The San Francisco call., 1897-03-01
Will Be Held Remarkable
for the Little 1t Has
Accomplished.
Record. Breaker in the Number
of B lis and Resolutions
Introduced.
Passess Seven Hundred Private Pen
sion Bills ami Appropriates Over
a Buii Dollars.

Fiftv-fourth Congress which will expire
on Thursday at noon will be held remark
able principally for what it has failed to
accomplish. In one respect-in the num-
ner of bills and resolutions introduced-it
was a record breaker. In the House alone
over 10 4UO bills and 3100 resolutions were
introduced and referred to various COM
mittees. Only fraction OF these passed
the House and fewer still became laws.
The principal business OF the Congress-
aside from the passage OF the appropria-
ton bills, was limited to the first session,
the net results of which were the enact
ment into laws of the bills creating the
com mission to determine the true divi-
sional line between Venezuela and British
Guiana; prohibiting prlze fighting in the
Territories; permitting appointments In
the army and navy of former United
States officers who served in the rebellion; !;
making one years residence in Territory
necessary to obtain divorce; lncorporat-
ing the National Society of the Daughters
of the Revolution; defining the penalty
for interference with railway trains ana
persons riding thereon, and substituting
salaries for fees to United States Marshais
and District Attorneys.
Aside from the eiforegoing measures the
remaining bills excepting the immigration
bill and the joint resolution for an inter-
national monetary conference, passed at
the second SESSION. were OF no general
interest. Included in these were 700 prl-
vate pension bills, an unprecedented
number.
In another respect the Fifty-fourth Con-
gress was remarkable. This was its fail
ure to pass single bill providing for pub
lie buildings. The House calendar con.
tanned 100 bills of this class, including the
Senate bill for a custom-house in New
York City. Speaker Reed. however, in
his determination to reduce the expen-
ditures to the lowest limit consistent with
the necessities of the Government, set his
face sternly against ali legislation of this
character. Notwithstanding this circum-
stance this Congress is the third in the
history of the country which has ex-
pended billion dollars. II it is claimed,
these appropriations be deducted from the
sum total. the aggregate for the past two
years would be little in excess OF one bill
ion dollars.
A mum Der of important measures which
where reported to the House last session
and were expected to receive favorable
consideration during the present session
were either defeated or were left on the
calendar The Dill to settle the indebted
ness of the bonu-aided railways to the
Government, which was a legacy from the
last session, suffered q crushing defeat in
January last. The substitute measure
prepared by Harrison OF Alabama TO ad-
iust these claims through the medium of
q Cabinet commission was not permitted
~ ffna IN n ho-
fore the House, the House leaving it an
open question between the supporters and
the opponents OF the measure what its
fate would have been. In the preceding
session upward Of fifty resolutions bearing
upon the Cuban insurrection were intro
duced, although but one passed the House.
During the present session the Cuban
resolutions introduced have been few in
number.
mo effort was made at the present ses-
sion to call up the bill admitting Arizona
and New Mexico as States. The sound
money men were opposed to the admis-
sion of any Territories that would send
representatives to Congress favorable to
free silver.
Among the bills which passed the
House but have not been acted upon in
the Senate are the Morse bill 10 prevent
the selling of liquor in the Capitol; the
Brosius bill. permitting the esta ablishment
of National banks with capital Of $20, 600
in towns of $4,000 abitants, and the
Loud bill to reclassify second-class mail
matter.
The Ways and Means Committee gave a
series OF hearings during the early weeks
OF the session and the remainder of the
time was occupied by the Republican
mem bers in formulating q new tariff bill.
This will follow the general lines of the
Mckinley law of 1890 and will be reported
to the House at the beginning of the extra
session of the next Congress.
Ali of the contested election cases.
thirty-one in number, have been dis
posed of.
Much OF the time OF ths Senate has been
consumed in the discussions OF questions
relating to our foreign relations, and
while no positive action of any kind has
been taken, many columns of the Con-
gressional Record have been filled with
speeches on these topics.
Cuban resolutions have been introd uced
and pressed for action by the score, but
beyond precipitatlng debate, nothing has
been accomplished.
A treaty with Japan has been ratified.
putting into immediate operation the
clause OF the treaty OF commerce and navi-
CATION negotiated two years ago.
The general treaty of arbitration with
Great Britain, after being fruitlessly con-
sidered for two weeks, went over until the
next session. The Alaska boundary treaty
with CIR at Britain has not even been con.
sidered in committee.
The Nicaraguan canal bill, which was
debated for several weeks, was on the
point OF hnal passage with a com Portable
majority IL front of it when the protest of
Minister representing the Greater Gen.
trai American Republic was received.