The Princeton union., 1894-08-09
PASSED BY CONGRESS, B, j
NEW LEGISLATION DURINS3 THE
PRESENT SESSION. S9

a Number of Bills OF Great I'M
pOrtance Have Become Laws-One
4 OF the Most Important Is the Bill
Repeating Federal Election Laws.
w shington, Aug. O. A review Of the
legislation which has been accomplished
by the first session Of the Fifty third
congress up to aud including Aus. 3
shows that much has been done aside
fr,m the epgrossing tariff struggle,
which has largely diverted public atten-
ton from matters Which. would under
other circumstances been considered
of great Importance.
One Of the most important acts of
the session, which passed both houses
by strictly party vote, bcing in full
fillmeDt Of Il plank Of the Democratic
platform, was the let repeating all laws
creating federal supervisors of elections
or defining their powers. 5..e
The act to enable the people of Utah
to form a constit tuition and state gov
ernment and to be admitted into the
Union, provides the machinery by which
the territory will be admitted proba-
bly, in December, 1895, by adopting
constitution providing a republican
form of government and insuring
against the supremacy OF any church,
the government ceding 1t much public
land for educational and charitable in
stitutions
An act making the first Monday in
September legal holiday, to be called
Labor day, was passed largely at the
instance of labor organizations, while
scientific societies urged the act to de-
fine and establish the units of electrical
measurement be made law.
Three bills were passed to give ef-
feet to the award Of the tribunal of
arbitration at Paris which adjudicated
the seal fisheries disputes; that acts
prohibiting seal fishing from May /
to July 81 of each year north Of degree
35 north latitude and east Of degree
1SO longitude, and establishing condi-
tions under which The fishing can be
carried on outside Of the closed season
with penalties for violations Of the
law, and machinery for it's enforce
ment .'I
Several measures were enacted in ac-
cordance with the recommendations Of
the Dockery commission lso-called) for
improving and a!nplifying the methods
Of doing the government business Most
important were those chal gipg the
method of auditing accounts III the
treasury department, improving the
methods of accounting in the posto ce
department and changing the money
order system an that regulating the
making Of property returns by the
officials of the govern ment. First en-
titled to mention are the appropriation
bills for the expense of the government,
which form an important part of the
1,1s cfn q1thO11ON
generally the last to be finished, gen
eral legislation is usually engrafted
upon these bills, and from this rule
those of the past session were no ex-
ception. The postofice department bill
authorized the postmaster general to
allow postmasters of the first and sec
Ond class offices to diSburSe at 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 1hd methods. of examining
boards. The naval bill empowered the
president to fill vancancies in the grade
Of ensign or assistant engineer by Sc
lecting from the graduation class of
the naval academy where the vacancies
exceed the number of cadets in the line
division or engineer division. Also that
vancancy in the naval school from a
district which the secretary Of the
navy is called upon to fill must be
filed by the appointment Of resi-
dent of that district Of two years
standing.
In the diplomatic and consular bill
sevcr;l! salaries were changed; that Of
the minister to Belgium being raised
from $1,000 to $4,000, and a provisi N
to make the bureau IT 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. The fortlfication bill con
tanned nothing of interest to the gener-
al public and the legislation was
equally uninteresting. In tho agricul
tCral bill were provisions governing the
distribution Of seeds by the depart
ment. Three of the appropriation bills
have rot yet gone to the president
the river and harl'or, general deficiency
and sundry civil. Incidental to The
sundry civil is provision granting
100000 acres Of the surveyed arid
public lands to each of the states to
which the desert land law is applicable
IN cbraska, 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 to the sus-
pension Of pensioners from the rolls,
question which has excited endless
discussion during this administration.
I. v as forbidden to suspend them with
out thirty days notice and notification
Of the charges against them. -Four
general deficiency bills have been nee
essaIy this session.
The first one was signed Dee. p,
1893, and its principal items We're $127,-
500 for the pay Of assistant ,anitors
and custodians under the treasury 1e-5
partme1t and SEQ, 900 for mileage Tor
members, the regular mileage appro
priadon FOR the first session having
been used during the special session.
The second deficiency bill, signed the.
same day. i cluded S745,00O for the
treasury department; 100000 Of it for
lbe customs service, 100000 for the.
pension service, 100000 for the CEN
sus and 100000 for public printing.
The thir:1 deficiency, signed March IL,