The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-07-30
BUT FEW NEW LAWS.
ANALYSIS OF WORK OF THE Ex.
IRA SESSION..
House. ,sses Tariff Bill in Response
to Request of President Mckinley
with Little Delay, bnt Senate Holds
1t Many Weeks.
Done at Washington,

Done at Washington.
The Senate Saturday, by vote of 40
to 80, accepted the conference report on
the tariff bill. Within an hour President
Mckinley had signed it, and the measure
was law. The President sent message
to the House recommending currency
commission, but no action was taken. At
. o'clock Saturday night, the extra ses-
sion took final adjournment.
The extraordinary session of Congress
which has just closed was called by Pres
ident Mckinley two days after he took
the oath of Office.
1t met at noon March Is. The special
message transmitted by him on the OPEN
ing day explained the deficiencies in the
revenues, reviewed the bond issues of the
last administration, and urged Congress
promptly to correct the then existing con-
dition by passing a tariff bill that would
supply ample revenues for the support of
the Government and the liquidation of the
public debt
No other subject of legislation was men
toned in the message, and the tariff bill
has been the all-absorbing feature of the
session. Three days after the session
opened the tariff bill was reported to the
House by the Ways and Means Commit
L
passed the House.
1t won't to the Senate, and was referred
to the Committee ON Finance. The Re
publican members spent a month and
three days in preparing amendments sub
mitted to the Senate May Z, and exactly
two months later, July Z, it passed the
Senate with S72 amendments.
The hill then went to conference,
where, after Il ten days struggle on July
II. a complete agreement was reached by
which the Senate receded from lis
amendments and the House from 511.
Ihe others, 243 in number, were COM
promised. The conference report was
adopted by the House July 10 at the con-
clusion Of twelve 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 President the
same day.
Congress did not devote it's attention en-
tirely to the tariff, though it did subordi-
nate everything else to this one measure.
The four appropriation bills which failed
on March last in themselves would have
compelled President Mckinley to call
Congress in extra session even if the
necessity for a revision of the tariff had
not existed. Those appropriation bills
were the sundry civil, the agricultural,
the Indian, and the general deficiency.
These 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 We're amended in some
important particulars by the Senate and
when they finally became laws contained
more or less new legislation of interest
and Importance.
Some New Appropriations.
The general deficiency carried Il pro.
vision accepting the invitation to take
part in the Paris exposition in 1900, and
appropriated $4,000 to defray preimin-
airy expenses, and appropriated $15000O
for Il new immigrant station at New York
to replace tho one destroyed by fire.
BY far the most important piece of new
legislation i'll the bill, however was that
limiting the cost of armor plate for the
three new battleships to $500 per ton. In
case the Secretary of the Navy should
find it impossible to make contracts for
Iarmor within the price fixed, he was au-
thorized by this provision to take steps to
establish Government armor plate fac
tory OF sufficient capacity to make the
armor.
|
ant new provision was that slspending
the order of President Cleveland setting
aside about 81 100000 acres as forest res
ervations. The law also includes a gen
eral scheme of legislation for the Govern
ment and protection of the forest reser-
vatlonS of the country
Fifty thousand dollars was appropra-
ted for tho relief of American citizens in
Cuba at the solicitation of the President;
$2Oo,O0O was appropriated for the relief
OF the Mississippi flood sufferers: a reso-
luton was passed authorizing the Secre-
thry of the Navy to transport supplies
contributed for the relief of the poor and
famished in India; and $4,000 was APP
lproprlated for the entertainment and eX-
penSes OF the delegates to the universal
postal convention, which met in Wash
ington.
The only extensive pieces Of general
legislation enacted by this Congress, ex-
cept the tariff bill, were the laws to pre-
vent collisions ut sea and to place in force
regulations to prevent collisions upon GER
tam harbors, rivers and inland waters of
the United States, and the bill authoriz-
ing the President to suspend discrimina-
ting duties on foreign vessels and com
nlerce.
The Senate. not being confined as to the
scope of its legislation, dealt with a num-
ber of important subjects both in and out
OF executive session. One Of these, which
attracted worldwide attention, was the
general arbitration treaty negotiated by
President Cleveland with Great Britain.
After exhaustive consideration DESPITE
the great pressure brought to bear upon
the Senate by religious and commercial
bodies. throughout the country, the Senate
rejected the treaty.
The Hawaiian treaty of annexation ne
lgotiated by President Mckinley was still
unacted upon when Congress adjourned.
In open session after much debate the
Senate passed the Cuban belligerency res
olution. bankruptcy bill, including both
voluntary and involuntary features. and
the free homes" bill. But none of these
important questions received considera-
ton in the House.
a landslide half Il mile wide occurred
in the mountains near Lincoln, Vt. Trees