The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-26

Washington, July 25.-The extraor-
binary session of congress which has
just closed was called by President Nc
Kinley two days after he took the oath
of office on the steps of the capitol. It
met in pursuance of his proclamation
at noon on March Is.
The special message transmitted by
him to both houses on the opening day
was brief.
It explained the deficiencies in the
revenues, reviewed the bond issues of
the last administration, and urged
congress promptly to correct the then
existing conditions by passing a tariff
bill that would supply ample revenues,
support the government and the liquid
alton of the public debt. No other sub
ject of legislation was mentioned in
the message and the tariff had been
the all-absorbing feature of the ses-
sion The Republican members OF the
ways and means committee of the pre-
ceding house had been at work
throughout the short session which
ended on March 4, giving hearings and
preparing the bill which was 10 be
10 Inc extra SGSSlOu. 1ulCc
days after the session opened the tariff
bill was reported TO the house by the
ways and means committee, and Is
days later, March 81, 1897, ii passed
the house. 1t went to the senate, was
referred to the committee on finance,
and the Republican members Of that
committee spent e month and three
days in its consideration and prepar-
ing the amendments, which were sub
mitted to the senate on May I, and ex-
actly two months later, on July Z, 1t
passed the senate with S72 amend
ments. The bill then went to confer
ence, where, after a ten days struggle,
on July IL a complete agreement was
reached by which the senate receded
from lis amendments and the house
from 511. The other 24S in number
were compromised. The conference
report was adopted by the house on
July 10 at the conclusion of Il hours
continuous debate. The report was
taken up in the senate on July 20 and
adopted on July q. The tariff bill was
signed 10y the president the same day.
NOT ENTIRELY.
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-in them |
selves would have compelled President |
Mckinley to call congress in extra ses- !
sion even if the necessity for re-
vision of the tariff bill had not existed. J
The appropriation bills were the sun !
dry 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 of their fail |
ure of enactment into law at the pre-
ceding congress- but they were amend |
ed in some important particulars by |
the senate, and when they finally be-
came laws, contained more or less new
legislation of interest and Importance.
The general deficiency carried a pro-
vising accepting the invitation to take
part in the Paris exposition in 1900,
and appropriated $4,000 TO defray pre-
liminary expenses: appropriated $780,
600 for a new immigrant station al New
York TO replace the one destroyed by
fire. The most important piece of
legislation in the bill, however, was
that limiting the cost of armor plate
for three new battleships to $500 per
ton. In case the secretary of the navy
should find il impossible TO make con-
tracts for armor within the price fixed,
he was authorized by this provision TO
take steps 10 establish a government
armor plate factory Of sufficient ca
pacity to make the armor. In execut-
ing this authority he must prepare a
description and plans and specifications
OF the land, buildings and machinery
suitable for the factory; advertise for
proposals and report TO congress at its
Lvxt session.
In the Indian bill, after a severe
struggle in both houses, the questions
of sectarian schools was settled by the
following declaration Of the policy Of
the government:
That the secretary of the interior
may make contracts with contract
schools. aDportiouing as near as may
be the amounts contracted for among
schools Of various denominations for
the education OF Indian pupils during
the fiscal year CT 1883, but shall only
make such contracts at such places {
where nOn-sectarian schools cannot be
provided for such Indian children, and
TO an amount not exceeding 40 per cent
OF the amount TO be so used for the
fiscal year 1888
GILSONITE DEPOSITS.
The question of opening entry to the {
gilsonite deposits in the Unccmpahgre
reserva ton in Titan was also comDro- !
missed by opening such agricultural
lands as have not been allotted to the I
UncCmpahgre Indians on April I, 1898. |
10 entry but reserying to the United
States title in all lands containing gil
sonite, asphalt or other like substances.
II the sundry civil bill the most i'm {
portant new provisions was that suS- c
pending the order Of President Cleve- /
land setting aside about q .O00,0 900 acres 7
rs forest reservations The law also
includes q general scheme of legisla-
ton for the government and protection
foT the forest reseTva lions of the coun- F
try. r
The Republican leaders of the house :
decided al the opening session to pur- ]
sue a policy Of inaction in order to 7
throw the responsibility for delaying \
The tariff bill upon the senate, and, 2
therefore, the committees were not an :
lounced until the close of the session, \
lrd only urgent matters were consid-
ered. Fifty thousand dollars were ap- T
oropriated for the relief Of the Ameri- +
an citizens in Cuba at the solicitation
If the president; 100000 was appropri-