Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-24

"HE procedure by which the two
houses of Congress take up the
5000 bills introduced by their
members. select from them the
ideas which are to be incor-
| porated into law, and work them over
into perfected legislation is most involved
and complicated. In order for the reader
| to get proper idea of the operation of
the legislative machine in the taking of a
bill introduced by member and working
| 1t over into a federal statute, let rs take
| an actual bill and follow it through all
of its stages from its introduction to its
| approval by the President and its en-
| shrinement as law
March %, 1909. Representative John J.
Esch of Wisconsin, introduced a bill re-
| curing railroads and other common car
rfers engaged In interstate and foreign
| commerce to make fun reports of all ac-
| cidents to the interstate commerce COM
| mission, and authorizing Investigations
I thereof by the commission. He placed
| this bill. with many others, in what is
known the hopper of the House, a
| large basket In which members place all
bills which they introduce. The par
| liamentary clerk at the Speakers table
| acting in behalf of the Speaker. and in
| accordance with the rules of the House.
wrote on the bill a statement referring it
| to the committee on interstate and for
| eign commerce. The bill was then sent to
the journal clerk and other clerks of the
| House, where records Of its introduction
! were made. AT this stage OF the jour
ney the newspaper men had opportun-
| ity to read 1t and to report it to their
papers.
After the House records of the intro
ductfon of the bill We're completed, it was
| sent to the government printing office
and 620 copies of 1t were printed. These
| copies We're deposited in the document
| room, where files of all bills are kept
| Two copies of the bill We're delivered to
the bill clerks Of the two. houses. and.
| two copies to the distributing clerk, one
of them going to the committee to which
the bill was referred.
December IA. 1909 the committee on in
| terstate and foreign commerce voted to
report the measure to the House with its
amendment and to recommend its pass
age. When the hour for making commit
tee reports arrived. Mr.. Esch announced
| that his committee. having considered
| the bill. had decided TO report it favorably
with amendment and that IL was accom-
panied by written report of the COM
| mittee. Thereupon. the Speaker ordered
| the bill and the report referred to the
House calendar.
1t then went another trip through
| the hands of the recording clerks Of the
House, and was sent to the government
printing office, where LOO copies OF the
lowing day. which was known as calendar
Wednesday, the Speaker directed the call
| of committees. and when the committee
| on interstate and foreign commerce was
reached, Representative James Mann
called up this bill from the House cal
endar. he being chairman of the commit
| tee.
| The Speaker announced that the clerk
would report the bill. This meant that
the clerk would read the bill in full to-
gether with the amendment proposed by
the committee. ThereupOn Mr.. Mann an
nounced that he would yield to Mr.. Esch
such time as he required to discuss the
provisions of the bill and the amendments
made by the committee. Each side of
the House. republican and democratic. is
given an equal length OF time in which
to debate any bin when the pending
| matter is a party question: when it is
not a party question the proponents and
opponents of the measure divide the time
for debate equally. After the Esch bill
| was debated the question was taken on
its passage. and. there being no strenii-
GUS opposition to ii, it was passed with
out division.
The clerk of the House thereupon GER
titled that the measure had passed the
House, and again 1t went through the
process of being recorded and printed,
and certified copy was carried by the
clerk of the House to the Senate cham
Der. Upon entering the Senate chamber
the sergeant-at-arms Of the Senate an
! nounced to the Vice President the ar
rival of a message from the House. Upon
being recognized. the House clerk stated
| to the Senate that he had been directed
to announce that the House had passed
this bill. Thereupon the Vice President
took the bill and referred it to the Sen
ate committee on interstate commerce.
When the Senate committee on inter
state commerce received the bill it's
clerk sent notices to the various MEM
bers OF the committee that a meeting
would be held for the consideration of
this and other measures. When the
meeting was held the members gathered
around long table. seated in the order
OF the length of their service on the COM
mittee. the chairman at the head of the
table. They discussed the measure and
decided to amend it SO as to make il
differ from the bill which passed the
House. Later. February lS 1910. Sena
tor Cullom reported the bill to the Sem
ate with the amendments the committee
had added. and with report from the
was taken from the calendar and con-
sideration Of it begun Thereupon Sena-
tor Aldrich declared that there were
some changes which ought to be made
to the committee for further considera-
| ton. The Vice President called for
vote on that proposition. and it was SO
The committee reported it back to the
Senate with further amendments
March H. March u the bill was brought
up DefOre the senate and was debated
by that body sitting as a committee of
the whole. The various members Of the
Senate discussed it, and then postponed
further consideration because Of the alb
sence of Senator Culom. April Sena-
tor Cuilom asked unanimous consent
that the bill be taken UP for considera-
ton. and the Senate, sitting as a COM
mittee Of the whole, resumed considera-
ton OF the measure. Senator Hepburn
had objected to a certain passage in 1t
and upon this objection Senator Cullom
moved that the passage be stricken from
the measure This was agreed to. Then
| Senator Cuilom moved another amend
nlent to make the measure effective sixty
days after it's passage. This amend
| ment also was carried Then the
committee OF the whole was through
with its work and reported the bill to
| the Senate amended The Senate
| thereupon ordered the amendment to be
| engrossed and the bill to be read a third
timex The reading clerk then read out
the title of the bill and the Senate
| Passed 1t without division
/ Then the measure was printed again as
passed by the Senate. and its clerk car
ried certified copy of the amended
measure back to the House with the
! declaration to that body that he was
directed to announce that the Senate had