Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-03-30
AN EXTRA SESSION POSSIBLE.
Congress May be Convened Next October
p oiitical Considerations.

The caucus committee appointed by
General Grosvenor, in pursuance Of a
vote OF the House Republicans, for the
purpose of studying the currency reform
problem, will meet at Atlantic City on
April II, and there hold its sessions. The
choice of Atlantic city is Significant. The
Treasury Department Is in Washington
with its expert accountants ana masses of
financial lore. The great Libraries are I'm
Washington, and that Is where persons in
tcrested in prospective national leSisla-
tion are accustomed to 60 why are YOU
going to Atlantic city, was asked says
the correspondent of the Boston Tran
script one of the members of ;he commits
SIGN.
Largely on account of the census was
his reply. 1t was at first a little hard to
understand what relation the decennidl
census of 1907 had to do with the selection
Of a place for the meetings for a caucus
committee on monetary reform But II
seems that the members desired to rid
themselves o. the errands in " ash ngtun
which would certainly be imposed upon
thom. were it known that they we're in
residence there, and here the chief aVncu-
tion of any great statesman ls in calling
upon Mr.. W. Il. Merriam TO secure liaros
in the census. No one would expect a
Congressman to make trip from Atlantic
city to Washington for that purpose. FER
haps it is also an advantage to be away
from an the lobbvinu influences Of Nd~h-
irpton, and in a place where II will be 10
little harder for the "cranks.' as all the
extreme advocates are usually ,ern,d by
Congressional committees, to get at hem.
There is onsiderablc talk of an earlier
session of Congress than in december. 1t
Is argued that there Is more work than on
prcss can think of attending TO l,atNeen
December. 1899. and the holding Of the M
tional party conventions IN Jun. Of 100
If President Mckinley should call Com
grcss togcthcr about the first Of October
this work could early set under way. rhe
weather Lv that time Will br comfortable
and the Disadvantages of % midsummer
extra session i'm Washington avn dcd
Several subjects ought to bo atten led TO-
if at all. as long before tile presidential
campaign as possible. Currency reform
is one of them Whatever thu. Republican
raftv does in this lint, is sure to Ie made
"A target for Democratic attack. and the
shorter the ucr,ol within which new con-
dltlons arc operative. the larger the op-
rortunitv for instrumentation. y cur
relrv raform bill passed hv the first Of
Ncynmber might demonstrate its useful
ness before the endemic of prevaricatiou
set in i'm the following summer.
The Hanna-Payne shipping subsidy hill
i- another thing that 1t locks as if the
Ropublican Marty must pass before an
other presidential campaign, aud yet
ought not to be passed right upon the
edge of the contest. Many persons be-
lcve that the undertaking of the Nicara-
qua Canal may be enormously popular,
and that the party IN power should have
If well under way before the next cam
pairn opcns. 1t will then attract httcn-
tion. enlist the interest of the country. and
employ thousands of men 1t is expendi-
lures rather than taxation that the voting
public sees first. and looks unIn with IA
vor For these and other reasons, it is