The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-01-08
INTRODUCING A BILL IN CONGRESS-

newsnaper correspondent whose pa
nor circulates in his district ana tens
him about it. If it is particularly
dull with the correspondent and ne
wants to do the congressman a good
turn he writes a story about the IN
PRODUCTION of the bill. Frequently
If is the correspondent reports
which flashes the photograph across
the home readers mind,
10000 Bills So Far This Session
Scarcely bill has passed the
bouse of representatives at this SEES
sion or a resolution, except those to
authorize the appropriation to pay
the members their salaries But
something over ten thousand DlliS
have been introduced. About the
only ones who know that they nave
been introduced are the journal
clerks who take them out OF the pas
ket and number and list them by
title. the type-setter at the printing
office who sets them up, the PROOF
reader who reads the proof, and the
man who introduced them. VI
course some of them will become
laws. possibly one-fifth of one per
cent. of them, just speaking off-hand.
Most of them will never be heard or
in congress again, and among this
class. strange as it may seem, are
ALWAYS some which are made issues
in local campaigns for congress.
The Committees Work.
When congress reassembles after
the holidays the committees will
meet and each committee clerk Will
have a long list of bills which have
been referred to his committee by
the sneaker. A few will be picked
out and read by some one of two
members. who, if he finds it worth
while, will tell the other members
about it. Each member Of the com
mittee is more than apt to have a
number of bills of his own referred
to his committee, for he feels that
he might get it considered by ms
own committee If there is not serl-
Gus opposition to the bill in the COM
mittee it sometimes gets a favorable
report, and the man who introduced
the bill is allowed to write the re-
mort Most of the bills, however, are
not considered at all, for the commit
tee has not the time If there is OBJ
lection on the part of majority OF
the committee then it gets an I'M
favorable report, the chief director
writing the report, and the advocate
of the bill writing a minority report
if he wishes.
A Report Doesn't Mean Passage.
A report one way or the other
does not mean passage, not even CON
sideration on the floor. The speaker
must be seen and his consent must
be had before the bill can come up
in the house. If the speaker is OPP
posed to the bill he just refuses to
recognize any one to bring it up, and
there is no wey to get it up. Or
course a bill which has an unfavor-
able report of a committee has little
chance of getting before the house,
and practically it never does unless
it is a pet hobby of the speaker.
There is no intention, as there is
no time Just now, of describing the
whole process of bill passing. |
have told enough to show that the
mere introduction of bill amounts
to mighty little hereabouts. AS the
saying is, Anybody can introduce
bill" and thousands are introduced
at every session which the men who
introduce them have not the most
remote hope of passing.
New Members Have Most Bills.
New members are the greatest bill
Their more experienced
smile at them and say
They remember their own
ardor and enthusiasm, and would not
take away the delightful experience
of introducing a bill in congress and
have the fact printed in the papers
at home. Some members never get
too old for the enjoyment of intro
ducing useless bills. Some of them
feel that bill is the best way to
show their constituents that they are
working for their interests; and In
truth there is often good reason for
this, for many constituents have a
feeling that if their congressman is
not introducing bills for the improve
ment of the country he is doing moth
ing in Washington and might as well
be at home and somebody else in his
place Mary congressman do not
feel themselves equal to the task of
showing their constituents that the
mere introduction of bills per Sc, es-
pecially by a democrat, amounts to
absolutely nothing in about ninety
nine one hundredths of the cases.
So look for bills and more bills as
the session proceeds Some will, of
course pass, but it is time enough
to get excited about them when they
are scheduled to come up in the
house.
If a cough once gets into your sys-
TEN it acts on every muscle and fibre
of the body and makes you ache all