The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1906-12-27
WORK OF
CONGRESS
~~~~~~~~~

In the Senate Thursday Senator Du
bois of Idaho spoke in favor of the un-
seating of Reed Smoot. A bill was
passed providing regulations for fishing
vessels to prevent collisions at sea. In
the House resolution favoring a return
to the old standard of spelling was
adopted An agreement was reached for
a vote on an increase in the salaries of
members of Congress, cabinet officers,
etc., when the legislative appropriation
bill. now under consideration. is reported
to the House from the committee of the
whole. A resolution was adopted calling
on the Secretary of Commerce and Labor
to investigate the high prices of lumber,
and another calling upon the Secretary of
the Interior for detailed description of
the coal lands withdrawn from plblic
entry since July I. 1906. After complet-
ing 145 pages of the bill it was laid aside
until Friday.
The Senate was not in session Friday.
BY a vote of 106 to 1SS the House re-
fused to increase from $1,000 to $500
the salaries of Senators, members and
delegates. The House, however, by an
overwhelming vote, increased the salaries
of the Vice President, the Speaker of
the House and members of the Presidents
cabinet to $4,000 each. The legislative,
executive and judicial appropriation bill
was passed.
The Senate was not in session Satur-
day. The House passed $50 invalid pen
sion bills. An I'll gent deficiency appro-
priation bill carrying $5S1, 800 for the
various departments of the government,
including $15O.000 for mileage of army
officers, and $250,000 to carry out the
pure food law, was passed. Sunday, Jan.
20, was set apart by the House to take
cognizance of the death of the late Sen
ator William B. Bate of Tennessee.
-
Messages from the President on Pana-
ma, public lands and navy personnel were
read in the Senate Monday. Resolutions
were agreed to for a recess from Dec.
20 to Jan. 8. directing an investigation
of the International Harvester Company
and ordering an inquiry by the judiciary
committee as to the power of Congress
to prevent interstate commerce in child
made goods. Senators Whyte and Ray
ner presented resolutions to guard against
infringement of States rights. In the
House the Indian appropriation bill occu-
pied all the time not taken up with the
reading of the Presidents messages.
Speaker Cannon announced the following
committee assignments: Knox of Illinois,
chairman, expenditures in the State De-
partment; Nelson of Wisconsin, Pacific
railroads and expenditures in The State
Department.
In the Senate Tuesday many minor
bills from the calendar were passed with
out objection, among them one providing
for a child labor investigation by the
Department of Commerce and Labor and
one authorizing a loan of $1,OOO,00O to
the jamestown exposition. The urgent
deficiency appropriation bill was passed.
A message from the President on the Jap
anese qquestion was read. The Indian
appropriation bill was passed by the
House. District of Columbia business
and the reading of the Presidents mes
sage occupied the remainder of the ses-
sion.
President Roosevelt sent in a message
to the Senate Wednesday dealing with the
discharge of negro troops. After some
debate action was postponed until the
next day. The pension calendar was
cleared by the passage of more than 200
private pension bills. In the House a
resolution was adopted giving the COM
mittee on enrolled bills an additional
clerk. A resolution still further increas-
ing the force in that Office met determined
opposition. The absence of a quorum was
disclosed and Speaker Cannon brought
about adjournment.