The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-07-17
THE WORK OF CONGRESS.

l
The irrigation bill.
The oleomargarine bill.
The census bill.
The Chinese exclusion bill.
The war tax repeal bill.
C.ontrasted with the promise of tn
opening weeks this showing does no
seam impressive. Here is the unfulfill
ed program of intent, which the House
with half the industry of Civil War ane
spanish War days; could have carried
| out:
! The Cuban settlement
/ Reform in the currency.
The suppression OF anarchism anc
| protection Of the President.
A subsidy for ships.
A new seat in the cabinet.
The popular election of Senators
The reorganization of the army.
The Babcock reform Of the tariff-a
reform of the tariff BY its friends"
A pure food law.
Reform In immigration.
Statehood for three Territories.
The transcripts analysis Of the
measures actually passed is as follows:
1.-THE Panama canal bill is not unalter-
ably for the Panama canal 1t provides
that the President Is to acquire, at g
cost Of not exceeding s4o,oo0,00o, the
rights and property OF the New Pana-
ma Canal Company, provided he can
get a satisfactory title There are also
provisions for the acquisition OF title
from the republic of Colombia. He is
then. through the Isthmian Canal Com
mission, to have the canal built. IT he
cannot obtain satisfactory title to this
property he is to get canal through
Nicaragua. This is a compromise intro
duced by Senator Spooner and is salts
factory to the Panama men. 1t rs not
at all alternative, for the President is
bound to negotiate first with Panama,
and only in the event of failure there
can he do any business with Nicara-
qua The Nicaragua men have pro-
fessed from the first that Panama can
not give title. and say they are salts
fed with the bill for that reason.
1.-THE Philippine civil government bill
leaves the present civil government in
force. Appeals from the Philippine
Supreme Court can be taken to the
American Supreme Court. There are
differences between the legislative pro-
visions Of the bills passed by House and
Senate which viii have to be arranged
in conference. The same is true of the
bill of rights and the coinage system.
The frIar lands are to be acquired.
1.-The permanent Census Bureau bill
makes the census office a regular de-
partment of the government. 1t is to
collect annually statistics of the births
and deaths, and there are several addi-
tions to the decennial operations of the
office. The manufacturing statistics
are to be collected decennia1ly after the
year 1905 instead of in years Invisible
by ten. The public printer is to take
charge of the printing office establish
ed in the Census Bureau.
THE oleomargarine bill provides that
oIeomargarine, free from coloration to
make it look like butter, is to be taxed
fourth of cent a pound. When
colored it is taxed ten cents a pound.
The irrigation bill avoids the pre-
vious argument that irrigation would
take too much moneyfout of the pockets
of Eastern taxpayers by providing that
the money devoted to irrigation shall
be taken from the sale of public lands
in Arizona. California. Colorado, idaho,
Kansas, Montana. Nebraska. Nevada.
New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washing
ton and Wyoming.
1T is to be put in special fund in
the Treasury to be known as the re
clamation fund Public lands which it
is proposed to irrigate shall be subject
to entry only under the provisions OF
the homestead laws. Only bona fide
residents can buy land. This is the
only bill especially favored and desired
by the President which has passed the
first session OF Congress during his
term.
| "a Chinese exclusion bill was passed
which was vastly milder than HAD been
of exclusion, and which amounted to
little more than a re-enactment of the
present law.
aside from these matters of affirma-
! tive legislation. the bill repeating the
war taxes was passed by a unanimous
vote in both House and Senate. The
Democrats wanted to amend the bill
by some tariff reform paragraphs, par
ticularly those aimed at the iron and
steel schedules, and tried to get the in
fuential element of tariff reform Re
publicans to join with them. but at thai
time the terror of the House machine
was SO great that not a man went with
them, not even Mr.. Babcock. II the
bill had been introduced later in the
session. after these same tariff reform
Republicans had joined with the Dem
ocrats and overthrown the House ma
chine, there is no telling what woulc
have happened"
In one respect the record OF the SEES
sion is without precedent; It appropr!
ated 1927 $50. 2s2