The morning news., 1897-07-26
SPECIAL SESSIONS STORY.
SLOW WORK by THE SENATE
CAUSE OF THE LONG SITTING.

The Tariff BuI Rushed Through the
House in I3 DayS-TwO Months De-
voted to II by the Scnatc-Din
Went to Conference July and
Was There IL Days-Fcur ADpro-
pFiHtiOn Bills Passed During the
sessiOn-NEinor Bills That Have Be
come Laws.
Washington, July 25-The extraordinary
session of congress, which has just closed.
was called by President Mckinley two
days after he took the oath Of Office on
the steps Of the capitol It met in pur-
suance to his proclama tion at noon on
March Is. The special message transmit
ted by him to both houses on the opening
day was brief. 1t explained the dehcien-
cies in the revenues, reviewed the bono
issues of the last administration and urg-
ed congress promptly to correct the tneh
existing condition by passing tariff blL
that would supply ample revenues for the
support of the government, and the liqul-
dation of the public debt. No other SUB
iect was mentioned in the message and
the tariff bill has been the all-absorbing
feature of the session. The republican
members of the ways and means commit
tee of the preceding House had been at
work throughout the short session when
ended March 4, giving hearings and pre-
pairing the bill which was to be submitted
at the extra, session.
Three days after the session opened the
tariff bill was reported to the House py
the ways and means committee, and thir-
teen days later, March 81 1897 1t passed
the House. 1t went to the senate, was
referred to the committee on finance and
the republican members OF the committee
spent a month and three days in its con-
sideration, and in preparing the amend
ments which were submitted to the Sen
ate May 4. Its consideration was begun
in the Senate May Z, and exactly two
months later, July T. 1t passed the senate
with ST. amendments.
The bill then went to conference where,
after a ten days struggle, on July Z,
complete agreement was reached by winch
the Senate receded from 1lS amendments
and the House from 511. The others, 243 IN
number, were compromised.
The conference report was adopted Dy
the House July 10, at the conclusion Of
twelve hours Of continuous debate. The
report was taken up in the Senate July
20 and adopted Saturday, july "A. Inc
tariff bill was signed by the President
the same day,
Congress did not devote its attention en-
tirely to the tariff, though it did subor-
dnate everything else to this one meas
ure. The four appropriation bills which
failed on March last in themselves
would have compelled President Mckin-
ley to call congress in extra session, even
if the necessity for a revision OF the tarlH
had not existed.
Those appropriation bills were the sun
dry civil, the agricultural, the Indian and
re
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 Aley
finally became laws contained more or~ess
new legislation of interest and Importance.
The general deficiency bill carried a pro-
vision accepting the invitation to take part
in the Paris exposition in 1900, and appro-
priated $25, 900 TO defray preliminary ex-
penses, and appropriated $150,O00 for new
immigrant station at New York to replace
the one destroyed by fire.
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 battle ships to $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 take steps TO estao-
lsh a government armor factory of suf-
fcient capacity to make the armor. In exc
cutting this authority he must prepare a
description and plans and specifications of
the land, buildings and machinery suita-
BILE for the factory; advertise for propos-
ais and report to congress at its next seS-
sion.
In the Indian bill, after a severe strug-
gle in both houses, the question of sec
led follow -
ing declaration of the policy of the gov
ernment: That the Secretary of the In
terror may make contracts with contract
schools apportioning as near as may be
the amount so contracted for among
schools of various denominations for the
education of Indian pupils during the tis-
cal year 1898, but shall only make such
contracts at places where non-sectarian
schools cannot be provided for such In
dian children to an amount not exceeding
40 per centum of the amount so used for
the fiscal year 1885,
The question of opening to entry the
rich gilsonite deposits in the Uncompaghre
reservation in Utah was also compromised
by opening such agricultural lands as
have not been allotted to the Uncom-
paghre Indians on April l. 1895, 10 entry
but reserving to the United States title
in all lands containing gilsonite, asphalt
or other like substances.
| tant new provision was that suspending
| the order of President Cleveland setting
aside about q 100000 acres as forest reser-
vations. The law also includes "A general
scheme of legislation for the government
and protection of the forest reservations
| Of the country.
The republican leaders of the House de-
| cided a the opening of the session TO pur-
sue a policy Of inaction In order to throw
the responsibility for delaying the tariff
bill upon the Senate. and, therefore, the
! committees were not announced until the
close of the session and only urgent mat
ters were considered.
Fifty thousand dollars were appropriate
ed for the relief OF American citizens in
Cuba at the solicitation of the President;
10000 were appropriated for the relief
OF the Mississippi aood sufferers; reso-
luton was passed authorizing the Secre-
tary OF the Navy 10 transport supplies
contributed for the relief OF the poor and
famishing IN India. and $4,000 were ap-
propriated for the entertainment and eX-
penses OF the delegates to the universal
postal convention, which met in this city.
The only extensive pieces Of general leg
islation enacted by this congress, except
the tariff bill were the laws 10 prevent