The Press. (Stafford Springs, Conn.) 1883-1935, 1899-02-23
Washington Letter.
washington Feb. 20, 1S9.

Washington Letter.
washington Feb 90, 1899.
To those unacquainted with congress
sional methods, the present condition of
business in both house and senate would
seem to make an extra session inevitable.
But there is still chance of escaping 1t,
although it is slim one. Congress can
do an enormous amount of work in two
weeks, when the conditions are favorable.
There are others, but the principal STUN
bling block Is the Hull army bill, which
Is now before the senate. II the support
ers aid opponents of that bill retain their
present attitude, the bill is bound to fail,
and the president has repeatedly said
that he would at once call an extra session
IL 1t failed. Conservative senators are try
ing to arrange some sort OF a compromise
that can be accepted without loss of dig
nifty by both sides. They believe that II
they can get compromise bill through
Mr.. Mckinley will, owing to his known
repugnance to an extra session, be will
ing to take less than he asked for rather
than to veto the bill and call an extra ses-
ion.
The military court of inquiry, to inves-
tigate the beef scandal, will begin the
taking of testimony this week. The list
of witnesses is a long one, and it will
probably be a month or 80 before the in
vestigation is concluded.
The regular naval appropriation bill,
just passed by the house, carries $44,-
1e8, sos, which is about eight and half
millions greater than the largest single
appropriation ever made for the navy,
and yet it is nearly four million less than
was asked for in the estimates of the navy
department..
The bill for the reorganization of the
navy, generally spoken of as the "naval
personnel BILL" has Jared much better
than the army reorganization bill. 1t has
been passed by both house and senate,
and is now before conference commit
tee, owing to several amendments added
by the senate, with the probability of be-
coming law before the close of the pree-
ent week.
| Ruling out the appropriation to pay
Spain $50, OOO, 900, as part of the sundry
civil bill, on point of order, had no spe-
cial meaning, and will not prevent that
appropriation being made. Two bills for
that purpose have already been intro
duced, one by Chairman Cannon, OF the
appropriations committee, which is the
one that will pass, as brief as it could
possibly be made, and another by Repre-
sentative Gillett of Mass, which after
providing for the appropriation, adds as a
second section the McEnery resolution,
which was adopted by the senate last
| week.
The senate committee on education and
| labor appear to be afraid that the eight
| hour bill is loaded. 1t has reported the
| bill without recommendation, something
that no legislative committee should be
| allowed to do, and suggested amendments
exempting from the provisions OF the bill,
contracts for purchase OF materials In the
open market. The bill was evidently re-
ported only because a majority of the
| committee feared to do otherwise, but it
was held back until its chance for being
acted upon, Is not one out of a possible
100. The men who demanded this legis-
lation have been buncoed. That is Just
about the exact truth. But the reporting
of the bill will enable such members f
the committee as desire to claim that
they did all they could to put it through.
Speaker Rec Is credited with having
knocked out the Nicaragua canal bill,
| when IL was offered in the house as an
amendment to the sundry civil bill, and
shut out on point of order, but the SEN
ators who favor the canal have fixed up q
little game that Mr.. Reed will not find it
easy to beat. They have had the bill
added to the river and harbor bill, by
the senate committee on commerce. as an
amendment, which places it away beyond
the reach OF points of order in the house.
That the amended bill will pass the SEN
quo 10 COLbdAu. uOU buO uOuS0 Call 0IGQOE
vote to accept the senate amendments,
including the canal legislation, or ask for
conference. In either event there seems
no chance for Mr.. Reed to kill the canal
legislation without killing the entire river
and harbor bill, and he is too wise man
to attempt to do what he knows would
be more apt to bring failure than success.
The friends of the canal are more hopeful
now than they have been at any time dur
ing the session that the necessary legisla-
tion will be secured, although there are
many quaking knees In the house for fear
that the canal amendment may result In
killing the whole river and harbor bill.
The presidents appeal to congress for
Pacific cable is met In way by Sena-
tor Frye's amendment to the sundry civil
bill, for the payment of 100000 a
year for 90 years by the government for
the use of Pacific cable to be laid and
controlled by private corporation, but
1t would seem to be better policy for the
government to spend those $2, 600, 900 in