The San Francisco call., 1906-06-25
Much Important Legisla-
ton Placed to Its
Credit.
Extension Of Federal Con-
troll Main Feature Of
New Laws.
Problems Concerning the
Panama Canal Are
Disposed OF.

1
and control have been enacted at the
nrst session Of the Fifty-ninth Con-
gress. The railroad rate and the meat
inspection bills will soon become laws.
and before adjournment both houses
will have passed pure food bills, which
though dissimilar in terms, are both
based on the same principle of Federal
control. 1t is the present intention to
adjust these differences before adjourn
ment
There has been no marked division on
party lines in effecting the foregoing
results. the differences being only as to
ways and means rather than as to poll
icy.
Besides branching of into this new
field of legislative eudeavor, the pres
ent session has made itself important
in other ways. 1t has added one, and
perhaps two, new States to the Union
and by so doing has disposed of four
Territories. Great results TO the peo-
pie are expected from the removal of
the tax on denatured alcohol, and, if
predictions be fulfilled, heat, light and
power are TO be supplied by alcohol.
made from the corn fields of the coun-
try, from sugar beets and sugar cane,
from fruits and other vegetation.
BY deft turn of legislative power
the questions that have perplexed Con-
gress for some time regarding the Pan
anna canal have been settled. The Pres
ident may dig q lock canal as fast as
he pleases. A joint resolution was
agreed to requiring canal supplies to be
of American manufacture.
MUCH TALK ABOUT TARIFF.
Congress has not dealt with the for
eign situation TO any extent An act
making a much-needed reorganization
of the consular service was passed.
Nothing was done in the Santo Domingo
controversy, and the legislation affect
ing our colonial possessions was mea-
ger and unimportant, although tariff
revision for the Philippines received the
attention and approval of the House.
and an act was passed revising the
tariff collected by the Philippine Gov
ernment A coinage act for the islands
also was passed.
But Congress talked about our own
tariff law It broke the record for
thousands more than have been ut
tered at any other one session were
compiled in the Congressional Record.
Not only on the floors of the two houses
has the word record been heavy, but
the publications resulting from com
mittee sessions on tariff subjects are
larger and more numerous than at any
previous session.
A large number of bills were intro
duced in the two houses. The calendar
records that the numoer has reached
nearly 10000, 500 more than were in
troduced during the entire three ses-
sions of the last Congress.
It Is interesting to note that with all
the strenuous exertions of an appro-
priation committee in the House with a
/ new chairman-Represent Tawney
it has been impossible to hold the
appropriations down to much less than
| $500. 900, 900, although economy" was
the watchword from the start.
SAFEGUARDING REVENUES.
/ One OF the important features of the
session has been the careful scrutiny
with which the estimates of the differ
ent Government departments have been
received by the House appropriations
committee. The hearings accorded to
Government officials asking for money
/ to run their departments and bureaus
have been more exhaustive than ever
before The result has been the en-
actment of restraining legislation on
nearly every appropriation bill, which
/ ii is intended, will have a beneficial ef-
feet hereafter.
! The prompt turning into the treas
ury of all moneys collected by heads
/ of departments as Government revenue
will be one safeguard against extrava-
/ gance. It was found that during the
/ past year one department had collected
revenue to the amount of s730,00o and
/ disbursed IL without authority of law
A strict accounting is hereafter to be
received from all United States court
clerks. A revelation that one such
clerk had received emoluments amount
ing to 1886 in one day brought about
this provision.
Organized labor has succeeded in Sc
curing the enactment of what is known
as the employers liability bill" This
enactment will make IT possible for an
employe TO secure damages for his in
jury. Notwithstanding his own negli-
gence may have been partly respon-
sible for that injury.
Another bill that doubtless will be-
come a law is that limiting the hours
of continuous service of railway train
men to sixteen consecutive hours work.
to be followed by ten hours rest
EIGHT-HoUR BILLS FATE.
The much agitated eight-hour day
bill received a favorable vote from the
House labor committee, but too late to
secure action at the hands of Congress
The anti-injunction bill was postponed
in committee until the next session
One of the novel features of the law
making was the enactment of a meas
ure to preserve the scenic beauty of
Niagara Falls. This action was in di-
rect response TO popular demand that
to serve the purposes of commerce.
Enthusiasts for the greater navy
regard the legislation of the session
as initial to the proper growth of that
arm of our fighting force Congress
authorized the construction of the big
gest battleship afioat," with the pro-
vision that before the plans are sub-
mitted or bids received or accepted the
plans for the ship must be submitted to
Congress at It's next session. This pro-
vision was fought in the Ec-se with
great zeal and was carried but by a
small majority.
Although the ship subsidy measure
did not become law, twenty-four new
acts relative to shipping were enacted.
These were all minor in Character and
inaugurated no new policy The an
plication OF the coastwise laws to the
Philippines was postponed until 1903
An omnibus bill authorizing the erec-
-.