Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-07-29

1
General Deficiency Appropriations Bin
Passed-Limiting Cost OF hrmor Plate
the Most Important New Legislation.
WASHINGTON. July 26.-The extraor-
binary session OF congress just closed
was called by President Mckinley two
days after he took the oathlof office on
the steps Of the Capitol. 1t met in pur-
suance to his proclamation ut noon
March 10. The special message trans.
mitted by him to both houses on tho
opening day was brief. 1t explained
the deficiencies in the revenue, re-
| viewed the bond issues of the last ad.
ministration and urged congress
promptly to correct the then existing
condition by passing tariff bill that
would supply revenues for the support
| OF the government and the liquidation
| OF the public debt. No other subject of
legislation was mentioned in the mes
sage-the tariff bill has been the allah.
sorbing feature of the session.
The Republican members Of the ways
and means committee of the preceding
house had been at work thereon during
the short session which ended March
A. giving hearings and preparing the
| bill which was to be submitted at the
extra session. Three days after the ses-
sion opened the tariff bill was reported
by the ways and means committee, and
IL days later, March 81. 1857, it passed
the house.
1t Went to the senate referred to tho
committee Oh finance and the members
OF that committee spent month and
three daysin preparing the amendments
| submitted to the senate, and exactly two
months later, July 7, it passed the sen.
| ate with S72 amendments. The bill
then went to conference, where, after u
! lO-days struggle, on July Is, complete
agreement was reached by which the
| senate receded from rs amendments
and the house from oil. The other, 243
in number were compromised. The
conference report was adopted by the
house July 10, at the conclusion of ~
hours continuous debate. The report
was taken up in the senate July 20 and
adopted July "a. The tariff bill WAS
signed by the president the same day.
Appropriation Bills Passed.
Congress did not devote its attention
entirely to the tariff. although 1t did
| subordinate everything else to this one
measure. The four appropriation bills
which failed ON March A, last in them
selves would have compelled President
Mckinley to call congress- in extra
session, even If the necessity for re.
vision Of the tariff had not existed.
Those appropriation bills were the
sundry civil, the agricultural, the Indian
and the general deficiency.
The bills were introduced and passed
by the house in the identical form in
which they existed at the time of their
failure Of enactment into law at the
preceding congress, but they were
amended in some important particulars
by the senate and when they finally be-
| came laws contained more or less legis-
'@tion Of interest and Importance. The
general deficiency bill carried provis-
ion accepting the invitation to take part
In the Paris exposition in 1900 and APP
propriated $25, 900 to defray preliminary
expenses and $150,000 for new immi-
grant station at New York to replace
the one destroyed by fire.
Important New Legislation.
BY far the most important piece Of
new legislation in the bill. however.
was that limiting the cost of armor
| plate for the three new batlcships 10
$500 per ton. In case the secretary of
the navy should find it impossible to
make contracts for armor within the
price fixed he was authorized by this
provision to establish government
armor plate factory of sufficient capacity
| to make the armor.
| I'D the Indian bill, after severe
struggle in both houses, the question 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, apportioning 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; bus shall only make
such contracts at places where non-sec.
tartan schools cannot be provided for
Reasons Why Chamberiain's Collie,
4