Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-02
THE CLOSING HOURS
Indifference Manifested in Both
Houses Of Congress.
HOUSE ACTIVITY o. APPROPRIATIONS
mt
The Senate Proved Itself Delhi.
erativs' Body.
WORK IN coNFEREN cE


The spirit Of indifference which has ap-
peared SO much during the session has been
manifest In the expiring days Of the Con-
gress. What is usually period Of uni
versal activity and excitement has been
only to a moderate degree so this time.
The most conspicuous display of interest
has been in getting as much legislation as
possible on the appropriation bills and in
getting recognition for q lot of minor bills.
All questions Of policy. the fate Of meas
ures of general interest and the considera-
ton of how the aggregate Of the appro-
priattons would measure up against the
revenues of the country have held the at
tention of comparatively a few members
of each house Of Congress, and il has re-
quired incessant effort on their part to
secure the attention to business and to
prevent a trif1ing waste of time In talk.
There has been disposition among the
average legislators to let everything slide
that did not excite their personal interest,
and there has apparently been great deal
of blind voting. In the Senate the DISPOSE
ton to talk has been above everything
elsA.
The Appropriation Bills.
committee on appropriations on that side
| early In the session the House was enabled
to get through with the general appro-
priation bills at an unusually early day Of
the session. AL of these bills except the
deficiency, which has to be held back to
the last. were well in hand early in the
session. More than half of them were
passed and in the hands of the Senate at
an earlier day than 1t is usual for them
to be first reported from the committee
and with the rest the committee was able
to proceed more deliberately and Yet get
them through early. If the Senate had
gone on with the bills as fast as they
were received from the House all but the
deficiency would probably now have the
signature of the President. The House on
wednesday passed the last of the bills, end
since then has been trying to kill time in
the consideration of small matters to v hich
no objection Is raised. while waiting for
the Senate and the conference committees
very little of Importance has oeen Gone
since the period of six days TOR suspension
OF the rules began. There has been a
scramble among the members Tor recogni-
ton for the little bills, and committees
VINO nave not got opportunity for the con-
sideration of all their bills have been urg-
ing the committee on rules to give them
days or even hours for &C ton On some
Iavorite measures But 1t has been the set
purpose OF the managers of the House not
10 enter upon the COZ liberation of new sub
)ects during the last two weeks of the
session and to permit very little suspen-
SION business at the close. The purpose of
tms mas been to- prevent Jobs getting
through during the rush. to emphasize TIE
TACT that the House Is simply waiting on
the Senate and to keep the way clear for
immediate action on the conferences re-
ports.
"A Delfberntive Body
The Senate has been more decidedly a
"deliberative body than ever before. Even
hat Of
might fail has not been sufficient to
quicken the circulation of their blood
Even after letting the bills become gorged
into the end of the session the same de-
Lucrative disposition has prevailed. Not
| only have they let the app. priation bills
suffer- from stagnation.t and inordinate
amount of talk, but even their eulogies.
which by custom are still required to be
pronounced in the halls of Congress over
the men who have died during their term
IN either house, We're allowed to get so far
behind that they had to bunch four to-
gether in order not to leave any uneulo-
gized, and Friday night was devoted to the
| memory of the late Representatives LYLE.
Wright, Houk and Post. The only display
of haste during the session is this over the
funerals. and the naval bill was waiting
at the door during the services.
Continuous Session.
1t will be necessary for the Saturdays
until Monday, If for no other reason, be-
cause, Sunday being the third, and the
Congress expiring at noon on the fourth,
an adjournment on Saturday would cut
them of from ever meeting again. But.
| aside from this, it will require all the time
left to get the naval bill through the Sen
ate and to dispose of the conference re-
ports.
Where there is really some activity and
no little excitement of debate is in the
secret sessions Of the conference commit
tees. Here all the legislation that is TO
come is being adjusted. There Is not an
exceedingly large number of items on the
appropriation bills in dispute, but the con-
test has been, and still is. extremely hot
over some OF them, and there is a great
display of determination and Indifference
as TO consequences on both sides.
Work In Conference.
The conferences which occur at the close
of Congress are about the most interest
ing of all the schemes of legislation. In
them there Is more diplomacy, politics and
fine maneuverng than is shown in all the
preliminary committee work and the con-
tests in the halls of Congress put together.
what cannot be done in either house may
be accomplished there. They are the COM
missions of arbitration between the two
houses, and. while they have to go back
to the house for approval and perhaps
Tor instruction, what they decide is finally
done. There is nothing more imposing and
solemn than conferee. There is no one
buster, more important or more mysterious
than ne. With several important confer
ences all in progress ut the same time, the
conferees coming and going and hustling
about are like a lot of ants working around
their sand piles. They meet. and in the
privacy Of their conference rooms, dis
pute, argue and insist and get mad and
stubborn. Then they separate, either go
ing back to their RESPECTIVE houses for
further instructions, or back to their re-
spective committee rooms to. think 1t all
over and to lay in a fresh supply of rea-
sons why and determination what. Then
in little while they come together again
with an assumed air of amiability, each
making display of his entire willingness
to be placated by some concession from the
other side.
The Final Agreement.
Then they sit down at 1t again and go
all over what they have been over before
until their patience is exhausted, each
convinced that the other side Is unreason-
ably stubborn and should be forced to yield.
fI,ory1 ,x -