The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-07-21
CONGRESSP[ANSTO ID ADJOURN IN AUGUST Many Obstacles May Arise
 Any Time, However BIG SUPPLY BILLS YET President Has Been Vetoing Appro- priation Bills and Is Likely to
 Continue Doing So-Senate
 Cause of Delay
BIG SUPPLY BILLS YET
By RopERIcK CLIFFORD

| between the first and the fifteenth Of
 August" in the opinion of the leaders
 in the Senate and House, the present
 session of Congress will be brought to
 a close.
 There is no agreement among them that there shall be an adjournment at that time and there are many obstacles
 which may arise to prevent the get-a-
 way until later. and nothing to indicate that the time for closing down the mill of Legislation might come sooner, but there Is a general trend and an aiming toward a date somewhere in the first half of next month when affairs may be
 wound up and members of Congress may return to their homes.
 The anxiety for an adjournment as
 early as possible is apparent on every
 hand A great national campaign Is be-
 ing prepared for launching. The chief
 figures in that contest have already
 been named. and politicians of both par
 ties realize that the fight will be fierce The political fate of many member of
 the Senate and House will be decided
 In connection with the contest of the
 principals, and they are therefore de-
 sirous of getting back among their con
 stituents and of making an effort to convince them that they are still wor- thy of their suffrage. Building and re- pairing political fences this process is
 called, and 1t is apparent that there are many such constructions which are sad ly in need of attention. Some have been
 swept away almost entirely by the
 events of the past few weeks, leaving practically no evidence of the dividing | line which they represented, while oth- CTS have been so badly damaged as a re- suit of the political storms that noth-
 ing short of an all summers work will
 put them Tn condition, and the fact is
 many of them probably never will be restored.
 | Despite the unanimity of the desire | on the part of members of both parties and of both houses to bring about close of the session. there still remains at this writing much important and
 necessary legislation to be enacted.
 The passage of the appropriation bills
 are absolutely essential. Were Con gress to go home and leave them with | out action, the President would be | obliged to reassemble Congress to take
 them up. for the expenses of the gov
 ernment, with exceptions in certain in- | stances, are now being paid under au-
 thority of a joint resolution passed on July 1, the first day of the fiscal year, l simply continuing the appropriations of | the past fiscal year until the customary appropriation measures are enacted | into laws.
 The first week of July went by with | only three of the big supply bills writ 1 ten on the statute books These three were the least important of all of them. They were the District of Columbia ap propriation bill. the bill making appro- priations for fortifcations and the bill | making appropriations for the diplo- | matic and consular service. All the l others were pending either in the Sen
 ate or in conference, the House having | gotten through with all except the gen. l eral deficiency measure which cannot be considered until after the others have been gotten out of the way. One big appropriation ~bill. that providing for | the support of the army was passed by
 both houses and sent to the President | who vetoed 1t because of certain legis- lation which 1t contained affecting the | appointment to the post of chief of the | general staff in the army. During the II first week in July it was passed by the House without the provision to which | the President took exception, and sent over to the Senate.
  the support of the legislative. executive
 and judicial branches of the govern | ment is likely to meet a similar fate at l the hands of the President because of | the provisions which it contains abro- l gating the United States Court of Com 1 merce. Should the President likewise l disapproye this measure, there Is lfk e. ly to be a prolonged fight over the re- enactment of the legislative bill with out this provision, as Congress seems disposed to eliminate the tribunal. Diff ficulty will also be experienced in an agreement between the two houses on | the naval appropriation bill. The Sem ate has declared In favor of the authori- zation of two battleships this year.
 while the House Is determined that no
 such action shall be taken, and dead | lock Is likely to result. Other appro- priation bills such as rivers and har- bors, sundry civil and agriculture are provocative of differences of opinion between the two houses because Of the | large increases which the Senate has
 made in the appropriations over the
 amounts voted by the House. Moreover the subject of a parcels post and H the provision for a commission to fnves-
 tigate the subject of taking over the express companies and conducting a postal express under the postal system as provided for in the post office ap- propriation bill, are destined to cause a long disagreement between the House and Senate.
 Even with the appropriation bills out of the way, and they are not likely to be disposed of until the last moment, there remain other matters of legigla- ton which are regarded as of the high ! est importance. So far as the House Is concerned 1t was imposition to have agreed to adjournment by the first of July, or even before, but the accumula- ton of business in the Senate Is what has delayed the final wind-up One of these important measures is the bill providing for the conduct of the Pana- ma canal and the regulation of tolls. It's passage at this session Is considered imperative if the waterways is to be placed in successful operation with the beginning of 1915. The canal bill has passed the House, and the Senate wants upwards of three weeks for It's consid- eration. In all probability the bill will be amended in the Senate and then will come the question of agreement on these amendments by the House. There are on-partisan questions involved and both sides are determined to make a stubborn fight for the principles which
 they consider involved.
 | So far as tariff legislation Is concern ed, there Is scant possibility of any measure affecting the customs duties ! being enacted at this session. Of the several measures of this character re- ported by the ways and means commit tee this session, none has so far reached the President. The only one to pas II hoth houses is the bill revising and re-