The Washington herald., 1914-08-23

10000 PET BILLS
AYEARSRECORD
Thousands of Congressional
Measures Never Beyond
Pigeonholes.
LUCKY FOR UNCLE SAM
IF Treasury Had to Stand Good for
Everything introduced" U. S.
Would Be Dead Broke"
LUCKY FOR UNCLE SAM

As the present session Of Congress ap-
parently draws TO a close the question
recurs, What becomes Of the thousands
Of bills introduced by the representa-
tives Of the American people7"
An examination of the legislative rec
ords will show that about 10 per cent of
the bills introduced have a chance OF OBJ
tanning consideration. The House is
most prolific in its offerings Of bills and
resolutions, but II is probable that when
the session shall have ended less than 10
per cent OF the measures offered will be
on the statute books
Thousands OF pet measures are in
committee" where they will remain until
the Sixty-third Congress dies, and the
bills introduced will die with the Con-
gress.
$4,000 Bills Introduced.
More than 1880 bills had been intro
duced when the House reached the mid
die of August. In addition there had
been offered approximately 600 House
resolutions, 80 concurrent resolutions,
and $50 joint resolutions. The total will
exceed 1000 bills and resolutions Of
various kinds before the session ends.
The committees have reported about
LOO bills and resolutions since the first
session of the Sixty-third Congress OPEN
ed in April. 1913 Some Of these reports
embraced quite a number of private bills
for pensions and claims, which were put
into omnibus measures. but all in all the
average reported and acted upon is
around 10 per cent OF the number intro
duced.
The function Of a committee Of Con-
gress is to kill as well as report out leg
isIation.
Were the committee to report out and
the Congress approve 80 per cent of the
measures introduced there probably
would not be enough money in the
Treasury to go around. and there would
be an era of too much Legislation,
swapping the country.
1t is no trouble for any member OF the
House to introduce a bill. and many are
offered solely for political effect. The
average member on, TO the ways OF leg
islative bodies, realizes when he offers a
bill whether or not II has a chance For
instance, a member will introduce bills
proposing to put public buildings in every
town in his district. He knows he will
be lucky to get two such buildings, but
he does not propose TO slight any commu-
nifty, and he is in a position to advise
his constituents that Il have introduced
a bill asking a $4,000 postofice building
for Podunk." The same sort OF perform
ance Is seen regarding rivers and harbors
and pensions. Nearly every creek and
river Is remembered. and one member
may introduce as many as 800 or 400
bills proposing increase of pensions for
veterans in his district.
Run Gamut of Suggestion.
The bills introduced during the Sixty
third Congress run the gamut OF Iegis-
lative suggestion. They range all the
way from the vital tariff and currency
bills to the resolution facetiousIy offered
by Congressman Roberts OF Nevada, pro-
posing to establish a Bureau of
Psychology TO consider claims that the
alleged business depression is merely
psychological" Another Roberts bill
proposed the erection OF a monument, by
business men, to The Discovery Of the
New Freedom
Persons outside OF Washington as a
rule have a hazy idea of how bills are
introduced in the House-which is called
the popular body" because 1t Is pre-
sumed to be closer to the people, and its
membership is nearly five times larger
than that OF the Senate.
Certain initiated persons presume that
when their Congressman introduces q
bill he arises solemnIy in his place, gets
the eye Of the Speaker. and offers a bill
or resolution Of great importance to his
district and the American people at
large. The fact is, the member merely
walks to a little basket, which is kept
on the clerks desk, and drops in his pet
measure.
At intervals during the day the House
parliamentarian, Bennett Clark, goes to
this basket takes out the bills and reso-
lutions, and marks on their backs the
committee to which they should go. The
bills then go upstairs to the Journal
clerks ONCE, where they are numbered
and indexed and are open for a short
time to public inspection. From the jour-
nal clerks office the measures go down
to the Government Printing ONCE, where
they are put in printed form. The COM
mittee to which the bills are referred re-
ceives them the next day and they are
put in pigeon-hole. Sometimes a bill
gets out; generally It stays in the COM
mittee pigeon-hole