Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-06-11
DO.NOTH|NG SESSION
ENDS MID GREAT JOY
Currency Bill Is Passed by Con=
gress in Its Closing
Hours.
NATION LIABLE TO WORKER.
Employees Bill and Public Buildings
Measure Among Last Ones to
Become Laws.
Washington correspondence :

The first session of the Sixtieth Con-
gress came to spectacular end ten
minutes before midnight Saturday
night. The last legislative day of the
session was marked by a squirt of &C
ton which, continued a little bit far
Their, might have put crimp in the
relative do nothing" program which
the leaders set out to fulfill some
months ago.
After adopting the currency confer
ence report the Senate went ahead Sat
urday afternoon and passed the bill
providing compensation for Injuries to
civil employees Of the government en-
gagged in hazardous work. Several
amendments adopted by the Senate
were accepted by the House unanimous
ly, and thus the Roosevelt percentage
in the contest with Congress over the
policies of the administration went up
several points.
One of the last measures to get
through was the public buildings bill,
which was held back to the last moment
for the purpose of keeping members
here until the currency bill became an
act. A message from President Roose-
Welt, read to the House at 1920, told
of the signing of both the currency and
public building bills, and wild tumult
of applause followed.
The end was spectacular. With thu
freedom from dignity that always char
acterizes the breaking up time in the
House of Representatives the recesses
between the receiving of messages from
the Senate and the President were
given over to wild hilarity. There were
singing contests between the members
on the floor and the newspaper men in
the press gallery Every member on
the floor had an American flag. They
waved the flags and sang all the old
melodies and a lot of songs of brand
new construction set to the old tunes.
Aside from the regular supply bills
making appropriations for the support
OF the government during the next fiscal
year, the achievements and failures of
Congress during the session may be
summarized as follows:
What Congress Has Done.
Enacted an emergency currency law.
Prohibited child labor in the District
of Columbia.
Prohibited race track gambling in the
District of Columbia.
Increased widows existing nensions
from SIS to So a month.
Granted pensions of S12 a month to
practically all widows of Mexican and
Civil War soldiers.
Authorized expenditures of $4,000 600
for public buildings.
Authorized general appropriations
amounting to nearly billion dollars.
Ordered a currency commission to re-
port on revision of financial and banking
laws of the country.
Reclassifed the consular service.
Passed employers liability law to take
place of the one declared unconstitutional
by the Supreme Court of the United
States.
Permitted free operation of foreign yes
sells IN trade with Philippines.
Passed administration bill authorizing
employees to sue the government for per-
sonal injuries sustained while in the line
of duty.
Established a range for breeding
American buffalo.
Started the machinery for tariff re-
vision by the appointment of an investi-
cation commission.
Authorized the construction of two bat
tleships with the promise of two next ses-
sion.
Raised the pay of all officers and men
of the army and navy, marine corps and
revenue cutter service.
Passed a militia law making every
able-bodied man between IS and 40 years
liable to service.
Adopted arbitration treaties with near
ly every country in Europe and with
Japan.
Continued the work of the waterways
commission.
Provided for the defense of the Philip
pines and Hawaiian ports by submarine
mines and Notifications.
Appropriated $1,5OO,OOO for participa-
ton by the United States in the Japanese
exposition of 1910.
What Congress Has Not Done.
Refused to place wood pulp on the
free hist.
Declined to accept President Roosevelt's
four battleship proposition.