Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1895-03-15
WORK OF CONGRESS
The Controlling Issues Of its
Three Sessions.
SILVER, TARIFF, FINANCES.
A Summary of the Work Accom-
plIshed Since August 1893. when
the President Called the MEM
bers in Extraordinary
Sessions.

TIE three sessi u, OF tHe FIfty-:hird Con-
gress just expired, were dominated by three
controlling issue. The first by the silver
question. The second by the ;ariff question.
The third by the n iancial question.
On the 7th of AIglst 1893. the Congress
convened In extraordinary session Tor the
avowed purpose OF repeating the compulsory
silver purchase provision OF the law OF lo'O'
This was the silver session
Mr. w. L. Wilson chairman OF the ways
and Means Committee, prepared DILL !"
conformity to the recommendations oil the
Presidents message. and on the 2Stn oi
August, l893 this measure passed the HOUSE,
Ihe Senat,, In the mean time had been pre-
pairing through the Committee on Finance,
a substitu BILL and on the 1st of November
this Senate substitute received the apprOVal
OF both Houses, and became law by the ap'
proval OF the President. This measlre, a III
the repeal OF the remaining yesdge' oil the
reconstruction Federal &c ion law'. c.ose1
the important work OF the extra session
Upon its meeting In regular session, In De-
cember, 1893 Congress entered upon the
consideration OF the revision OF the tariff As
in the case OF the silver question, but In
much more pronounced manner, the House
proposed" and the Senate disposed. The
Wilson tariff bill, pa'sel by the House Feb
ruary l. 1891, wa, set aside for thu Jones'
German comproml tariff bill, and adopted
by the Senate on the 81 OF JUL, 1894, a'ter
four months debate, an the House va given
the blunt option OF the Senate bill or 9th
Ing" II took the Senate bill and sen 1t to
the Pres eat on the 18TH Of Angus, 1894
NOT SIGNED BY THE PRESIDENT
President Cleveland permit ed the bill to
become law without his approval, AMI 10
an informal manner communicated to indl-
yidual members Of Congress his dlssatis ac-
ton with the iuad' quacy OF the changes made
IN the tariff system.
Supp emental to the passage OF this tariff
law. the Senate entered upon the prohtles'
and inc inclusive investigation o: rumors that
Senators had beel Improperly Influenced to
vote for the Senate sugar schedu g, aad had
specua ell in stocks of he so-calle I'd Sugar
Trust Company"
The third and last, or Financial session
OF the Fifty-third Congress, has been espec-
ially marked by the refusal OF bo;h Housesto
put into legislative shape the recommends
tlons of the President for th' alienation OF
the stringent financial situation. The Presi-
dent. in his annual message, ca led attention
to the con'inual depletion OF the gold reserve
and complained that though 1t was per ect-
" and palpa5y pain that tae only way un-
der the present conditions by which this re-
serve when dangerously depleted, can be
replenished is through the issue and sale OF
bonds OF the government Tor gold. Congress
has not only thus lar declined to authorize
the issue of bonds best suited t. such pur'
pose. but there seems disposition in some
nuarters to deny both the necessity and the
mower for the issue of bonds at all
The Banking AMI Currency Committee oil
the House, tn the approval OF the admins
tratlon. submitted a financial measure which,
among otner provisions, materially molihei
the national banking laws an repealed the
rcs.rictlons On State bank circulation.
ADDITIONAL LEGISLATION DEMANDED.
This bill was defeated by six majority. Il
was followed by a second message from the
President. received by both Houses OF Con-
oress December %, In which the President
saidthat whatever might have been the merit:
, Of the original plan proposed by him he wa:
snow convinced that its reception by Con
eress aud our present advanced stage o.
financial perplexlty necessitated additiona
: or different legislation
He once again recommended the passage
of O law authorizing the issue OF low inter
: est bearing bonds to maintain the gold re
serye. The Banking and Currency Commit
tee responded to this suggestion by Offering
. on the 1st OF February, 1895, bill to "au
: thorize the Sec.e etary of the Treasury to Issue
: bonds to maintain sufficient gold reserve
, and TO redeem aud retire United S,ate
notes"
After only two hours debate this bill wa
also defeated by majority oil q. On TIL
next day the Presiden: informei Congress
that he had ne sotiated conditional sale 0
over s62 900, ,OOJ OF 4 per cent. coin bonds t
q syndicate largely represented by forelg
capitalists, having no resource left, because
of the "omission thus far on the part of Goa
gress to benehcially enlarge the powers
the Secretary OF the Treasury In the prem
ises." This last message went to the Way
and Means Committee, whose chairman, MI
: Wilson. of West Virginia, seven days alte
its receipt, reported a resolution authorizn
the issue OF $65, 49, 275 OF gold PER cen
: bonds. as recommended by the President
The measure was called up on February IL;
: and defeated the same day by forty-seyeI
majority, after stormy debate.
THE SENATE PROGRAMME.
Thase three financial measures, with
general appropriation bills, consumed tt
greater part Of the session. EARLY in Il
session the Democ.a:ic caucus OF the Senai
q agreed that the following matters should
y considered: A financial measure oil some sor
details not designed; the bankruptcy bill; Il
bills for the admission OF New Mexico an
W Arizona; the Nicaraguan Canal bill, and Il
D. STATE Bank lax repeal bill.
. OF all these measures, the Nlcaraguan G