El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-05
Process or IepfxI.,ion

L-udi LEGISLATIVE prOOucJ Is not Tar from
S5,0OO,00
Process OF Legislation.
The routine by which the two
houses of congress take the ideas OF
their. members and bring them TO per-
fected legislation is an involved one,
but nothing is left undone to insure
the successful operation of the Iegis-
lative machine at all stages. The mis-
placement OF a comma may involve the
constitutionality of a law or change
the purpose OF a million dollar apprO-
priation bill, and in the multitude OF
amendments written into a big meas
ure IL is only TOO easy to MISPLACE one
congress tries a all times to forefend
itself against error.
When bill is introduced in the SEN
ate, the senator introducing it rises.
addresses the chair and announces that
ne offers the BILL page then carries
it to the desk of the principal legisIa-
tive clerk. The president of the SEN
ate announces the bill and says, with
out objection 1t Will be referred Tn
Such and such a committee After the
legislative clerk has recorded the bill
In the senate journal, it is sent TO the
Dill clerk, who permits the official re-
porters of the senate TO COPY 1T for the
Record. The bill clerk next enters il
IN his record by number and title.
a1ter which it is carried to the gov
eminent printing office. In the house
the procedure is much the same. ex
cept that all bills are laid in a bas-
ket called the hopper" by the mem
oers offering them. The clerks take
them from the hopper and make the
usual records
The government printing office re-
celves the bill as prepared by the SEN
ator or member Introducing it A SEN
ate DILL II 1t IS Of general interest,
is called public bill and 625 COPIES
are printed. If II is merely TO give
someone d pension or to allow some
agSrleved person damages or other
relief, il is called a private bin. and
only 900 copies are printed These
copies are distributed TO the document
rooms and other places where files of
bills introduced are kept. Two COPIES
OF each bill are delivered to the bill
cierks-One for filing. and the other
Tor deiivery to the committee to which
the bill has been referred
Fate of Some Bills
When the committee receives a bill
Us clerk notifies the members OF that
committee that a meeting will be held
on a date set by the chairman II
the committee thinks the bill IN
worthy of the attention of the senate il
Is pIgeonholed' and usually that is
its death knelI If the COMMITTEES
thinks the bill deserves such a fate II
votes to report the bill adversely, and
II II meets with favor it is repor4e6
as IL STANDS or with amendments
sometimes committee attempts TO
pigeOnhole a bill when a member of
the senate thinks it should not be He
is privileged to move the discharge of
the committee If q committee is dis
charged the senate may settle the mat.
ter. At other times a committee may
make a report which does not suit the
senate, and the senate may decide TO
reeomnit TO the COMMITTEES. with in
structlorS TO bring ii out in a certain
shape. When the bill is favorablv re-
ported II goes through the same rou-
tine as when it was introduced
report accompanies the bill and il NAV
be report of one page or Of several
hundred pages, just as a bill may vary
In length Eleven hundred copies OF
the reports of committees are printed
When bill has been reported by a
committee il goes to the single caIen-
OAR OF the senate. there TO take its
turn or to be brought out of its -egu-
lar order by unanimous consent The
house has three calendars-tsIe house.
the union and the unanimous consent
calendar, which render the legfslative
program of the TWO bodies different
at this point. When the senate passes
a bill 1t is printed on heavy blue pa
per. one copy being retained in the
senate and the other copy in the
house The act of passing II IS re-
corded after which 1t is sent TO the
enrolling clerk, where IT is enrolled and
i've blue. paper prints ordered One
copy Is signed by the secretary Of the
senate, and ore Of the senate officers
CONTINUED on Next Page.)