Evening journal., 1909-03-01
CONGRESS IS
NEARING END

cratiOns Of the treasury secret service,
+ nc said. ami ne denounced it as an action
that could be of benefit only to the Grim
inal class. lie also intimated that maybe
the congrcssmcn had been Influenced by
the possibility OF personal investigation.
This produced state Of eruption in
both branches OF Congress. but more
especially In the House. Rctaliatory moa-
sures, running all the way up TO impcach-
mcnt We're considered by the agsrieved
statesmen Conferences were held by the
leaders Of the senate. and House and
they finally agreed upon line OF action.
A Senate Committee entered upon an in
vestgation OF the treasury secret service.
and II is stil in progress. A retiring SEN
ator, according 10 report, is 70 be en-
ploycd 10 continue the investigation until
/ further orders
Secret Service Fight.
In the House, special committee was
appointed TO consider the secret service
section Of the Presidents message. In due
time, the committee presented "a report
that the offending portion Of the message
be laid on the table, and that was done.
following general and strenuous bonn
( bardmont Of oraiory.
Another special comittce was appoint
4 ed to find out how much money Congress
had appropriated for secret scrvice work
Ia other departments than the treasury. 1t
reported back the various appropriations,
and tho total amount was well I'm the mill
lions. Tho committee Is stin at work IN
an effort 20 ascertain how tho depart
ments spent tho money, and with what
result.
BY way Of diversion, the House passed
a resolution calling upon the President
for a statement of the facts. upon which
no based the structures In his annual
message. lie responded with a special
message that did Not take back anything
ho had said in his annual message. but
praised highly the work of the treasury
secret service before tho time that Con-
gress put on the limitation.
The charge brought by the President
that senator rlllman had been speculating
la oregon public lands. and the Senator $
response thereto, made a feature Of this
controversy early IN the session. Tillman
demanded an investigation, but it has not
been granted him.
An influence that has operated against
the enactment OF important legislation has
been the coming change in the national
administration Tho Congressmen have
boon desirous OF hearing officially from
President Taft and of taking his views
into consideration, IA the passage OF laws
on important pending questions.
An important bin passed by both bran
ches OF Congress. provided for the taking
Of the next census. II was vetoed by the
President and is now dead. The Prcsi-
dents objection lay in the fact that the
bin provided for the appointment OF CEN
sus employees through non-competitive
examinations. Roosevelt insisted that the
hiring be- n strict accordance with the
civil service law
a bill was passed by both tho House and
Senate, creating an army commission 10
hear the statements OF members of the
colored battalion, mustered out OF service
at Brownsville and to restore to the army
such as are able to prove themselves in
nocen..
In am hours time Congress appropriated
ssoOOoO for the RELIEF OF the Italian vol
cano victims
Water Ways Commission.
An inland waterways commission Is cre-
ated by the river and harbor bill. A law
was enacted requiring improved accommo-
datlons Tor Steerage passengers. Both
NlNNillfN IhnrtN a hiAl ifNiFlllN anu NNQAAA
ing the penal laws. but a section prohibit-
ing express companies ssom sending al
coholic liquors c. O. n. and requiring
the contents and the name Of the receiver
20 be marked on the packages, is still in
dispute.
The House passed bills to make import
ant changes 10 the bankruptcy law, to en-
force the use OF certain safety appliances
on railroad cars TO prohibit the importa-
tion OF opium, except for medicinal pur-
poses; 10 require ocean passenger steam
ors TO be equipped with the wireless tele-
graph. 20 protect entrymen under whose
land coal IS discovered; for the govern
mont Of the canal zone; and to strengthen
the American Red Cross.
Most OF those measures were also passed
by the Senate. and have become laws The
most important ones that failed to get
through the Senate are the wireless tcle-
graph bill. and that for the government
OF the Canal Zone.
AT the first session Of this Congress tho
Senate passed the Gaillnger bill. incress-
} Ing the rates TO be paid for carrying the
malls TO South America, Australia, and
! Asia. II is now pending in tho House. on
favorable report from the House Commit
tee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce,
where its fate is yet uncertain.
The proposed legislation to suppress the
gambling IN cotton futures. Is likely TO
fail, as Is also the Currier copyright bin.
There have been about $500 bills intro
duced. out OF which ono and quarter per
cent. have become laws. This small per-
centage includes a large number Of pen
sion bills. for the benefit of individuals
Less than 300 public bills win become laws
Among a large number OF treaties with
foreign countries ratified by the senate,
most OF them being treaties OF arbitra-
, tion. extradition or naturalization, per-
, haps the most important were that with
! Great Britain, governing the uses Of the
boundary waters between the United
States. and Canada, and those with Pan.
anna, and Colombia. The extraditlon Will
n Honduras removed the last haven OF ref.
e uge for criminals fleeing from this coun.
y try, and. being made retroactive. has
caused quite scare among the criminal
colony" in that colony
At each session Of the Sixtioth Congress.
n two giant batiieships have been author.
3 lied, but appeals for money to promot,
y the study OF aerial navigation for mill.
h tary purposes were not needed.
:. : KlENLE WRITES