The Portland daily press., 1897-02-03
DRAWING TO CLOSE.
End Of the Fifty.fourth Congress
Approaches.
1T HAS BEEN ONE OF MOST ECON
CYNICAL In HISTORY.

Speaker Reeds Efforts TO Keep Down Ex-
travagant Appropria ions-The Public
Buildings Bill Danger, But Slight One.
ESPECIAL TO THE PREss.I
Washington, Feb. 2-The days Of the
Fifty fourth Congress are now drawing
to olose with great rapidity Only
about four weeks now remain of the sss-
sion, and these will be occupied pretty
fully with the appropriation bills. many
OF which yet remain to be enacted
This Congress. will not be famous for any
very striking acts Of legislation or any
stirring events. When Speaker Reed was
nominated in the caucus of the Republi
can memb ers he told them that they
would best fulfil the measure Of their
duty by retaining from doing things
rather than by doing. What he meant
was that the government was SO hope
lessly deadlocked between the divergent
views and party affiliations of the House,
Senate and President that positive legis-
alton on any of the great questions
would be impossible. Under the circum-
stances, then, it seemed to him that the
best policy would be to attend strictly to
the necessary legislation of the kinds
that could be enacted. and labor to save
the government all the expense possible,
in view of the fact that the revenues
failed by many millions to meet the
necessary expenses That was two .years
ago, but the plan has been followa ever
since as closely as possible. And in view
of all the circumstances it may be safely
said that the Bifty-fourth Congress has
been. one Of the most economical in the
history of the governms ant.
How difficult it has been to make this
record can only be appre ciated by those
who have had long experience with the
House. The greatest difficulty has been
from the fact that large proportion OF
the members elected two years ago had
never been in the House before. Nearly
allsof these men believed that il they
could get some local advantages for their
own districts it would greatly strengthen
themselves and the party. This was a
natural expectation, and one not unreas-
enable in the individual case; but when
the m EN- bers assemble in the mass it is
very different matter. This condition
being known, it was freely predicted that
the Speaker and his associates could not
hold the unwieldy majority in check,
hot tQ thu
government and the Republican party
in consequence. But this Congress ia
drawing to it's close and none OF the ex-
pected evils have happened. The govern
ment.has suffered no harm from this
House which has doue every thing posi-
BILE to relieve the situation. The Repub-
lican party has got nothing but GOOD, and
has been greatly strengthened by the
wise and temperate COURSE Of the House.
The Speaker and his associates have
been greatly aided in producing this
happy result by the high character of
many of the new members. They have
Loyalty oooperated, and have shown them
selves ready to make sacrifices for the
general good, although the immediate
pressure from local interests in their dis
tricts has been very great. With the
bill, which has always been a local issue,
the H use has been above reproach. AS
10 that bill il may be said that it is one
of the wisest and most conmenda BILE of
the bills of it's class. But there is always
the suspicion about these bills that the
trainers are forced. in order to get tho
necessary harbors improved, TO give facil
tiles in sMany regions where they are not
absolutely required.
There remains one other danger yet,
and that is in the public building bills.
About 80 of these bills have eenssreported
from the committee and ares awaiting
action in the House. They are in such
situation that If one of them gets started
the whole jam is likely to move through.
And If they all go, ii will cost the gov
eminent over seventeen millions Of dol
lars. A large majority of the members
have petitioned the Speaker to throw his
influences in favor of the passage OF the
bills. He replied to them that while the
government could not meet its expenses
out of the revenue be could not favor
such expenditure. Whether the House
will acquiesce in his position or will try
to override him remains to be seen. The
older and better leaders of the House are
disposed6tossupport him, as they believe
his policy IS right; and it is pretty safe
to saysthat the buildings will Enot be al
lowed this Congress
There is one piece of work which will
90 to the credit of the next Congress
which properly belongs to this. This is
the framing of the tariff bill which is
now going on, and which will undoubt-
eddy be ali ready to bring into the House
when 1t meets in special session on the
18th of next March. All the committee
work will have been done at this session,
and all that willibe left for the next will
be the debates.