OCR Text |
Show CONGRESS SETTLES DOWN TD BUSINESS Appropriation Measures Receive Re-ceive Undivided Attention in Both Houses. FUNDS FOR PRESIDENT Taft and Roosevelt to Be Invited to Make Trip to Canal Zone. WASHINGTON, Feb. 19. Confronted with the necessity of appropriating $90,000,000 a day for the next eleven legislative days, congress settled down today to hurry through the measures which will supply the billion dollars needed to run the government during the next fiscal year. In the senate the entire day was devoted to the $39,000,-000 $39,000,-000 legislative, executive and judicial appropriation bill. The house passed the pension bill, carrying $164,000,000, and took up the diplomatic and consular measure, appropriating ap-propriating $4,500,000. Beyond the naming of the house conferees, con-ferees, the ship-purchase bill received no attention, reposing in the custody or the conference committee, where it will remain under the agreement reached yesterday in the senate until February 27. The conferees probably will not meet this week. Tho ship bill investigation inves-tigation also was at a standstill today, but the special committee will resume its hearings tomorrow. President's Trip. A committee amendment to the legislative, leg-islative, executive and judicial bill, appropriating ap-propriating $160,000 to be used by the president in connection with the formal opening of the 'Panama canal, was adopted by the senate after a sharp debate. Senator Fall sought to establish estab-lish the basis on which the estimate of expenses had been made. Senator Martin, chairman of the appropriations committee, said a conference of Democratic Demo-cratic and .Republican leaders, called by the president, had agreed to ask for $250,000 to defray the expenses of the president and his party, which was to include foreign diplomats and 200 or 300 members of congress. The committee, upon being advised of some criticism of this last provision, pro-vision, however, had reduced the appropriation ap-propriation $90,000, leaving it to the president to invite whom he would. Senator Martin said he understood the president proposed to invite former Presidents Eoosevelt and Taft and a small committee from congress to make the trip to San Fraucisco with him. Senator Kenyon proposed an amendment amend-ment providing that, none of the money be expended to pay the expenses of "I,"u",-.,n "L -""6"-." urn; trip, Dtir, it was laid on the table by a vote of 35 to 30. Legislation Desired. With the ship bill out of the way, senate leaders were giving some thought to matters other than appropriation bills, which might be urged at this session. ses-sion. It was understood the administration adminis-tration was particularly desirous that the treaties with Nicaragua and Colombia Co-lombia be ratified, and also would like to see some conservation legislation put through. Senator Meyers, chairman chair-man of the public lands committee, said today, however, that opposition to the power sites and nonprevious metal land-leasing land-leasing bills probably would make it impossible im-possible to pass them. Senator Hitchcock, Hitch-cock, chairman of the Philippines committee, com-mittee, said he thought the Philippine bill "had a fair chance" of passing, although al-though considerable opposition to the preamble, declaring the purpose of the United States ultimately to grant independence, in-dependence, was to be expected.' Administration leaders indicated clearly that, no bill would be permitted to interfere with action on the appropriation appro-priation measures so as to make an extra ex-tra session of congress necessarv. |