Perth Amboy evening news., 1912-12-02
SHORT SESSION
FOR CONGRESS
Capital Filled Up for the
First Meeting that Mas
Held Today.
JOB HUNTERS IN FORCE
Presidents Message Will Be
Received Tomorrow -Anx-
ious About the Tariff.

Washington, Dec. 2.-When the last
session of the Sixty-second congress
convened at noon today practically a
full representation of both houses was
present. Familiar scenes of political
and social activity are being reenact-
ed In the hotels and other haunts of
official circles. In addition to the sen
ators and representatives there is an
unusually large number of outsiders,
who have been drawn to Washington
at this time for one reason or another.
Many Democrats have come on to in
terview senators and representatives
about Office under the new admlnistra-
ton. A considerable representation
from commercial bodies and industrial
enterprises is here to Inquire about the
tariff. The announcement by Chair
man Underwood of the ways and means
committee that hearings will begin i'm
mediately after the holidays was a sig
nal to all the industrial interests and to
Importers to hurry to Washington and
make their plans to be heard.
Little Of Importance will be done in
either house today. Both houses VIII
adjourn almost Immediately after being
called to order out of respect for the
memory Of notable men who have died
since the last adjournment.
President Taft's first message, deal
Ing with foreign relations, will go to
congress tomorrow. His second mes
sage, dealing with general subjects,
will be submitted Friday, according to
present information. With the knowl-
edge that the senate will promptly ad-
journ the president will hardly send in
any nomination today.
The supreme court divided interest
with the two houses Of congress. The
court met at noon after two weeks va
cation, and there IS a general expecta-
ton that some of the opinions In i'm
portant trust cases which have been
long deferred will be read. One of the
most important is the anthracite coal
case. Another case of wide interest Is
the suit brought by the government to
dissolve the merger of the Hartman
lines.
Members of the house who nave ar
rived in Washington are giving most
Of their attention to the preparation Of
the general appropriation bills. There
is general sentiment expressed by
senators and representatives that the
session which opened today will prob
ably transact very little important busi-
ness outside Of the general appropria-
ton bills The ways and means com
mittee of the house will be busy with
tariff hearings, and it is not unlikely
that the Democratic members of the
senate will be in daily touch with these
hearings, believing that in this way
tariff legislation may be expedited after
it has been submitted to the extra ses-
sion.
One Of the most important bills be-
fore the house is the employers lila bill
ity and workmen's compensation act,
which was passed by the senate at the
last session and is now before COM
mittee of the house, Representatives
of the railway brotherhood are all
working to bring about the passage Of
the act.
Next to the compensation bill the
chief interest Is in the Works resolu-
ton that Is unfinished business of the
senate, which proposes an amendment
to the legislation limiting the tenure of
presidential office to single term of
| six years.