The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-25
CONGRESS- HAS DILIGENT Many Important Bills
 Passed. GENERAL REVIEW OF WORK Measures Extending Federal Con-
 trol Are Made Laws. The Railroad Rate Bill and Meat In- spection Clause of Agricul- tural Report to Become Part of Statutes.

Washington, June 3o.-Important measures extending federal regulation and control have been enacted at the first session of the fifty-ninth Con- gress now rapidly drawing to close
 The railroad rate and the meat in- spection bills will soon become laws and before adjournment of congress both houses will have passed pure food bills, which, though dissimilar in terms, are both based on the same principle of federal control It is the present intention to try to adjust these differ ences before adjournment
 There has been no marked division on party lines in effecting the above results, the differences being only as to ways and means rather than as to policy. Besides branching of into this new field of legislative endeavor, the present session of Congress has made itself important in ether. ways.
 It has added one and perhaps two new states to the union and by so do- ing, has disposed of four territories. Great results to the people are ex- pected from the revival of the tax on denatured alcohol. and if predictions are fulfilled heat, light and power are to be supplied by alcohol made from the cornfields of the country. from sugar beets and sugar cane from fruits and other vegetation
 By a different turn of legislative points of view the questions which have perplexed Congress for some time regarding the Panama Canal have been settled The .resident may dis lock canal as fast as he pleases. A joint resolution was agreed to requiring ca nal supplies to be made of American manufacture.
 Congress has not dweIt with the foreign relations to any extent An act making a much needed re-organ- ixation of the consular service was passed. Nothing was done in the San to Domingo controversy and the legis- lation affecting our colonial posses sions was meagre and unimportant. al- though tariff revision for the Philipr pines received the attention and ap- proval of the House and an act was passed revising the tariff collected ey the Philippine government A com age act for the islands was also passed.
 But Congress talked about our own tarin law. It broke the record for words. Thousands and hundred of thousands more than have been utter ed at any other one session of Con- gress were compiled in the record.
 A large number of bills were intro duced in the two houses. The calendar records show that the number las reached near 10000, five hundred more than were introduced during the entire | three sessions of tn last Congress.
 Before discussing the number of acts passed it is interesting to note | that with all the strenuous exertions of an appropriations committee in the | House with the new chairman, Rep resentative Tawney. 1t has been impos- | sible to hold the appropriations down | to much less than $500, 100000. although | economy" was the watchword from | the start One of the important fea- | lures of the session has been the care full scrutiny with which demands of the | different departments have been re- | ce!ved by the House appropriations | committee.
 The result has been the enactment of restraining legislation on nearly every | appropriation bill which it Is intended will have a beneficial effect hereafter.
 First in this class is undoubtedly that | requiring the heads of all executive | departments to apportion the appro- | priation they receive into equal parts to avoid deficiencies This is to be | done under penalty. The only excuse | than can be offered Is the happening of some unforeseen event or emergency | nf a department asking for deficinecy | appropriation shall be summarilv re- moved and lays himself liable in the fu- | ture to fine and even imprisonment.
 Departments To submit Estimates.
 Another requirement. on the executive
  ter of appropriations directly into the hands of Congress is that contained in the executive department appropriation net. and that makes 1t necessary for each department to submit all of It's | estimates for appropriations in the book of estimates sent to Congress at the beginning of each session.
 Still another matter of economy Is the taking away from the government clerk the right to secure transfer to another department at a higher salary until he has served three years in the position he wishes to abandon. The nrompt turning into the treasury of all moneys collected by heads of de- partments as government revenues is another safeguard against extrava- gance It was found that during the past year one depa tment had collected revenue to the amount of $73O.00O and disbursed 1t without authority of law
 strict accounting is here after to be reouired from all United States court
 Although there has been an effort to nrevent the enlargement of what is known os the permanent annual ap- nronriations" this character of expense has increased during the session to the axtent of nearly five million dollars. known as the permanent annual an propriation of more than Sl40. 100000
 Three Million Appropriation.
 The meat inspection bill carried q permanent annual approximation of S3. o00 900 and the same day the house nassed the bill adding $1.000.0O0 to a ike amount annually for the support of the State militia.
 Organized labor has succeeded in Its requests for the present session of Con qress to the extent of securing the en- actment of what is known as the em- blowers liability bill This enactment will make 1t possible for an employe to secure dama- ges for his injury. not withsta nding luis own negligence may have been in part responsible for that injury.
 Another bill which has received the approval of the Senate and will doubt Iess become a law before the end of the session is that limiting the hours oe continuous service or railway trainmen to sixteen consecutive hours work. 10 be followed by ten hours rest. The much aEitated eight hour bin received a favorable vote from the labor com Ynittee of the House, but too late to se
 l..