Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 October 1890 — DOINGS OF CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

DOINGS OF CONGRESS.

MEASURES CONSIDERED ANDACTED UPON. At the Nation’s Capitol—What Is EolnffDone by the Senate and House—Old Matters Disposed Of and New Ones Considered. The conference report on the House joint resolution to increase the number of thoBoard of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers and to fill, vacancies in such board was presented in-, the Senate on the 24th, explained by Mr. Hawley, aud agreed to. It provides for a. board of eleven members, and names tliefollowing managers: Edmund N. Morrill of Kansas (for the unexpired term of John A. Martin, deceased), Alfred L. Pearson of Pennsylvania (for the unexpired tcim of J. F. Hartranft, deceased), Wm. B. Franklin, of Connecticut, John C. Black of Illinois. Thomas W. Hyde of Maine (in place of" Augustus B. Farnham, named iu the bill), and George W. Steele of Indiana. The» House instructed the Public Printer to exclude from the Record Mr. Kennedy’s. speech attacking Senator Quay. The House-, then went Into committee of tlie whole, Mr. Alien (Mich.) in the chair, on the Senate amendments to the deficiency bill. The French spoliation claims amendment was non-coneuired In. Tho committee them, aiose and a conference was ordered. In the Senate, on the 25th, tlie House bill to provide for tlie establishment of a port of delivery at Peoria, 111., was reported by Mr. Cullom from the Committee on Commerceand passed. Mr. Plumb reported a Senate joint resolution authorizing the c xtension. for one year of the time of payment forland on pre-emption or homestead claimswhenever, by reason of failure of crops, the settler is unable to make payment within, the time prescribed by law, and It was. passed. In the House, after some ro ltinobusiness bad been disposed of, Mr. Enloe(Tenn.) introduced, a resolution reciting that it is alleged tfiat the Postmaster of the House, J. I. Wheat, whose duty It is to let contracts for tho carrying of tlie mails, let a contract to one Samuel Culbertson for--55.000 a year on the condition that Culbertson should pay to him (Wheat) $l5O a month, out of the money received, from the Government for Ills services, and that Wheat did. receive that sum for five months, and directing the Committee on Accounts to Investigate these charges. Mr. Caswell (Wis.) said that his information was that this practice on the part of the Postmaster had obtained during several Congresses. Then Postmaster had become satisfied that this money was not a proper and legitimate perquisite. He bad therefore covered every dollar into the Treasury. On motion of Mr. Blair the House bill toamend “An act to prohibit the importation, and migration of foreigners and aliens under contract or agreement to perform labor In the United States, its Territories, and iheDistrict of Columbia,” was taken from the* calendar of the Senate on the 26tli. Mr. Plumb moved to amend the fifth section, which provides that the act shall not apply to professional actors, artists, etc*, by inserting before the word “artists” the words “musical or other.” Theamendment was agreed to. Mr. Carlisle moved to substitute for the words“regularly ordained ministers of the gospel” the words “regularly ordained or* constituted ministers of religion,” and said, tjiat without that amendment the billt would exclude Jewish rabbis. The amendment was. after some discussion, agreed to.. Mr. Candler (Mass.), from tlie World’s FairCommittee, reported to tlie House a resolution providing that a sub-committee of five members of that committee shall be appointed by the Chairman to inquire into the* progress of the details for the holding of the proposed exhibition, to examine into the amount of space allotted to the variousdisplays, and all other matters which the sub-committee may deem advisable, and toreport to tlie House at the beginning of tho next session. Adopted.

The present session of Congress has been; one of the longest, and, In many respects,, one of tlio most interesting lor many years. Although the first session of the Fiftieth Congress lasted until Oct. 20,. the present session, by reason of its longerdaily sessions, has far exceeded It in working time and the amount of legislative work actually accomplished. In figuresthe business of the session is expressed as follows: Bills and joint resolutionsintroduced in tlie House, 12,402; In theSenate, 4,750; total, 16,972, against 15,598 in the first session of the last Congress, which, in this matter fur excelled ail previous records. Reports made In tho House, 3.215; In the Senate, 1,817 (no account being-taken, in the Senate of other than written reports). Bills passed: By tho House—l,292, of which, the Senate has passed 849. By the Senate—--1,100, of which 486 have been sent to thoPresident, making a total number of about 1,3*5 acts or laws, against 1,790 for thewhole of the last Congress. Of these acts--606 House and 275 Senate bills were for pensions to individuals. In the completed work of the session, aside from the revision of the tariff and internal-revenue laws by tlie-McKinley-Aldrich tariff bill, the following measures which have become laws may be, named as the most important: The hill providing for the monthly purchase of 4,500,009-' ounces of silver; the customs administrative hill; the dependent and disabilitypension bill; the anti-trust bill; the antilottery hill: the provision for a World’sFair In Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America; the admission of Wyoming and Idaho to Statehood; the meat-inspection, hill; the land-grant forfeiture hill; the, original-package bill; the hill recommended by the International MaritimeConference to prevent collision at sea; and. the provisions (in the naval appropriation, bill) to add to the new navy three line-of-hattle ships, one protected schooner, one torpedo cruiser, and one torpedo boat. Tocomplete the list of iexults accomplished during the present session there must bementioned the radical changes in the rulescf the House and tho action upon election contests. There were eighteen contestedelection cases before the House and; seven of the Republican contestants have'- been, seated. In tho Senate, on the 2Sth, the conference report on the tariff bill was presented, and read at length. Mr. Morgan having,., in the course of liis remarks, referred to* the reciprocity section of tho hill as utterly, preposterously, and ridiculously unconstitutional, Sherman defended the section as one the principle of which had been recognized in other statutes and had been supported by the courts. Mr. Paddock next, addressed the Senate. He said lie would, vote against the conference report. He then proceeded to criticise the treatment given tho beet sugar interest. by the conferrnco committee, and saidi it was not pleasant to contemplate, nor did It particularly inclino a Senator from a State where a strong and most promising commencement has been made in the development of such an industry to vote for the report. Tlie conference report was laid aside informally without action. In theHouse of Representatives Mr. Henderson of lowa submitted tlie conferencereport on tho general deficiency hill. Mr. Clements of Georgia called attention to the* differences existing comparatively between the number and salaries of the employes of" the Senate and tlie House. On an average each Senator had three and one-half employes to wait upon him, while less than one, employe was sufficient to attend to the requirements of a Representative.