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SEPTEMBER, 1916
The Commoner
23
Record of the 64th Congress
An Associated Press dispatch,
dated Washington, Sept. 8, gays: The
firot session of tho Sixty-fourth con
gress which adjourned today was
concerned chiefly with national is
sues. Tho crisis in congress over the in
ternational situation followed Ger
many's naval order to sink armed
belligerent merchant ships without
warning. Introduction of resolutions
warning Americans to keep off
armed merchantmen caused Presi
dent Wilson to halt diplomatic nego
tiations and go to the capitol to de
mand a showdown.
Tho result was tho tabling of the
Gore resolution in the senate hy a
vote of 64 to 18 on March 3, and of
the McLemore resolution in the house
by a vote of 276 to 142 on March t.
Immediately afterwards the Presi
dent sent to Germany and Tfead to
congress a note threatening to sever
diplomatic relations unless the Ger
man government "immediately effect
ed a modification of its methods of
submarine warfare." .
When the gavel f ell "congress had
directed reorganization and re
equipment of the army and navy-for
defense of the country1 at the un
precedented cost of $655,000,000,
with authorizations that will increase
tho total in three .years to nearly
$800,000,00.6- Witlf 'all , pther ex
penditures, 'a;pproprJatf6hs, were
hrnnerht to the grand total of $1,-
G 37,5 83,682, tho greatest aggregate,
in the country s History ana eiceeu
ing that for the last fiscal year hy
more than half a billion dollars.
TCYrmnrHhirGH.. necessitated ,by pre
paredness and the calling l.nto; action,
of military forpes to nieet me. Mexi
can emergency demanded revenue,
legislation in, the, closing ,daysi the
session.-, , , Congress nr.esnqnded l3y
doubling the nprmal tax1 on incomes,
creating an' inheritance, tax, muni
tions tax and miscellaneous excise
taxes to Vaise $205,000,000 and by
directing sale of $130,000,000 Pan-
nmn. nn.nnl taond&.
Congress established a tariff com
mission, a .government shipping
board to rehabilitate the American
merchant marine, a workman's com
pensation commission to administer
a new uniform compensation law, a
farm loan banking system, a child
labor law, enlarged the system of
self-government in the 'Philippines
and enacted many other important
laws which had been contemplated
by the administration.
The session was disturbed through
out by frequently recurring threats
of foreign complications from the
European war and imminence at one
time of a diplomatic 'break with
Germany; interference with American
mails and commerce, invasion of
American soil and killing of Amer
icans by Mexican bandits and dan
ger of actual war with. Mexico.
Later in the session trquoie arose
in the senate over the nomination of
Louis D. Brandeis, of Boston, to suc
ceed the late Justice Lamar as .a
member of the supreme court. Weeks
of investigation and deliberation by
the judiciary committee ended . jn
confirmation 6f'Mr. Brandeis by a
larpre majority. .
In the week 'before adjournment,
congress was, occupied with legisla
tion which prevented a threatened
nation-wide strike. President Wil
son after futile, negotiations with
officials of the railroadsand railroad
brotherhoods submitted1 the contro
versy to congress to prevent the
srn alia to; prevent s3Rr oniergen-c'o-
fr,m arising in tjtfjtfe' ,
tter a week ofViiodnsXdejtion,
'lurint? Which the PresWentvisited
thf rapltol daily, conferffflgwith ad
ministration leaders; ::Hi rrlF " was
passed: to establish an-$tlioTfr day,
as a.Hsjfg'rfoT; bay .of railroad, work-;
ers, the present rate of pay for (en
hours work not to be reduced and
the men to receive pro rata pay for
work in excess of eight hours pend
ing an- investigation by a railroad
commission into the effect of the
eight-hour day on railroad revenues.
Important Legislation
Most important legislative enact
ments of the session, exclusive of
laws for national defense, included
the following:
Government ship law: Appropriat
ing $50,000,000 to operato ships in
foreign and coastwiso trade when
unable to leaso them to individuals
or private corporations.
