The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-03

Washington, March with both
the senate and the house in the I'M
usual situation of sitting in the legis-
lative session of Sunday, the Sixty
second congress today and tonight
dragged it's weary way through a
maze of tangled business toward its
conclusion that will come at noon
Tuesday.
Thousands of visitors in Washing
ton for the inauguration took adj
vantage Of the Sunday night session
to see the lawmakers at work. The
end of the session had brought many
who were interested in various bills
which they had hoped might be slipped
through in rather disorderly procedure
in the house, where Speaker Clark
shattered the sounding board of his
desk with his gavel in his efforts to
control the noisy attendance on the
floor and in the galleries.
The two-battleships program was
threatened with defeat late tonight
when the house and senate conference
decided they could make no agree
ment between the ne-battleship pro-
gram of the house and the two-bat-
tleship plan of the senate. All other
debated points in the naval bill were
adjusted but the conferences decided
it was useless to attempt to adjust
the battleship tangle and the commit
tee adjourned at II o'clock without
any plan for another meeting. The
result threatens the defeat of the en-
tire s150,000 900 appropriation bill.
The house conferences declined to
yield the one-battleship plan n also
refused to take the issue back to the
house for another vote.
A dozen conference committees
worked throughout tonight's session
struggling to reach agreements salts
factory to both houses on various
measures. Several potential fill
busters were apparent in both houses
with opponents of proposed bills
ready to fight against all legislation
if attempts We're made to pass the
measures they opposed.
Propitious Start.
Both houses of congress, after sit
ting well into the early hours of Sun
day morning, met again this afternoon
to resume the effort to finish up
pending legislation before adjourn
ment Tuesday noon. Agreements in
the nat early this morning, on the
rivers and harbors bill and the post.
office appropriation bill had cleared
he situation so that a spirit of OPP
timism %pervaded both chambers when
the sessions We're resumed shortly
after 2 p. m.
Public Buildings.
A bitter fight in the conference
committee having the public buildings
bill in charge left the fate of that
measure in doubt up to a late hour
tonight. 1t was believed that all other
appropriation bills, with the possible
exception of the District Of Columbia
measure, would be agreed to in time
to receive the signature of President
Taft before moor Tuesday.
The senate began the day with con
sideration of the seamen's bill, the
measure designed to abolish involun-
tary servitude on merchant ships. This
bill had been greatly altered by tho
senate committee from tht
form in which it passed the house
House supporters of the bill expressed
doubt of it's acceptance by that body
even should the senate pass it.
The blockade caused by the rivers
and harbors bill, which was broken il
the senate early this morning by the
adoption of the conference report, wa
completely removed late in he after
noon, when the house also adopted thu
report and sen the bill carrying $47,'
S64,9S4 on it's way to President Taft
The army appropriation bill, com
pleted by the senate at 2 o'clock thi'
morning, was signed by the %presiden
early this afternoon.
The Indian bill, sundry civil bill ant
several other measures rested in con
ference committees where agreement
mad not yet been reached upon dis
puted points.
Little Work Remains.
Aside from the seamen's bill in tn
senate and the workmen's compensa
ton bill, upon which it was believes
the senate would accept the amend
ments made by the house, little actua
legislation remained tonight to hol
the attention of the two bodies durln
the remaining hours of the SixtS-sec
ond congress.
The agricultural appropriation bill
as agreed upon in conference late to
day, restores the authority for tn
congressional distribution of seeds. TIL