The morning news., 1899-02-27
A MOST NOTABLE CONGRESS.
FIFTY-FIFTH HAS COVERED QUITE
AN EVENTFUL PERIOD.

tratiOn of President Mckinley.
Has Declared War, Raised the Rev
enue for IL and Ratified "A Treaty
of Peace-Has Dealt With Results
of War, Nicaragua Canal and the
Reorganization of the Army.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26.-An eventful period
In the country's history is covered by the
work Of the Fifty-ffth Congress. which
is dra wing TO a close. II has been a
period Of stirring and dramatic action,
with questions Of vast magnitude con-
stantly engaging attention. forming an
epoch alongside those other American
epoe-Is. the revolution and the civil war.
This Congress has declared war against
q foreign foe, and the treaty making
branch has participated in ratlfying the
treaty by which that war was terminated.
II has provided a great volunteer army,
has enlarged the regular army, and has
expa nded the navy TO meet war emergen-
cies and new conditions. The tariff has
been revised. first by the DIngley law and
then by the war revenue act. bond issue
known as The war loan, has been pro-
vided. But far-Teaching as these war
measures are. the Congress has had time
also, to enact other legislation which, un-
der ordinary circumstances, would make
lis session memorable. This includes the
annexation of Hawaii; the rejection by
the Senate of the general treaty of arhi-
tration with Great Britain; the enact
Enent of a national bankruptcy law pro-
vision for taking the twelfth census re-
organization Of the personnel Of the navy
To this list may yet he added other i'm
portant subjects SIN pending, including
the Nicaragua canal. the Increase of the
regular army. the anti-scalping measure,
the Ha waiian bill, and the proposed en-
coursgement of American shipping. Some
OF the most important general measures
are in the final legislative stages, and it
will uot be until the last hours arrive that
the success or failure of these measures
will be determined definitely
Began Work with Mckinley.
The present Congress began its work al
most simultaneously with the opening of
President McKinley's administration. Two
days after his Inauguration he issued the
call for an extra session. and in pursu-
ance TO this call Congress assembled on
March Is. 1887. The special message to
Congress was directed to the need of
tariff law that would provide ample reve-
nue. for the support of the government.
No other subject Of legislation was men
toned. and the tariff bill at once became
the all-absorbing feature of the session.
Chairman Dingley of the ways and means
committee and his Republican associates
had already done much work on the bill,
and three days after the extra session be-
gan the Dingley tariff bill was reported
1t passed the House within two weeks of
the opening of the session; passed the
Senate May 7, became a law July "a.
Hardly less important was the consider
alton in the Senate of the general treaty
of arbitration negotiated by President
Cleveland with Great Britain. The pro-
eress of the treaty. in the executive ses-
sions of the Senate. attracted worldwide
attention, finally resulting in the defeat
of the instrument. The extra session also
brought forth four appropriation bills. but
they we're those which failed of passage
In the preceding Congress, and were not
as properly chargeable TO this
Congress. Some general legislation was
including the suspension of Pres
dent Cleveands order setting aside d.
10000 acres of forest reserves; providing
for a gradual Abandonment of sectarian
Indian schools; extending relief to Mis-
sissppi food sufferers, and to the destitute
n Cuba and in India. The Cuban prob
em began to present an acute phase at
a resolution recognizing the Cubans as
which, however, did not pass
the House.
The Great War Session.
The second session of the present Con-
gress is remembered as the great war ses-
sion IL saw the elimination of the pent-
up sympathy for suffering Cuba; the dec
laration that the people of Cuba ought to
be and are free and Independent; the dec
laration of war against Spain, and the
enactment of those vast emergency meas
ures for prosecuting the war. There were
many messages from the President as the
war clouds darkened, ranging from the
submission of the report on the Maine
disaster TO the call for a declaration of
war The first real war legislation was
when Congress placed at the disposal of
the President, without limitation, $4,000
900 as an emergency fund for national de-
fense. On April II the President commit
ted the entire Cuban question to Con-
gress, and Just one week later the con-
gressional resolution became a law de-
claring Cuba free and independent: de-
that Spain withdraw its land and
naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters,
and directing the use Of our land and ma
val forces TO enforce the resolutions. With
in another week, viz, April "a the deea-
ana approved. Then came the rush of
war legislation on a stupendous scale, the
work proceeding while actual hostilities
were under way and the Dewey victory
was achieved.
The act creating the volunteer army
had been approved three days before the
declaration of war, and under it the Pres
ident was enabled to call into service the
250,O00 men augmenting the regular forces.
The latter, also. had been expanded and
improved by the act esta bishing the three
battalion formation in time of war A
further force was provided by authorizing
the enlistment of 10000 men adapted to
tropical climate. since known as lin
Another act added two addition
al artillery regiments to the regular army,
with a total of 1910 men. These and many
lesser army measures were speedily en-
acted
Raising the Revenue.
With these war measures were the i'm
poriant acts for raising revenue adequate
TO meet the vast war expenditures The
first of these was the war revenue act
designed 70 raise $50 600. 600, and in this
connection Congress authorized a bond is