Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-05

The routine by which the two houses 81
Congress take the ideas of their members
and bring them to perfected Legislation ts
an involved one. but nothing Is left I'M
done to insure the successful operation OF
the legislative machine at all stages. The
displacement Of comma may involve
the constitutionality OF law or change
the purpose Of a million-dollar appropria-
tien bill, and In the multitude OF amend
ments written into a big measure 1t Is
only too easy to misplace one. Congress
tries at all times to forefend itself against
error.
When bill Is introduced in the Senate,
the senator introducing it rises, address,
es the chair. and announces that he Of
fers the bill. A page then carries It to
the desk Of the principal legislative clerk.
The president Of the Senate announces
the bill and says, without objection 1t
will be referred to such and such . COM
mittee. After the legislative clerk has
recorded the bill in the Senate journal 1t
is sent to the bill clerk. who permits the
Official reporters Of the Senate to copy 1t
for the Record. The bill clerk next en-
tiers it in his record by number and title.
after which 1t Is carried to the gov
procedure is much the same, except that
all bills are laid in q basket, called the
hopper" by the members Offering them.
The clarks take them from the hopper
and make the usual records.
The government printing Office receives
the bill as prepared by the senator or
member intro
Bills Are Printed, ducins It A
Jhen Distributed. IS ssna Of 0, esn II II
interest, is called public bill and 625
copies are printed. II 1t is merely to give
some one pension or to allow some ag-
grieved person damages or other relief, 1t
is called a private bill and only 800 copies
are printed. These copies are distributed
to the document rooms and other places
where files Of BILLY introduced are kept.
Two copies Of each bill are delivered to
the bill clerks Of the two houses and two
copies to the distributing clerks-one for
filing and the other for delivery to the
committee to which the bill has been re-
ferred.
When the committee receives a bill its
clerk notifies the members Of that COM
mfttee that q meeting will be held on q
date set by the chairman. II the COM
n,ittee thinks the bill unworthy of the
attention Of the Senate 1t is pigeon
holed," and usually that Is its deathkneli
u the committee thinks the bill deserves
such fate 1t votes to report the bill
adversely, and II It meets with favor it
- reported as 1t stands or with amend
ments. Sometimes q committee attempts
to pigeenhoie bill when member of
the Senate thinks It should not be- He
Is prtvileged to move the discharge Of
the committee. II committee is dis
charged the Senate may settle the mat
ter: At other times a committee may
make q report which does not suit the
Senate, and the Senate may decide to
recommit to the committee, with instruc-
tons to bring it out in a certain shape.
When the bill is favorably reported it
goes through the same routine as when,
1t was introduced. A report accompanies
the bill. and 1t may be q report OF one
page Or Of several hundred pages, Just
as a bill may vary In length. Eleven
hundred copies Of the reports of COM
mittees are printed.
When a bill. has been. reported by a
committee 1t goes to the single calendar