Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-01-28

" SOfis L. ~, dIll. -t.-AOnSrGSS
is fairly settling down to work Bills
are popping from committee rooms like
corn from u hot griddle, and the ses-
sion is growing lively. The ball of
financial legislation has been thrown
from the House to the Senate, and the
Senate has reported substitute there
for. The struggle between the legis-
lative teams will begin when the sub
stitute passes, the Senate and is tossed
back to the House, landing in a con-
and crept into Congress in an unusual
way. Half an hour after the election
OF the Speaker OH December 1 the
House adopted the rules of the Fifty
fifth Congress. The Fifty-fifth Con-
gress had adopted the rules of the Fiji
ty-fourth Congress, and the Fifty
fourth had riveted the Reed rules. 1t
was all done by 4 strict party vote
The majority had caucuSed on the mat
ter before the opening OF the session,
and agreed to stand together. These
rules We're no sooner adopted than Mr.
Overstreet, of Indiana, passed to the
Journal Clerk what was known as the
financial bill. 1t was not known as the
Jill. IL WIS IOC READ 10 the
House, because the rules did not res
quirc it. 1t was not referred to any
committee, because no committees had
been appointed. All other bills were
referred TO committees when appointed.
The Congressional Record next day
contained the following:
Under clause 5 of Rule MIL, bills,
resolutions and memorials of the fol-
lowing titles were introduced and sew
orally referred as follows:
By Mr.. Overstreet: A bill (II. r. u
to define and fix the standard OF value.
to maintain the parity OF all forms of
money issued or coined by the United
States and for other purposes. Ordered
to be printed
AT the beginning of the third days
session AIR. Overstreet was recognized
by the Speaker. He asked unanim aus;
consent that this bill, which had never
been referred to or reported from n
committee, should be considered in
committee of the whole beginning i'm
mediately after the reading of the Jour
nal on December IL. He handicapped
this request by asking that statement
concerning the bill he printed with 1t.
The latte, request led to an objection
to the whole business on the part of
the minority for the reason that
statement of the majority of the House
ought to be accompanied by state
mcnt from the minority. On December
the Committee on Rules took the
matter in hand. Mr.. Dalzell reported
from that committee n resolution pro-
viding that the bin should be taken
up in committee of the whole on De-
oemher IL, and that 1t should be dcbat-
cd until December 16 when the vote
should be taken upon its passage. The
resolution was passed by a strict party
vote, and at the end of this debate, the
bill itself was passed and sent To the
Senate.
Rarely does legislation take such an
eccentric course. Baseball is n great
game. The pitcher gives the ball n
curve from the wrist, and the catcher
knows where to stand to receive it. The
=r11ttr at tire tbut c5tII DC counted out on
strikes This particular legislative
game is apt to prove highly interesting
after the ball Is changed by the Senate,
and SHE'D into conference. No poker
party ever worked more patiently, per-
sistently and secretly than does con-
ference committee. Silver was demone-
tized in a conference committe in 1873,
and the majority of the committee it
self never found it out until over year
afterward. Such committees are lcgiti-
mate fields for legislative thimbc-
rigging. and the cup-and- ball polt-
clans always resort to them.
The financial Erist. however. is not
the only grist in the hopper. The
Speaker has appointed his committees
and they are al bucklinE down to bust
ness. The new members are usually
Dunctual in attendance and watch pro-
ceedngs with intense interest. They
accept the work mctcd out to them by
the chairman. and are indicted into
faIx Of ba st 4
practical business man may have
case full of legal technicalitcs referred
to him for investga ton and report: an
editor may be called upon to examine
case involving riparian rights:
farmer may he asked to scrutinzc n
claim involving the construction of the
most delicate machinery: n lawyer may
be urged to make n report on bill in
volvng the velocity and destructive
capacity of q steel proiectilc when
hurled against Erunp armor plate.
No now member of n committee can
tell what sort of n job he is to get
When Gen. Arson G. McCook of New
York. first came TO Congress he was
put to work upon n remarkable bill.
1t was one of the legislative results of
the civil war. Some enlisted man in
the army had lost n pair of ovcralls in
the line Of duty. He may have los.
them while wadng n creek or they
might have been destroyed by Con.
federate shell while hanging on n limb.
Certain 1t is that he made n claim
against the government for the value
of the garment. McCook made an ex-
haustive investigation and finally re-
ported the bill favorably to the full
committee. They discussed it for two
or three days. and it was at last placed
on-the calendar OF the House to await
consideration. Several efforts to bring
1t before that body by unanimous con-
sent failed. and no action was taken
no 1.1a.. /. f....a