The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-05
CONGRESS CLOSES
 NOTABLE SESSION Senate ReasSembIeS At Once to Take Up Nominations HOUSE MEETS ON THE 18TH Appropriations During Past Congress Have outstripped All Records and
 Big Deficit Is to Be Ac-
 counted For.
HOUSE MEETS ON. THE 18TH

Washington, March 4-The Sixtieth Con gress came to an end at noon today, and it glided into the Sixty-hrst so impercep- ! tibly that the change was scarcely notice able. The final act, though unofficial in- solar as the House was concerned took place in the Senate chamber where both houses witnessed the incoming of the new 1 administration.
 | The Senate will meet at noon tomorrow | to consider President Taft's nominations, ' but the House will not convene again l until the beginning of the extra session of Congress to be called for the 18th inst l The Senate met at 9:S0 a m., but the | proceedings were confined to the most l formal work, mainly adoption of the | complete report of the conferees on the l pension appropriation bill, the last of the 1 great supply measures which the House 1 also passed within one hour of adjourn
 ment, and the appointment of two or I three commissions in connection with re- ] cent congressional enactments. Vice l President Fairbanks delivered an address l in response to resolutions thanking him | for his conduct of the office.
 1 Immediately after adjournment of the l Sixtieth the proclamation of the Presi- l dent calling the Senate in extraordinary session to consider presidential appoint ments was read at the direction of the new Vice President, MT. Sherman. Final Adjournment. Utterly lacking in all the stirring incl dents usually marking the close of a Con- gress, the House at Il :591a o'clock was declared by Speaker Cannon to be ad- | journed without day. Having reconvened at 10 o'clock in the morning the two hours were spent in cleaning up confer ence reports and passing a few bills of no l great public interest.
 | Speaker Cannon received unanimous | vote of thanks which he acknowledged amid loud applause.
 The special committee appointed to 1 wait upon the President as Is the custom | reported that he had no further com munications to make The speaker wished | the members. peace, health and prosperity and the House adjourned, the members marching in order to the Senate During the sessions Chairman Tawney of the appropriations committee in the House declared that the expenditures of | the government have at no time except in 1 war increased as rapidly as during the past eight years, primarily caused by popular and executive demands upon l Congress for appropriations for the ex- ercise of rights and functions belonging | exclusively to the states and the abnor- nal and unnecessary war expenditures in
 time of peace.
 Big Appropriations. Appropriations during the past eight
 years, including the fiscal year 1910, he
 said, were equal to s7,O07, ,839, ,1S3, and he | declared that at the end of the present
 fiscal year there will be a deficit of
 $150, ,00o, ,O00. He severely criticized the ex- ! ecutive branch for submitting estimates
 of expenditures far in excess of estimates loG 1tw.4.
 tions for the expiring session at s1,O44- I 014,29S.
 MT Livingstone of Georgia, the ranking 1 minority member of the committee, char acterized the appropriations as stupen- dous, saying that they exceeded last ses- sion by $35, ,616,7 754, and greater than at any two session prior to 1898. He de- clared Congress should be commended | for the millions 1t had refused to ap- propriate notwithstanding the pressure | brought to bear by the executive and the 1 badgering of innumerable interests on all l sides clamoring to get their hands into l the treasury.
 1 Senator Culberson submitted a state- ment covering the past seven years, stat ] ing that the increase of appropriations for 1910 show an increase over those 1 for 1903 of over s328, 100000, or about 51 1 per cent, and that the treasury estimated | expenditures for 1910 exceed 1902 by over 1 $375, 900 GOO, an increase of 63 per cent in eight years.
 In the failure of Minority Leader Clark ] to present the usual resolutions to the retiring speaker, MT. Payne, the major i ity leader, presented them and MT. Can
 non, in reply, alluded to MT. Clark's i attitude, without mentioning it specifical- i ly, and then said:
 Cannon's Address. After all Is said and done in the af- | fairs of parties and men what is needed
 In the public service is virile men; men
 who favor policies that. they believe in
 and have the courage of their convic- l tions. Whether it be the majority or the
 minorty-and a minority virile and pa- l triotic Is as necessary as is a majority
 in a government of the people-strong
 men in public life as well in private l life, strike above the belt and tell the
 truth. As one member of this House,
 and under the tongue of good report and l evil report I have performed my duty as a representative and speaker to the ! best of my Judgment without regard to l personal consequences to me. I thank the
 members of the House for their co-opera- ton, approval or criticism when approval
 or criticism is not fulsome on the one | hand or captous on the other, for the
 mere purpose of praise or the mere pur- | pose of condemnation.
 'I wish you health and prosperity in-
 dividually Some of you are not mem
 bers of the incoming Congress. You
 join the great body of citizenship in pri-
 vate life; you will perform your duties
 there as well no doubt. You may re- | turn again. I can look in the faces, of
 many of you who depart from public life,
 on both sides of the House, with sorrow
 and not joy at your departure. May
 peace. health and prosperity. attend your
 footsteps"
 The speakers remarks brought general
 applause