Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1896-06-13
CONGRESS Expected TO ADJOURN
TUESDAY Or WEDNESDAY.
Rrief Session Due to Political Differ
ences Between senate, House
and President.

Washington June If as 1t now
seems probable. the first session of the
Fifty fourth congress adjourns this week.
ii will be the shortest so-called long
session" since that of the Thirty-hfth
congress, and one of the shortest in the
history of the government. This recotd
il probably due to political differences be-
tween the senate, house and the presi-
dent which have forestalled agreements
on lines of legislation, and partly due TO
the determination which the republican
leaders in the house have carried into eff
feet Speaker Reeds caucus prediction
that the congress would be a do-nothing
assemblage.
Legislation means appropriations, as
the house leaders have said, and as their
opinion was that the treasury's condition
warranted no appropriations except the
most impcratively necessary, they have
held the doors tightly shut against
classes of bills which usually receive
the parings. Foremost among the ineV-
liable and regular acts of congress are
the annual appropriation bills for the
support of the government. Their prep
aratiOn has constituted a large part of
the work of the session, and five of them
are yet hanging between the house and
senate with some OF their details unset
tied, and for this reason it is impossible
so give the exact totals of the bill on the
grand total of appropriations made by
this congress, which aggregate about half
a billion dollars; but the disbursements
authorized during the session will be dis
cussed hereafter by Chairman Cannon of
the appropriations committee and eX-
Chairman Sayers from the points of view
OF their respective parties.
Tariff or financial legislation Of any
general character was abandoned for all
practical purposes when the disagree
ments between the house and senate were
demonstrated by the fate of the two bills
prepared by the house ways and means
committee. Other lines Of business were
also tabooed by the house because of the
alleged lack of revenue, notably the pub
lie buildings public and provincial claims
and all sorts of private bills; bills entail
ing expenditures except pension bills, to
which last the usual amount of time has
been given. One of the most bitterly con-
tested fights which has occurred has
crept out from the provisions OF the IN
dian and District of Columbia bills for
government aid to church schools, a feat
ure which still holds both bills in con-
ference. The Indian bill contains pro-
visions giving the homestead settlers on
all ceded Indian reservations an extern
sion of one year in which to make pay
ments. and for the completion of the sur
veys of the land in Indian territory
Incidental to the Legislative, executive
and judicial bill was an entire revision
nI,- ;1 sc, 1,slI nd
commissioners, with the stipulation shat
the term of office of commissioners eX-
pure on June so, 1897. The agricultural bill
conferred upon the president authority
to suspend the prohibition against i'm
pOrtatons of meat cattle, domestic ami
mails and hides on the certification of the
secretary of agriculture that countries or
parts of countries are free from con-
tagious or infectious diseases of animals;
authorized the president to take steps to
secure the abrogation Of the regulations
by Great Britain prohibiting the impor-
tatiOn of cattle from the United States
into that country alive.
In the sundry civil bill the most i'm
portant legislation is to make effective
the Carey arid land act. which Ceded arid
land to the public-land states for recla-
nation, by authorizing the states to give
liens on the land to cover the expenses of
reclamation. The most noteworthy legis-
lation pertaining to the navy is contained
in the appropriation bill. The house pro-
vided for Is new torpedo boats and four
battleships, but the senate reduced the
number of battleships to two. and a con-
ference is pending over that difference.
The bill made provision for the enlist
ment OF 1000 additional seamen. 1t also
made unlawful the employment of naval
or marine officers on the active or re-
tired list by parties furnishing supplies
or materials of war to the government.