other subjects are to
be overhauled, discussed Oh radical aud
original principles and settled in all prob
ability for some time"
The foreign complications are not serious,
but they are new and interesting. The
navy is in its most interesting condition
both as TO questions of the wisdom of past
action and novel propositions rs to future
action, and all these questions are admira-
bly, calculated to excite feeling and create
debate. They are nearly all party qnes-
tons and some Of them questions tending
to a bitter fsc,ional fight within The party.
Some Long Sessions.
1t takes but brief survey of our history
to convince one that there is good deal in
the theory that long sessions are bad for the
dominant party. That of 1880 will long
I've memorable In our history. That congress
had everything to do to settle the status of
compromises on the slavery question and
reorsanize the executive department, and,
as in this congress the majority started in
getting united ard thoroughly organized
the session OF 1866 was in like manner
confronted with many new and difficult
questions, Kansas towering high above all
others. and at the beginning there was no
party majority. So it took two months to
choose a speaker.
The session of 1866, which took up the
subject of reconstruction, was very much
shorter than the wiseSt observer had pre-
dicted. considering the momentous ques-
tions in issue, and its fortune in this re-
spect was undoubtedly due to the fact
that the dominant party was more united
than in almost any other congress. The so
called Mckinley congress in its first session
not only saw the dog days through these
stained windows, = but saw the early frost,
and if, as a few predict, this session beats
it for holding out, there will be noadjourn-
ment next fall, the long session running
into the short one without a break.