BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-04-10
Sc|l0|e Us. House.
EACH BRANCH ANXIOUS OVER
PENDING LEGISLATION.

River and Harbor Bill to Be Used as a
Club to Force Claims and Irrigation
Measures Acceptance by Representa-
tives-Political Fences Depend on Ac-
ton of Congress.
There is trouble ahead for the House
on several important bills which have
been disposed of by that body and
which now rest in the Senate. It is
the avowed intention of many senator's
to use the river and harbor bill as
club to force the House to the enact
ment of certain Legislation.
Nearly every member of the House
who is candidate for reelection-and |
nearly all of them are candidates-hasI |
one or more items in this bill on which |
he depends for political capital. Is
fact, some of the members have
staked their political future upon their
successful championship of certain river
and harbor appropriations To have
this bill fail in the Senate would be a
severe blow to many members of the
House, and the Senate is fully aware of
the situation.
There are two bills which have been
passed by the Senate and are now in
the House, each of which is backed by
a strong following in the Senate, but of
which there is little hope of enactment
in the House. They are the "ornnib11s"
claims bill and the irrigation bill. The
Senate has passed the claims bill and
the House committee on appropriations
| is quite prepared to defeat the final
enactment of the measure. The bill
carries several million dollars and its
items are of local Importance to many
senator An enormous amount of work
has been done on the bill by Senator
Warren of Wyoming and his committee
on claims, and. the members of the
committee are thoroughly determined
to force its passage through the House
| if possible. There is little question as
to the business of practically all Of the
claims included in the bill, and many
of them have been standing for years,
the government thus depriving its
creditors of money to which they were
legally and morally entitled. 1t swells
the total amount of appropriations,
however, and is one of the bills which
can be dispensed with without interfer-
ing in any way with the movements of
the government machine, hence it often
is sacrificed.
1t is proposed in the Senate that as
soon as it is determined that the House
will not pass the claims bill to add
it to one of the vital appropriation bills,
and force it upon the House in con-
ference under threat of defeating the
appropriation bill to which it is attached.
The friends of the measure are in fight
ing mood, and if the House does not
yield a deadlock will result.
A similar situation exists in regard
to the irrigation bill numbered twenty
six in the Senate, with which forinid-
able following it was believed it would
be possible to force fhe irrigation bill
through the House by threatening the
defeat of the river and harbor measure. |
If it is found by the Senate that the
irrigation bill is to fail in the House it |
is proposed to have the committee on
commerce put the bill as an additional |
clause upon the river and harbor bill,
and report the same to the Senate in
that form. That will throw the river,
and harbor bill, with its irrigation rider,
into conference with The House COM
mittee, The senatorial friends of the
irrigation bill believe that before the
House would allow the defeat OF the
river and harbor bill it would acce 2t
the irrigation amendments.
There is a decided atmosphere of
irritability III regard to both these Sc
nate acts, the claims and irrigation.
which promises lively row with the
House before any legislation along
those lines is finally enacted or d sfeat-
ed.