The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-03-04
RECORD OF THE FAILURES
Brief History Of What the Fifty
Third Congress Has Not Done.
THE VALUABLE TINE WASTED
Season That Promised Much Glory In
the Fulfilmcnt of Democratic Ideals
Ends in Disappointment and Ill.
feeling All Around.
BY the United Press.

BY the United Press.
Washington, March 3.-The three ses-
sions of the Fifty-third congress ex-
piring at noon March are dominated
by their controlling issues, as follows:
The first by the silver question. The
second by the tariff question. The third
by the financial questaion. On the
0th of August, 1893. the congress con-
vened in extraordinary session for the
avOwed purpose Of repeating the COM
pulsory silver purchase provision of the
law of 1890. This was the slves ses-
sion. w. l.. Wilson, chairman of the
committee of ways and means, pre-
pared a bill in conformity to the recon-
mendations of the presidents message,
and on Aug. 28, 1893, this measure
passed the house.
The senate in the meantime has been
preparing, through the committee on
finance, q substitute bill, and on Nov. !
this senate substitute received the ap-
proval of both houses and became law
by the approval of the president. This
measure and the repeal of the remain.
ing vestiges Of the reconstruction fed
eral election laws closed the import
ant work of the extra session. Upon
its meeting in regular session in De
| cember, 1S93 congress entered upon the
consideration of the revision of the
tariff. AS in the case of the silver ques.
ton, but in a much more pronounced
manner. the house proposed" and the
senate disposed"
Jones. German Tariff Bill.
The Wilson tariff bill, passed by the
house Feb. l, 1894, was set aside for the
Jones-Gorman compromise tariff bill
| adopted by the senate on July ., 1894
after five months debate, and the house
was given the blunt option of the
senate bill or nothing"
| 1t took the senate bill and sent it tC
the president on Aug. Is. 1894. Presi.
dent Cleveland permitted the bill to be.
come a law without his approval and in
an informal manner communicated tc
| individual members of congress his dis
satisfaction at the inadequacy of the
changes made in the tariff system.
Supplemental to the passage of the
tariff law the senate entered upor
profitlesS and inconclusive investiga
ton of rumors that senators had beer
improperly influenced to vote for the
sugar schedule and had speculated IL
stocks of the so-called Sugar Trust
company
The third and last, or financial ses
sion of the Fifty-third congress ha:
been especially marked by the refusa
of both houses to put into Legislative
| shape the recommendations of the pres
ident for the alleviation of the stringent
financial situation.
The three financial measures debated
in the two houses with the general ap
preparation bills consumed the greater
part of the session. .......
Matters for Consideration.
Early in the session the Democrati
caucus of the senate agreed that tn
following matters should be considered
A financial measure of some sort, de
tails not mentioned; the bankruptc,
bill, the bills for the admission of New
Mexico and Arizona, the Nicaragual
canal bill, and the state bank tax re
peal bill. OF all these measures tn
Nicaraguan canal bill alone passed TIL
senate after two months debate. an
that only because the Republicans util
lied it as buffer to keep off the bank
ruptcy bill. 1t failed to receive con
sideration in the house. The bankruptc
bill was made the unfinished business
but was choked by the appropriation
bills. Financial measures We're no
acted upon by the senate, and nothin
planned by the senate caucus resulte
in legislation.
The so-called "pop-gun" tariff bill
sent over by the house providing 70
free sugar, free coal and free iron, wer
not even honored by consideration, an
the railroad pooling bill, one of tn
most important measures passed by tn
i house was also Shelyed.