Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 June 1896 — LABORS OF CONGRESS [ARTICLE]

LABORS OF CONGRESS

RECENT SESSION THE SHORTEST FOR THIRTY YEARS. Bills that Have Become Laws-Many Meaaurei Introduced) but Few of Importance Added to the Laws of the Country—Pending LegislationDone at Washington The Fifty-fourth Congress was ths shortest “long session” in thirty years; and one of the shortest in the history of the Government. Of the measures which have become laws, the most important, from an international standpoint, was the bill creating the commission “to determine the true divisional line between Venezuela and British Guiana.” Of scarcely less general interest were the bills prohibiting prize fighting in the territories; permitting appointments in the army apd navy of former United States officers who had served in the rebellion, and making one year’s residence in a territory a prerequisite to obtaining a divorce -there. Excepting these, however, the remainder of the 225 bills and resolutions which received the President’s approval were not of a character to warrant special mention. The more important were the bills Incorporating the National Society of the Daughters of the Revolution; opening the forest reservations in Colorado for the location of mining claims; regulating proof of death in pension cases; providing for a naval training station in San Francisco harbor; making it unlawful to shoot at any railway train or any person thereon, or to throw missiles into Such train, and repealing clause G 1 of the tariff law, providing for a rebate on alcohol used in the arts. The session, however conspicuous by reason of its brevity, resulted in the introduction of a larger number of bills in the House than during any similar period for a quarter of a century. The total number of bills introduced during the entire Fifty-third Congress was 8,987, of which 4,405 were introduced, during the first session, which corresponds to the session juSt closed, and in which latter the aggregate is swollen to 9,5 G& Statue of Cuban Legislation. The popular interest in the Cuban revp- ' lution was shown in the large number of resolutions—more than fifty in all—that was introduced and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. After careful consideration a concurrent resolution was reported, for which was subsequently substituted, in conference, the Senate resolution expressing the sympathy of the United States with the insurgents, recognizing their belligerency, and calling upon the President to use his good offices to secure the independence of the island. Being a concurrent and not a joint resolution, it did not call for the President’s signature, and its only effect was to express the sentiment of the American people as reflected in the two houses of Congress. Measures for which there has been a widespread demand include the bankruptcy bill, the McCall bill, providing an educational test for immigrants; the labor commission and labor arbitration bills, and the bill simplifying the rules of the pension office, so as to facilitate the adjustment of private pension cases. The finance Committee, to which was referred 105 different measures, succeeded in getting through the Senate but three of any importance that have become laws —the filled cheese bill, the amendment to the administrative feature of the tariff act permitting express companies to pay the duty on packages valued at not more than SSOO and deliver it to the residence of the Importer direct, and the bill to repeal the free alcohol clause of the tariff law. The Dingley bill came out of committee with a free coinage amendment which prevailed in the Senate, and this proposition was rejected by the House. Bills Placed on the Calendar. Some of the most important bills prepared by the committees were, not given 1 hearing in either house or passed but one house, and will be on the calendar for consideration duriug the short session if their supporters are able to secure time for them. Among the most important of these are the Lodge-McCall bill for an educational test for immigrants, with the Corliss amendment to prevent the invasion of Canadian day laborers; the Philips industrial commission bill; the Curtis bill to lessen the number of crimes for which the death penalty can be imposed by United States courts; the bankrupt bill, and the Pickier pension bill, all of which were passed by the House. Among those passed by neither house are ths statehood bills for Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma; that for a territorial form of government for Alaska; the Pacific railroad funding bill; the Nicaragua canal and Pacific cable bills; the plan for the reorganization of the Indian territory government, for which the Dawes commission and Representative Curtis of Kansas are joint sponsors; the Loud bill to reduce the scope of the fourth-class mail matter, and bills to reorganize the revenue marine personnel, to increase the salaries of railway mail clerks, to revive the grade of lieutenant general for Gen. Miles. A large fraction of the session’s business related to the public lands, and important amendments were made to the public land laws.

Miscellaneous Bills. Among the miscellaneous acts passed during the session were the following: For the detail of revenue cutters to enforce order nt regattas and yacht races and insure the safety of the spectators and participants. To reconvene the United States delegates to the international marine conference for the destruction at the .income tax returns. For the deputation of refugee Creek Indians from Montana. .. , To establish the government of Greer County as a county of Oklahoma (after the decision by the Supreme Court that Greer County was not a part of Texas). Forbidding divorces in territories unless the parties applying have been residents for one year before the applications. Authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to distribute medals and diplomas awarded by the World's Columbian Commission. Authorizing the Secretary of the Treasary to remit fines, penalties and forfeitures in laws relating to vessels and to discontinue prosecutions. Giving the use of the White lot and Washington monument to the Christian Endeavor convention of 1896. To allow the return, duty free, of all articles sent from the United States for Expositions and fairs. Fixing penalties Yor failure to use automatic brakes on railroad trains. Establishing the district of Chicago as * collection district for Indiana and Illinois. Extending the limits of the port of New Orleans. Making Palm Beach, Fla., Stamford, Conn., and Conneaut, 0., sub-ports of entry. Syracuse, N. Y., Pueblo, Durango and Leadville, Colo., ports of delivery. ~Fixing the terms of Circuit and District Courts in the northern and southern districts of lowa, the 'northern division of the eastern district of Tennessee, the northern district -of California, making Perry County, Tenn., part of the middle judicial district of Tennessee. .