The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-12-29
BUSINESS LAGS
IN CONGRESS
Naval Affairs Rushing, However,
and Marines Resting
Satisfied.
By Ernest G. Walker.

ing because of the status Of public
business with which they have imme
diately to deal. One example sufficeS
to show the kind of causes that bring
about this attitude. A certain mem
Der of the cabinet, who did deal ct
travelling during the summer and an
tumn and who is very popular in Wash
ington society just now, has been at
tending to other things to the exel.l-
sion of the business Of MS department
The house committee, which makes up
the appropriation bill for that branch
of the public service, had ambitious
plans for conducting hearings and get
ting the bin well out of the way be-
fore the holidays.
But this particular cabinet official
has not formulated his plans or made
his recommendations. Accordingly his
subordinates were not ready to appear
before the committee and announce
their program for appropriations. The
committee has been waiting, simply
waiting, and the present prospect is
that it will have to go ahead without
the required information from the cabi-
net official but depend upon its being
furnished later on, perhaps when the
appropriation bin in question reaches
the senate.
There are humorous instances like
this, which explain much of the delay
on Capitol Hill. For while it is moth
ing exceptional for congress to do moth
ing before the holidays, it is custom
airy for the various committees of the
house to "get busy and to GO far
toward preparing legislation for the
postholiday period.
Appropriations to Figure.
Not only the regular appropriation
committee of the house, but the naval
committee, the military committee, the
postoffice committee, the agricultural
committee and the Indian committee
have appropriation bills to prepare.
These bills involve the hearing of a
vast number of government officials,
who are expected to explain in detail
the conditions prevailing in their of
fees, the need for funds, the uses to
which these are put and so forth. In
some cases the preparation of these
bills has gone forward satisfactorily
but on the whole the work OF the
various executive departments is SO
backward this year that the committee
have often to wait for information
which should be ready on the very first
day of the session.
After the hearings, which generally
are printed in pamphlet form for ref
erence as well as for purposes of a
permanent record, quite time is nee
essarv to make up the bills. The
amount to be appropriated under this
head and that head has to be deter
mined upon after the departmental Of
feials have been heard. The committee
chairmen like to get the hearings out
of the way early SO that they can
have their bills made up as soon as
possible after the holidays. They then
have better chance to obtain early
consideration in the house, which as
sures speedier consideration in the sem
ate and often the signing of the appro-
priation law in advance of the end
of the session, so that there will not
be the usual crush just before congress
is getting ready to go home.
Navy Bill in Shape.
One set of hearings, however, that IS
being disposed of rapidly, is that on
the navy appropriation bill Admirals
and captains galore have been tramp
ing to the rooms of the naval affairs
committee of late every forenoon and
telling of the requirements OF the ser
vice and standing cross-examlnatlons
before the representatives who sit
around the big mahogany table. Usual
~ the naval appropriation bill IS one
of the last to get before the house.
That is because of the large total 1t
carries in recent years and because of
the many troublesome problems carried
on that measure as provisions Of legis-
lation.
Marines Satisfied.
Among other things it appears set
tied that there viii be no aggression
against the Marine Corps this year nor
any effort to take the marines off the
warships. That was accomplished
through an order by President Roose-
Welt about year ago and was suisse
ouently apnulled by provision of con-
gress. The naval authorities are dis
posed now to accept that action as
final and will allow the marines to con-
tinue on sea as well as land service
the same as heretofore. The marine
officers. who have resisted the removal
of their men from warships, feel sat
isfed that that struggle is over for
many wears to come. There are so
many other things that the navy wants
from congress it is unlikely that the
old controversy will be reopened-
Junketers Late.
Another belated government branch
this year is the waterways commission,
composed of senators and members,
who travelled to Europe during the sum
mer visiting rivers and canals up and
down the continent with a view TO
making recommendations, some of
which might be embodied in the river
and harbor appropriation bill this year.
The extra session of congress last sum
mer kept the iunketers in Washington
till early August They therefore re-
turned to the United States late and
have been unable thus far to make
up their report. Meanwhile the river
and harbor committee is hardly turning
a wheel because it wants to hear from
the waterways commission.