Child labor law: Denying inter
state commerce to products of mines
and quarries employing children un
der 16 years of age and factories,
mills, canneries and other establish
ments employing children under 14
years.
Rural credits law: Establishing a
farm loan board in control of a sys
tem of farm Joan mortgage banks.
Workmen's compensation law:
Providing uniform sick and accident
benefits fqr employes of the federal
government and benefits to depend
ents in" caSe df death.
Emergency revenue law: Provid
ing for doubling the normal income
tax on the iowest class; making ad
ditibnal surtax ranging "from 1 per
cent' dn: tliaV portion of incomes exr
ceeding $20,000 to 13 per cent on
amount of. incomes in excess of
$2,000,000; levying a graduated tax
of 1 per cent on inheritances rang
ing from $50,000 to $5,000,000; a
10 per cent net profit tax on manu
factures of munitions, 5 per cent net-
profit tax on 'manufacturers or ma
terials entering into munitions; a
license, tax pn actually invested cap
ital ntoftk, of cornorations capitalized
l at more than $99,000; wine, beer
and liquor excise taxes ana miscel
laneous stamp taxes.
Good roads law: Providing for co
operative federal aid to the states for
construction :of highways and appro
priating $75,000,00.0 to be spent in
five years. .,
Postal savings law: Amendment
increasing :the amount which indi
viduals niay deposit from $500 to
Sl.OOO with interest and an addition-
Lai $1,000 without interest.
Federal reserve: Amendments, in
.iiirtinfr nmondment to the Clayton
anti-trust law permitting officers and
directors of member banks to be
come officers and directors of not
more .than two other non-competing
banks; amendments permitting na
tional banks to establish foreign
branches, liberalizing regulations for.
lonnnntinc r.nmmercial paper and
permitting member banks in townd
of 5,QQ0 or less popumuuu w
agents fo.r insurance companies.
RaHroad legislation: Creation of
a joint sub-committee of senate and
house interstate commerce commit
tees' to investigate necessity for fur
ther legislation for railroads and the
interstatd commerce commission,
question of government ownership of
public .utilities and comparative
worth of government ownership as
against government regulation.
Tariff: Creation of a non-partisan
revision; repeal of the free sugar
provision: .of existing tariff law,
nmendments increasing duties on
.,... f nnnmirjicro manufactur-
ing dstuffs. in tho United States;
enactment of an i-dumping pro
vision to prevent dumping of foreign
madengods at less than foreign mar
ket prjsj; thonmioyLtnZl
ident to retaliate against foreign nations-
prohibiting importation of
goQdsfrom.the United States by W
i tLTvorabargo against imports from
r r t -- ,J-
: -CafMn. futures at ;t Frov ifling;
.prohibitive tax on couon Bu. --
turo delivery in fictitious or wash
sales.
Philippines: Law to proylde for
more autonomous government of tho
Islands, enlarging self government,
reorganizing election laws, establish
ing an elective senate and promising
independenco whenever, in tho judg
ment of tho United States tho Phil
ippine people demonstrato capabil
ity for It.
Railroad eight-hour day law: Es
tablishing eight hours as tho stand
ard for reckoning the compensation
of railroad employes operating trains
in interstate commerce alter January
1, 1917, and providing for a com
mission of three to investigate the
effects of the eight-hour standard,
Dresent wnen Ron In tint in ho rvliirnrt
during tho investigation, nor for
thirty days thereafter and work in
excess of eight hours to be paid for
at a pro rata rate.
