The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-03-04
A CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.
WORK OF THE FINAL SESSION
OF THE FIFTY-FOURTH
CONGRESS.
LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN ENACTED

Failed TO Get Through-The Great
Number of Pension Bills Pass
ed Is Feature.
Washington, Feb. 2S.-Speaker Reet
and the other republican leaders of The
house entered the final session of the
Fifty-fourth congress with the avoWec
determination that no legislation which
compelled great expenditures of pubic
money should be enacted during the SEES
sion, feeling compelled to adopt this pol
icy because of the condition of the treas
ury, and they have generally adhered tc
it, although the regular appropriation
bills for the support of the government
have brought the total appropriations OF
this congress far beyond the billion
mark breaking the record Of former
congresses. Many of the appropriations
were necessary to continue work author
lied by other congresses. No public
buildings have been started by this ses'
sion and no new battleships ordered, al
though the creation of "new navy" be-
gun several years ago, has by no means
been abandoned and the intention has
been to confine the work as far as posi-
BILE to appropriation bills, and they have
been successful in living up to their pol
icy. These bills, moreover, have. been
encumbered with few new projects end
less general Legislation than usual.
The last week of the session begins
with several of the appropriation bills
not yet passed by the senate. A great
deal of the time of that body has been
consumed in the discussion of the Cuban
question.
Necessarily the policy of the house is
to avoid new legislation which involved
expenditures being forced upon the SEN
ate.
The Nicaraguan 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 home bill,
which the senate passed, had a hearing
at the other end of the capitol.
The Pacific Railway funding bill met
decisive defeat in the house, so the
senate found it useless to discuss that
proposition.
One feature of the present session
worthy of note is the, great number of
pension bills passed, many of them plac-
ing the widows and orphans on the rolls
at ratings ranging from $50 to $40 a
month. Private claims and war claims,
on the other hand, have been few. Sew
eral of the pension bills were vetoed ty
President Cleveland, but congress enact
ed some of these despite the veto by the
necessary two-thirds majority
Several important bills are in the pres
ident's hands awaiting his action, fore
most among them the immigration bill,
which establishes an educational test for
immigrants and bars out laborers who
maintain their homes in other countries.
The anti-scalping bill may be submit
ted to the executive for his action within
two or three days, and since Senator
Chandler has given notice that he will
move that the senate accept the house
to the bill authorizing the
president to call an international none
tary conference it is likely that President
Cleveland will be given an opportunity
to sign his name to that bill. u'',''.
The bill for the reorganization of the
and Pacific Railway company
is also on the presidents desk.
One act written on the statute books
this session is noteworthy as being the
work practically of one man, and that
has been the act to reduce the cases in
which the death penalty may be intlict-
ed, motive to which Gen. Curtis has
devoted the Best efforts of his congress
sional career. The adjustment of the
DEATH penalty has been Il long cherished
with Gen. Curtis, and now,
after years of agitation of this slrbject,
he has succeeded in erasing from the
statute books~all United States laws I'M
posing the death penalties for other
crimes than murder. rape, treason and
piracy, and endowed juries with the
punishment shall be inflicted for these
crimes, -.
A law fixing heavy penalties for public
of copyrighted dramatic or
compositions and empowering
all United States circuit courts to en-
force the orders Of any such court re-
garding its performance has been en-
acted. ,.E III.
A law to prevent traffic in obscene lit
erature and articles designed for immoral
use is another feature.
A shipping law has been enacted to al
low American or foreign ships to enter
from the, custom house clear of tonnage
taxes. A new law compels the name
and draft of every registered vessel to
be marked on the. stern or bows. New
regulations have been made for the COM
pensaton of inspectors of steam vessels
for their travelling expenses.
All persons who make signal eNertions
in rescuing wrecked ship or drowning
person are, under a law of this session.
eligible for the life saving medals. which
formerly were only given to the life saw
ing crew men.
The friends of the Tennessee Centen-
NAL exposition of 1897 have succeeded in
securing an appropriation of Sl4O.WO
for a government building and exhibit,
while the Nebraska delegation is work
ing to secure Il like recognition for the
Omaha exposition.
One of the most important pieces of
public land legislation permits the pat
enting of lands containing petroleum or
other mineral oils under the mineral land
laws. Another extends to January l,
1899. the time in which purchases may
be made of railway grant lands forfeited
to the government under the act of 1880.
and another coutirms the cash entries
which have been declared invalid be-
cause the lands entered were never of
fered for sale. Other acts confirm the
titles of settlers in Greer county, Okla
homa. Mississippi settlers on swamp
lands in the grants of the Mobile and
Ohio Railroad. and settlers on some 5000
acres in Louisiana.
Among the acts of the session relating
to the courts We're these: Fixing the
fees in the circuit court of appeals with
drawing from the supreme court juris-
diction of criminal cases not capital, and
giving to the circuit cases of appeals; d.
recting the filing Of mortgages on Indian
Territory property in the judicial district
in which the property is located when
rho mort agcp is a nonresident :conStitut-