Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-07-14
THE FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS.
Body Which Has just Adjourned
Sine Die.

Washington. July a-The house adjourned
| sine die precisely at two Friday Immense
cheers were followed by singing Of patriotic
songs. Representative Bromwell of Ohio,
| proposed three cheers for President Nc
Kinley. which were given twice over by
the republicans. Then followed cheers
1 Joined in by the entire house for Admiral
| Dewey and Gen. Joe Wheeler
! The whole house was one vast demonstra-
| ton and flags were passed about to every
member and were enthusiastically waved
| while the members sang at the close of the
| Fifty-ffth congress.
Washington, July 9-The senate ad-
| journed sine die at 2:06 p. m. Before ad-
journment the senate in executive session
| confirmed all the nominations sent in by
| the president.
| Washington, July 9.-The passing of the
second session of the Fifty-fifth congress
marks the close of the first war congress
! In quarter of a century.
| Hawaiian annexation, Spain and Cuba
war appropria tons and war revenue legis-
| lation, organization of the vast volunteer
| army and expansion of the navy, a new
| bankrupt toy laval these were features
| OF the session. Notable speeches and dra-
! matte scenes over foreign issues were
| comparatively frequent in both legislative
| chambers, Urgent deficiency bills, car
| rying millions Of dollars, were rushed
| through with far less delay than marked
| the course of an ordinary measure of little
| Importance. The total appropriations
| footed almost $500, OO0 900 and upwards of
$35O. 100000 of this was for purely war pur-
| poses. 1t was the largest aggregate by
! any session since t civil war and the
general deficiency was the largest separate
measure since the $75O, 900 single appro-
| priation in 1868. The naval appropriation
bill provided for three new battleships,
| four monitors, 16 torp edo boat destroyers
| IL torpedo boats and one gunboat. The
urgent deficiency bills all carried pro-
visions for aggressive work in the prose-
| cution of the war. The general deficiency
enacted in the last days. carried a pro-
| vision for refunding the Indebtedness of
| the Central and Western Pacific railroads
| to the government.
Cuba and Hawaii were the important
| matters of debate and provoked the most
widespread interest. Hawaiian annexation,
| finally passed at the close, was agitated
| throughout the session, first in treaty form,
in executive session, last in open session
by resolutions accepting the Hawaiian
governments cession of the islands.
There were a number of messages from
President Mckinley bearing on the Cuban
| situation, ranging from the submission Of
report upon the Maine disaster and the
consular reports to the call for declara-
| ton of war.
The first real war legislation was when
congress placed, without limitations, $780,
600, 900 in the presidents hands an emer-
gency fund for national defense. Party
lines were swept away. and both houses
unanimously voted their confidence in the
administration. Soon afterward a bill re-
/ imbursing the survivors of the Maine dis
| aster for their losses not to exceed a years
| pay, with q similar amount to those who
persisted, became law. On Ap ril II the pres
ident in message left the Cuban issue in
the hands of congress. Resolutions were
soon enacted and became a law April 10,
declaring that the people of Cuba ought to
be and free and independent, and
demanding that Spain relinqush it's au-
| thority and withdraw it's land and naval
| forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and
directing the use Of our land and naval
forces to enforce the resolutions.
The declaration of war was passed by
congress and approved on April %. Sub
sequent legislation gave free admission to
all military and naval supplies purchased
abroad by this government: allowed tenn
porary Notifications to be constructed on
written consent OF the owners of land SO
taken and prohibited under executive dis
erection the export of coal or other war ma
terial, and three days before the declara-
ton of var President Mckinley had APP
proved the volunteer act. Under it all
the soldiers massed against Spain mus
tered in the entire volunteer army have
been raised, embracing 125,0O0 men under
the first and $4,000 under the second call.
One feature of the session was the enact
ment of the war revenue law. Its trainers
expected it to produce S150.000.00o
In hhis connection congress also author
lied bond issue of $500, 900. known as
the war loan.
Other revenue legislation included bill
enlarging in favor of importers the pro-
visions as TO disposition of abandoned i'm
ported merchandise; and extending the
outage allowance on distilled spirits in
bonds from four to six years.
Other important legislation. aside from
war, included:
Prohibiting the killing of fur seal an
finals in the North Pacific and importation
of seal skins into this country; prohibit
ing foreign vessels from carrying mer-
chandise directly or indirectly between
United States ports; an Alaskan homestead
and right of way act, encouraging railway
construction; appropriating $2U0o00 for the
relief of the Yukon miners, suffering from
the fierce winter there; creating nom
partisan industrial commission to inVeSti-
gate inlmigrat ton, labor, manufacture and
business; appropriating $473,l3l to pay the
Behring sea awards; creating commits
sion to allot lands on the Uintah Indian
reservation in Utah; adjusting the old
land dispute between the United states and
the state of Arkansas the compromise
calling for a payment from the latter OF
S160, 572; dispensing with proof OF loyalty
during the war as prerequisite in bounty
land application where proof otherwise
shows title: abolishing the distinction be-
tween offered and unoffered lands; the
reclassifica lion of the patent system; Gre
ating a commission to revise the statutes
relating to patents and trade marks; re-
moving the disability imposed by section
3 of the Fourteenth amendment to the
constitution heretofore incurred: allowing
$2SS, 900 for the relief of the book agents of
the Methodist Episcopal church south, for
damages during the war; $3S0,l51 for the
heirs of John Roach, the Philadelphia ship
builder, for work on the cruisers Chicago,
Boston and Atlanta; $2S,l6e likewise for
the dispatch boat Dolphin; s69,5SO to the
Richmond locomotive and machine works
for damage and losses in the construction
of the battleship Texas
Late in the session a general bankruptcy
law was enacted providing for voluntary
and involuntary bankruptcy.
The Teller resolution declaring for pay
ment of the national bonds in silver as
we'll as gold was passed by the senate, by
a vote of AZ to 80, but was defeated in the
house Statehood bills for New Mexico.
Arizona and Oklahoma were killed in COM
mittee. An immigration bill requiring abil-
ity to read and write on the part of those
16 years old passed the senate, but did not
reach vote in the house. The anti-scalp-
ing bill. prohibiting ticket brokerage. re-
tn 10th ant 10 he.