The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-03
WORK BEFORE THE CONGRESS- Forecast ofs .dbors of the
 S<s..esmen. PLr.f OF BILLS ON HAND :
 / ,asures of Importance to Be @ Considered. Messngc of the President Probably Will be Read Next Tuesday, as the
 Senate Will Adjourn Quickly
 on Monday.
PLF f OF BILLS ON HAND


 12. Monday the second session or the Fifty-eighth Congress will be called to order by President Pro Tenn Frye in the Senate and by Speaker Cannon in the House. When the gavels of the pre- siding officers summon. the Senators and Representatives to duty nearly every member will be in his seat, but only routine business will be transacted. The chaplains will pray, the rolls will be called. the regular resolutions of notification will be passed, committees to inform the President will be ap- pointed and adjournment will follow out Of respect for the deceased mem- bers. The Presidents message gener- ally is received and read the first day. but the Senate Is punctilious in certain matters and Is almost sure to adjourn as a tribute of respect to the late Senator Hoar- of Massachusetts and the late Senator Quay of Pennsylvania. The message, therefore, probably will not be read until Tuesday. But there will be enough to attract the crowds which will fill the galleries. | The opening of a session of Congress | has become aSflower show. Immense
 loraI pieces designed to typify the man, | or the State, or the district he repre- sents are placed upon members desks
 
 obscuring the man they are intended to l compliment. Besides these huge floral | emblems Senators and members are | remembered more modestly by simple | punches of flowers. Admiring consti- tuents clerks in the departments. wives and sweethearts always see that favor ites in both Senate and House are | favored with flowers. In fact the custom has grown to such proportions that those who are not remembered in the annual gorgeous Congressional | floral display feel that they have been unconsciously given greater distinction | by the omission.
 Plenty to do.
 After the opening day. when the mes sage of the President Is read, the regular business of the session will be- | gin and the legislative wheels will grind steadily until March 4, 1905, i There Is plenty to do, The calendars l of both Houses are loaded with bills of all kinds; hundreds of new bills will | be introduced and committees are ready l to report enough to keep Congress busy i for twelve months, but in the three | months Congress probably will do little more than pass the regular annual ap- propriation bills. There has been some talk of a. possible extra session. The I result of the November election was scarcely known before this talk began. | Heretofore extra session rumors have l been held in aBeyance until the holiday | recess or at least until after the elec- l ton returns have been digested, but | this year the discusss-n began before | the President knew how sR-lny votes he | would have In the electoral college
 The only reason why such session I should be called is because there is a l~ C. | vision of the tariff, but many of the incoming Congressmen during the past
 two weeks have made it plain that they | do not want tariff revision and further
 thnt they do not want an extra session. | There Is one feature of the tariff re- | vision talk that has some substance. | More revenue must be had or there
 must be a curt3ilment of expenditures. | With the increasing annual appropria-
 tions. a river and harbor bill, increase
 of the navy. the Panama canal and other features of extraordinary dis
 bursement, there will be need of more
 money than present customs and in ! ternal revenues provide An intima-
 tion has been made that curtailment
 will satisfy many Congressional ,ead-
 CTS, but the majority may determine
 otherwise, in which event some reve-
 nue' legislation may be necessary and
 an extra session for that purpose may
 he called. But this is said to be a re-
 mote contingency and the proba bilities.
 according to the leaders who are here. l are that there will be neither tariff 1 legislation nor an extra session.
 Subject of Reciprocity.
 l Coupled with tariff Legislation dis cussion is the subject of reciprocity. A
 number of proposed reciprocity treaties
 have been, and still are, reposing in the pigeon holes of the Senate. Du-
 ring the coming three months there
 may be some talk about these treaties. | but the indications are they will not | be seriously considered. So strong has ! been the opposition to them that it has | never been considered worth while to i report them from the Committee on | Foreign Relations to which they were
 referred. There was considerable talk
 during the last session of Congress
 concerning tariff revision and the sug- | gestion was made by several prominent | leaders that any revision that was nec-
 essary could be. accomplished during l the short session of Congress. the idea
 being that revision would be on the
 lines of reduction and would meet with
 little or no opposition. If more reve-
 nue Is needed and it Is found necessary
 to add some internal revenue taxes. ! 1 Revenue Legislation of any kind is
 sure to create considerable talk in the
 Senate and that means delay. In fact
 it has become known that under pres
 ent conditions legislation during the
 short session is enacted by practically
 unanimous consent. Any half dozen
 Senators who determine to defeat a
 bill have the power to do so, with the
 privilege of unlimited debate. Tn the | House the stringent rules enable the
 majority to transact all business 1t de- ! sires and so far as that body Is con
 oerned there is no difficulty about any
 legislation that may be attempted, but ! if the leaders do not want tariff revis- | ion or change in the revenue laws ] nothing will be done.
 1 The unfinished business in the Sen
 ate is A bill passed by the House pro-
 viding for the construction of railroads
 in the Philippine Islands by a guaran- ! tee of per cent income upon the
 money invested in such roads. The l hill also provides for issuing Philip | pine bonds for other internal improve ments In the Islands. and in several