Appropriations for all purposes
were:
Agriculture $ 24,948,852
Army 207,596,530
Diplomatic and consular 5,355,096
District of Columbia . . . 12,841,907
Fortifications '25,748.050
Indian affairs 10,967,644
Legislative and executive 37,925,690
Military academy .... 1,225,043
Navy 313,300,095
Pensions 158,065,000
Post office 322,937,679
River and harbor 40,598,135
Sundry civil 128,299,285
Permanent appropriates 131,074,673
Shipping bill 50,100,000
Deficiencies 72,500,000
Rural credits 6,100,000
Good roads 6,000,000
Floods 2,000,000
Grand total .. $1,637,583,682
For Futuro Expenditures
In. addition to the total there were
authorizations for expenditures in
futuro year!? including, naval, good
roads, tariff commission and other
expenditures to bring the total to
approximately two billion dollars,
but these amounts do not properly
apply to the appropriations for the
fiscal year.
In addition congress enacted an
unusually large amount of miscel
laneous legislation, including re
organization of the patent office;
provision for trial of space system in
place of weight system for payment
for railroad mail service and leaving
to tho interstate commerce commis
sion determination of the method
and rate of pay; creation of a na
tional park bureau in the depart
ment of the interior; establishing
warehouse regulations for cotton and
grains and providing a new grain
grading law; extension for a year of
the government .war risk insurance
bureau; uniform law making bills of
lading negotiable.
Proposed legislation which failed
of enactment and has gone over un
til next winter includes the immigra
tion bill; the corrupt practices act
to limit camnalrn exnoncliturfH. for
election of the president, vlce-prcsi-,t
dent and member of con grew; a v- j
cauuum euucauon uiu passcu ay me
senate; conservation legislation in
cluding the public lands water pow
er bill, the Shields navigable streams
water power bill which failed in con
ference, tho oil leasing bill including
relief for California oil men; a flood
control bill which passed tho house;
and a bill to establish citizenship for
natives of Porto Rico.
Four treaties woro ratified by tho
senate. The most Important was the
long ponding Nicaraguan convention
providing for the acquisition of a
canal route and naval stations rights
in tho Bay of Fonseca for $3,000,000
and that ratified in tho closing hours
provided for tho purchase of the
Danish West Indies for $25,000,000.
Another was a treaty with tho re
public of Hayti, providing for an
American financial protectorate. The
much disputed 'pending treaty with
Columbia after several years of con
sideration was favorably reported
from the foreign relations committee
with an amendment reducing from
$25,000,000 to $15,000,000 tho pro
posed amount to uo nam ror the par
tition of Panama. The treaty, how-f
ever, was never taken up in the sen
ate because of the unrelenting oppo
sition on the part of many senators
and it remains on the calendar. Tho
committee at the timo of adjourn
ment still had under consideration
tho proposed treaty with Great Brit
ain providing for protection of mi
gratory birds on both sides of the
Canadian border.
Death claimed four members of
tho congress during tho session:
Senators Shively of Indiana, and
Burleigh, of Maine, and Representa
tives Brown and Moss, both of West
Virginia. Representative Wither-'
spoon, of Mississippi, uieu just . in:-
foro tho session began. . y
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THIS WKIrSIKR
INSTITUTE OF 8UGKI3S
TIVK TH15ItAl'I30TICS
SANITARIUM
ICntaIi!IIed i8l7
Tho Wcltmer Institute n
tho parent school of Psy
colo&Ical methods of heal-'
Inf, Laying on of Hands,
M..nn1 finlnnfn find the
other drugless methods which mAy be Included under the broad general
c0BeSSSSff the Weltmer School is equipped with
eVE7chmpatTennt8Croom has electric light, steam heat, hot and cold water
roomy clothes closet good ventllatlon-and anyhavo private bath.
We have regular physicians constantly employed in the SanUarium and
School' however, nearly all cases are cured without the use of drugs or
?S?g?ry. Patents ittendlns our Sanitarium receive benefits of every safe
Sane and effective method of cure, and for one fee, which is less than the
cha?go made S most sanitarJums for the one Particular method which hap
pens to bp the fad of the physician in charge. 18th ANNUAL CATALOG
will be sent postpaid grauw upon rtiiucoi.
1H St A4b St
wht kstitute er $xsmwmsy.
KiAi. K.. t'. S.A.
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