Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1898-07-15
WORK OF CONGRESS-.
NATIONAL LEGISLATURE HAS
BEEN BUSY WITH WAR.
Not for Twenty-Five Years HIVE Sc.
Important Mntters Been Considered
appropriations that Aggregate
Nearly SuOO,UOc,OoO We're Maze.
AM Imnortant scssicn

The passing of the second session Of the
LNth Congress marks the close of the
first war Congress i'll II quarter of IL CEN
fury. Associated with thu first hostile
conflict since 1912 with Al nation of nh
other continent. thu annexation of tia-
waii. and contempCrnrco,ls with Il further
movement for territorial expansion, the
present Congress outrnnks almost any
other that has ever assembled.
Hawaiian annexation. Spain and Cuba,
wal appropriations and war revenue legis-
lntion, organization of the vast volunteer
army and expansion of the navy, and .
new bankruptcy law were cntures of the
session. Urgent deficiency bills carrying
millions of dollars were rushed through
with far less delay than markr! the
course of an ordinary measure of little
Importance. The total appropriations
footed almost $9OO.OOO.OOO and about
S:35O.O0O.UW of this was fur war purposes.
1t was the largest aggregate by any srs-
sion since the civil war. and the general
deficiency was the largest separate meas
ure since the S75O.OOO.0OO single appro.
p%riation in 1863. The naval appropriation
bill provided for three new lnttlrsilips
four monitors. sixteen torpedo boat de.
stroycrs. twelve torpedo boats and one
gunboat. The urgent deficiency bills all
carried provisions for aggressive work in
the prosecution of the war. The genera
deficiency measure. enacted in the last
days. carried IL provision for rcfundirr the
Indebtedness of the Pacific railroads to
the Government.
Cuba and Hawaii were the important
matters of debate and provoked tho most
widespread interest. There were IL num-
her of messages from President McIlin-
ley hearing ON the Cuban situation. rang
ing from the submission of IL report upon
the Maine disaster md the consular re-
ports. to the call for IL declaration of war.
The first real war legislation was when
Congress placed. without limitations,
$50.OOO.OW i'll the Presidents hands as
an emergency fund for national defense.
On April II the President, in IL message,
left the Cubnn issue in the hands of Con
gress. Resolutions were soon enacted ANA
became law April 10 declaring that the
people of Cuba ought to br and are free
and independent and demanding that
| Spain r%clinIuish its authority and with
draw its lund and naval forces from Cuba
and Cuban waters md 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 %. Three
lays before the declaration OF war, Pres
ident Mckinley approved the volunteer
act. Under 1t all the soldiers in the VOL
unteer army have been raised, embracing
l25.OOO men under the first and 75.O
under the second call.
One feature of the session was the cu-
nctment of the war revenue law. Its
trainers expected it to produce $1jJ.G3U,-
I'D. Minor war legislation included the
following: Organizing Il volunteer army
signal corps. organizing IL volunteer brig
ade of engineers. creating two additional
artillery regiments. adding 31.61D men;
:~reating IL United Suites auxiliary naval
force. not exceeding 1000 enlisted :na:,
and nppropriating $3.OtW.O DO therefor.
Keeping life-saving stations Oh the Attain
tic and gulf COASTS open during June and
July for pntrol purposes. authorizing ass
sistance to Cnbans and providing them
with arms and supplies. allowing
homestead settlers who volunteer to count
their service in homestead requirements.
resolutions of thanks to Dewey and his
men. and the presentation of a sword to
him and medals to his officers.
Other important legislation. aside from
war. included prohibiting the KILN. oe
fur seals in the north Pacific and importa-
tion of sealskins into this country; pro-
hibiting foreign vessels from carrying
merchandise directly or indirectly between
United States ports: al Alaskan honne-
stead and right of way act. encouraging
railway construction; approprinting S2DO.-
OW for the relief Of the Yukon miners:
creating n non-partisan industrial commits
sion to investigate immigration, labor.
manufacture and business. Late i'm the
session a general bankruptcy law was en-
acted providing for voluntary and invol-
untArv hnnkrunfcv