Omaha daily bee., 1897-03-01
WHAT CONGRESS- GAS DONE
Review of Legislation Accomplished During
Past Two Years
MANY IMPORTANT MEASURES ENACTED
Several suIl Remain in the Pres
ident's Hands for His Consider
ntion-House Has Yet Com
siderable Work TO Do,

WASHINGTON, Feb 2s.-Speaker Reed
and the other republican leaders of the
house entered upon the final session Of the
Fifty-fourth congress with the avowed de-
termination that no legislation which COM
PEELED great expenditures of public money
should be enacted during the session. They
felt compelled to adopt this policy because
of the condition of the treasury, and they
have generally adhered to it, although the
appropriation bills for the support of the
government have brought the total appro-
priations of this congress far behind the
billion mark, breaking the record of former
congresses. Many of the appropriations,
notably those for river and harbor improve
ments and for public buildings, were neces-
sary to continue works authorized by other
congresses. No public buildings have been
started by this session and no new battle
ships or vessels of any description, although
the creation of a new navy" begun sew
eral years ago. has by no means been aban-
doned. The intention of the house leaders
at the beginning of the session was to con-
fine the work so far as possible to appro-
priation bills and they have been successful
in living up to their policy. These bills
moreover, have been numbered with fewer
new projects and less general legislation
than usual.
The last week of the session begins with
several of the appropriation bills not passed
by that body. Much of the time of the SEN
ate has been consumed in the discussion of
the Cuban question, which the house has
dealt with only incidentally. Necessarily
the policy of the house to avoid new legis-
lation which involved expenditures has been
enforced upon the senate. The Nicaragua
canal bill, which was discussed at great
length in the senate but not voted on, was
not taken up in the house. nor has the free
homes bill, which the senate passed, had a
hearing at the other end of the capitol. The
Pacific funding bill met decisive defeat in
the house, so the senate found it useless
to discuss that proposition.
MANY PENSION BILLS.
One feature of the session worthy of note
Is the great number of private pension bills
passed. many of them placing the widows
OF officers on pensions rolls at ratings rang
ing from $50 to $75 a month. Private claims
and war claims, on the other hand, have
been few. Several of the pension bills were
vetoed by President Cleveland, but congress
enacted some of these, despite the veto,
by the necessary two-thirds majority.
Several important bills are in the presi-
dents hands, awaiting his action, foremost
among them the immigration BILL which
establishes an educational test for immi-
grants and bars out laborers who maintain
their homes in other countries,
The anti-scalping bill may be submitted
to the executive for his action within two
or three days, and since Senator Chandler
has given notice that he would move in the
senate to accept the house, amendments to
the bill authorizing the president to call
an International monetary conference, it is
likely that President Cleveland will be
given an opportunity to sign his name to
that. a ,s.l
The bill for the reorganization of the
Atlantic e Pacific railroad is also on the
presidents desk. An act written upon the
statute books this session Is noteworthy
as being the work of practically one man.
That is the act to reduce the cases in which
the penalty OF death may be inflicted a
movement to which General Curtis of New
York has devoted the best efforts of his con-
gressional career After years of agitation
of the subject he has succeeded in erasng
from the statute books all laws imposing
the death penalty for other crimes than
murder, rape, treason or piracy, and en-
dowed juries with the power. to stipulate
whether or not capital punishment shall be
inflicted for these crimes.
An agitation by dramatsts, composers and
theatrical managers has resulted in securing
a law fixing heavy penalties for public per-
formances of copyrighted dramatic or musi-
cal compositions, and empowering all United
States circuit courts to enforce the ordens of
any such court regarding these performances.
INTERSTATE COMMERCE LAWS.
The interstate commerce laws have been
extended to prevent traffic in obscene liter
ature. The shipping laws have been amended
to enable yachts belonging to American or
foreign clubs to enter or clear without tom
mage taxes; also to require naphtha or electric
boats of more than fifteen tons burden to be
subjected to all requirements for inspections
and for pilots and engineers. new law
compels the name and draft of every regis
tered vessel to be marked on the stern and
bow. New regulations have been made for
the compensation of inspectors of steam YES
sells for their travelling expenses. All persons
who make signal eXertions in resculng a
wrecked ship drowning person are, un-
der law of this session, eligible for the
lfe-saving medals which formerly were given
only to the life-saving crew men.
The friends of the Tennessee centennial
exposition of 1897, have succeeded in secur-
ing an appropriation of $4,000 for govern
mont building and exhibit, while the Ne
bras6a delegation is working to secure like
recognition for the Transmississippi EXPOSE
ton.
One of the most important pieces Of public
land legislation permits the patenting OF
lands containing petroleum or other mineral
oils under the mineral land laws. Another
extends to January /, 1899, the time in which
purchases may be made of the railroad grant
lands forfeited to the government under the
act OF 1890, and another confirms cash entries
which have been declared invalid because the
lands entered were never offered for sale.
Among the acts Of the session relating to
the courts were these: Fixing the fees in
the circuit court of appeals; withdrawing
from the supreme court jurisdiction OF CRIME
cases not capital and giving 1t to the circuit
court of appeals.
An act was passed providing heavy pen
alties for selling Intoxicating liquors to
Indians; an act authorizing the secretary
of the interior to use the abandoned Fort
Bidwell in California, for an Indian training
school, and one to enable the town OF Flag
staff, Ariz., to issue $4,000 percent
bonds to construct water system.
MILITARY LEGISLATION.
Military acts were passed authorizing the
comforting on officers of the regular army
OF the highest brevet rank held by them in
the volunteer service; to authorize officers
who served in the regular army during the
war to bear title and on ceremonial occa-
sions to wear the uniform of their rank
for issuing certificates of service to members
of the military telegraph corps; for the state
of Colorado to use the Fort Lyon military
reservation for a soldiers' home: to permit
the appointment as medical officers of SOL
dlers' homes of others than those who have
been disabled in the military service.
A life saving station has been provided for
at Point Arena Mendocinoi county, CAL,