The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-22

in Delaware. These states are now repub-
lican and if they should elect, by means of
extra sessions, or If appointees from them
should be seated 1t would raise the repub-
hcan majority to twenty.
More Important Than Personnel
But more important than the personnel
of congress or its leadership are the ques-
tions which will come up for discussion and
action in the session So important aire
many of the measures that a one -4Tne il
was seriously considered whether it would
be advisable to call congress in session
earlier than December in order to get some
OF the routine. business out of the way be-
fore the Christmas holidays. The fear is
still expressed that the business of the next
congress will drag the session into the sum-
mer months. One reason given for pre-
venting this was the fact that the national
conventions meet in the summer of 1900 to
nominate their candidates for the presi-
dency. These conventions always have a
demoralfzing effect upon congress, df dt
happens to be in session, and the members
moreover, like to be On their states to take
part In the election of delegates. But after
considering the matter 1t was deemed best
not to call an extra session, chiefly for the
reason that an extra session of congress
more or less upsets the business interests
of the country or at beast tends to keep 1t
agftated. Then, too, by December the
government would have been able to under
stand better the needs of our new colonial
possessions and to judge more accurately
what legislation was needed for them. That
the members of the house and senate are
studying the questions on which they will
be called to legislate is evidenced by the
fact that some of them have put in the
heated months of the summer in travelling
in Porto Rico, Hawaii, some even crossing
the Pacific ocean and going with our troops
into the Philippine Islands. Others went to
in nd hot how l1.al 1att
ted to discuss the fate of that island
VIII Rush Business
AS soon as congress meets On December
Speaker Henderson will appoint the COM
mittees for the house and before the
Christmas holidays much of the routine
business will be under way. The commit
tee on appropriations will begin their gil
gantic work of framing the appropriation
bills the moment dts membership is an
nounced. The house will be able to organ
ize much sooner than usual for the reason
that there will be no protracted wrang1e
over the speakerShip.
A number of bills will at once be pre-
scented apportaining to matters of the new
colonies. These will be referred to COM
mittees At the very outset a nice ques-
ton will arise and to a certain extent will
indicate the sentiment of congress regard
ing the colonies. The anti-expansionists
both in the house and In the senate, will
want all the bills relating Ito the colonies
sent to the committee on foreign affairs,
while those who favor holding permanently
the possessions We acquired in the war
with Spain Will want them sent to the conn
mittee on territories, which will more or
less fix the status of the possessions at the
outset. While all such bills will be referred
to committees at once this will not prevent
the discussion in both houses of the ques-
tion of the permanent retention of the Phil
dppines, and that question is certain to be
pushed to the front In all debates by the
opposition. But as there can be no legfsla-
ton until the committees report, the de-
bates on the subject will be purely of a
political nature.
There will be little to do with reference