Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1916-09-15
and to prevent such emergencies from
arising in the future.

and to prevent such emergencies from
arising in the future.
After week of consideration, dur
ing which the president visited the
capitol daily, comforting with admin
istration leaders, a bill was passed
to establish an eight-hour day as
basis for pay of railroad workers, the
present rate of pay for 10 hours
work not to be reduced and the
men to receive pro rata pay for work
in excess of eight hours pending an
investigation by a special commits
sion into the effect of the eight-hour
day on railroad revenues.
Tackled Many Subjects.
Congress enacted an unusually
large amount Of miscellaneous leg
islation, including reorganization Of
the patent office, provision for trial
of space system in place of weight
system for payment of railroad mail
service and leaving to the Interstate
commerce commission determination
of the method and rate of pay; crea-
tion of 1-ational park bureau in the
department of the interior; estab
fishing warehouse regulations for cot
ton and grains, and providing new
grain grading law; extension for a
year of the government war risk in.
surance bureau; uniform law max
ing bills of lading negotiable.
Proposed legislation which failed of
enactment and has gone over until
next winter includes the immigration
bill; the corrupt practices act to linn
it campaign expenditures for election
of the president, vice president and
members of congress; vocational
education bill passed by the senate;
conservation legislation, including the
public lands water power bill; the
Shields navigable streams water pow
er bill, which failed in conferences;
the oil leasing bill, including relief
for California oil men; a flood-con-
troll bill, which passed the house,
and bill to establish citizenship for
natives of Porto Rico.
Many Treaties Ratified.
Four treaties were ratified by the
sGc:l.e The most important was the
long-pending Nicaraguan convention
providing for the acquisition of a
canal route and naval stations rights
in the Bay of Fonseca for $3,000,000,
and that ratified in the closing hours
,,r,oyri1ino Of "a
Danish West Indies for $25, 100000.
Another was the treaty with the re-
public of Haiti providing for an Am
erican financial protectorate. The
much-disputed pending treaty with
Colombia, after several years of con-
sideration, was favorably reported
from the foreign relations committee
with an amendment reducing from
$25, 100000 to $15,000,000 the propos-
ed amount to be paid for the parti-
tion of Panama. The treaty, how
ever, was never taken up in the SEN
ate, and it remains on the calendar.
A treaty with Great Britain pro-
viding for protection of migratory
birds on both sides of the Canadian
border was ratified
Four Members Die.
Death claimed four members from
congress during the session, Sena-
tors Shively of Indiana and Burleigh
of Maine, and Representatives Brown
and Moss, both of West Virginia.
Representative Witherspoon of Mis-
sissippi died just before the session
began.
Nearly $4,000 Bills introduced.
During the session 1880 bills and
642 resolutions were introduced in
the house. OF these, 252 bills be-
came laws and 33 public resolutions
were adopted, in addition to $50 pri-
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