The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1897-07-30
THE SESSIONS WORK.
A Review Of the Legislation That Was
Attended To.

IhE SESStON'S WORN.
A Review of the Legislation That Was
Attended To.
Tie extraordinary session of congress
which has just closed was called by
President Mckinley two days after he
took the oath of Office ON the steps of
the capitol. It met in pursuance to
his proclamation, at noon, March Is.
The special message transmitted by
him to both houses on the opening day
was brief. It explained the deficiency
in the revenues, reviewed the bond
issues of the last administration and
urged congress promptly to correct the
then existing conditions by passing
tariff bill that would supply ample
revenue, support the government, and
the liquidation of the public debt.
No other subject of legislation was
mentioned in the message. and the
tariff has been the all-absorbing feature
of the session. The Republican mem
bers Of the ways and means committee
Of the preceding house had been at
work throughout the short session,
which ended March 4, giving hearings
anu preparing LuC Olll WIl1Cli was W DC
submitted to the extra session. Three
days after the session opened the tariff
bill was reported to the house by the
ways and means committee and 13
days later, March 81, it passed the
house. It went to the senate, was re-
ferred to the committee on finance, and
the Republican members of that COM
mittee spent month and three days
in it's consideration and in preparing
the amendments which were submitted
to the senate May z, and exactly two
months later, July z, it passed the
senate with S72 amendments.
The bill then went to conference,
where after 10 days struggle, on
July II, a complete agreement was
reached by which the senate receded
from 1S amendments and the house
from 511. The other 243 were COM
promised. The conference report was
adopted by the house on July 10, at the
conclusion of IL hours continuous de-
bate. The report was taken up in the
senate July 20, and adopted July "a:
The tariff bill was signed by the presi-
dent the same day.
Congress did not devote its session
entirely to the tariff, although it did
subordinate everything else to this one
measure. The four appropriation bills
which failed on March last, would, in
themselves. have compelled President
Mckinley to call congress in extra ses-
sion, even if the necessity for revision
of the tariff had not existed. These
appropriation bills were the sundry
civil, the agricultural, the Indian, and
the general deficiency. Those bills
were introduced and passed by the
house in the initial form in which they
existed at the time they failed of enact
ment into law at the preceding congress,
but they were amended in some
important particulars by the senate,
| and when they finally became laws,
contained more or less new legislation
of interest and Importance. The gen.
eral deficiency bill carried provision
accepting the invitation to take part in
| the Paris exposition in 1900, and ap-
propriated $25,o9o to defray prelim-
mary expenses, and appropriated $780,
600 for new immigrant station at New
York to replace the one destroyed by
fire.
BY far the most important piece Of
new legislation in the bill, however,
was that limiting the cost of armor plate
for three new battle-ships to $500 ton,
and in case Of the secretary of the navy
finding it impossible to make contracts
for armor within the price fixed, he
was authorized by this provision to
take steps to establish a government
armor-plate factory of sufficient capac-
tty to make the armor. In executing
this authority, he must prepare a de-
scription and plans and specifications
of the land, buildings and machinery
suitable for the factory; advertise for
proposals and report to congress at its
next session.
In the Indian bill, after a severe
struggle in both houses. the question of
sectarian schools was settled by the fol-
lowing declaration of the policy of the
government:
."That the secretary of the interior
may make contracts with ssectarian
schools, apportio ming as near as may be,
| the amounts contracted for among
schools of various denominations for
the education of Indian pupils during
the fiscal year 1898, but shall only
make such contracts at such places as
non-sectarian schools cannot be pro-
vided for such Indian children, and to
an amount not exceeding 40 per cent
of the amount SO used for the fiscal year
1896"
The question of opening to entry the
gilsonite deposits in the Uncompahgre
reservation was also compromised by
opening such agricultural land as have
not been allotted to the Uncompahgre
Indians on April /, 1898, to entry, but
reserivng to the United States title to
all lands containing gilsonite, asphalt
or like substances.
In the sundry civil bill the most i'm
portant new provision was that sus-
/ pending the order of President Cleve-
land, setting aside about $1,000 acres
as forest reservations. The law also
includes a general scheme of legisla-
tion for the government and protection
for the forest reservations of the coun
try.
The Republican leaders of the house
decided at the opening of the session
to pursue policy Of inaction in order
to throw the responsibility for delay
ing the tariff bill upon the senate, and
therefore the committees were not an
nounced until the close of the session,
and only urgent matters were consid-
cred. Fifty thousand dollars were ap-
propriated for the relief Of American
citizens in Cuba at the solicitation of
the president; 5000, 900 was appropri-
ated for the relief Of the Mississippi
food sufferers.
! A resolution was passed authorizing