Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 1.djvu/376

 36S

��CONGRESSIONAL PAPERS. NO. I— THE HOUSE.

��ty, the time of his enlistment, the name of his company and regiment, the dura- tion of his term of service, the date of his discharge, a description of his physi- cal disabilities, and such other informa- tion, plainly and concisely stated, as will enable a committee of strangers to form a correct opinion of the merits of the case. If favorably considered, the com- mittee report a bill granting the pension, and direct their clerk to make a report embodying the facts in the case to ac- company the same, which is reported to the House and referred to the " Commit- tee of the Whole on the Private Calendar." After consideration in the Committee of the Whole it is reported to the House. At some future meeting of the Committee of the Whole, the bill is taken up in numerical order, put to vote in the House, and its fate de- cided. A favorable report of the com- mittee is considered equivalent to a pas- sage, and the bills that are thus endorsed are rushed through very rapidly, when no objections are offered. Mr. A.'s bill having passed, the reading clerk en- dorses it, '"Engrossed, read three times and passed," and sends it to the enroll- ing room, where a manuscript copy of the bill is made upon paper specially pre- pared for the purpose. The clerk of the House signs it, takes it to the Senate when in session, announces its passage by the House, asks the concurrence of the Senate, and delivers it to the presid- ing officer of that body. It is then taken from the Vice President's table, referred to the Senate committee on invalid pen- sions, by them considered, and, let us suppose, favorably reported, placed on the Senate " calendar," and finally passed. The House " engrossed" copy is then taken to the Senate enrolling room and endorsed, "Resolved, That this bill pass." The secretary of the Senate signs it, and one of his clerks brings it back to the House again, when in session, and announces the concur- rence of the Senate to the said bill. Then the House enrolling clerks take it once more and make the manuscript du- plicate copy on parchment previously al- luded to. Then it is carefully compared with the original copy, and the " en-

��grossed " and "enrolled" copies com- pared by the clerk with one or more members of the House committee on en- rolled bills. If found correct, the mem- ber certifies to that fact, carries the bill in to the Speaker's desk, and the Speaker makes public annoucement of its recep- tion, and signs the bill in open House. It is then carried to the Senate, and re- ported, and the Vice President signs it in like manner,after which a member of the House Committee on Enrolled Bills takes it to the President for final approv- al. After being signed by the Paesi- dent it is sent to the department of state and deposited among the permanent archives of the government. Mr. A.'s name is then placed upon the pen- sion-roll, and he can draw his pension " under the provisions and limitations of the pension laws." This is the routine of a simple bill that nowhere encounters any obstacle to its passage, and may be re- garded as the least that must be done be- fore a bill becomes an act. Bills involv- ing matters of a broader scope — those of great public and national importance — are fought or advocated at every turn, and pushed forward or held in check by every device known to the lobby, aided by the tactics of the masters of parlia- mentary strategy. They become laws only after the most thorough discussion, or are defeated after a debate in which every weakness is exposed. Those who imagine that bills are rushed through Congress without anybody knowing any- thing about them would have their fund of information somewhat enlarged by an attempt to " put through " a bill of some importance. It would be found, upon close acquaintance with our popular branch of Congress, that the " watch- dogs" of the Treasury are not all exter- minated yet, but that a sufficient number are always on guard to prevent much dangerous legislation. The present House, as a whole, may be regarded as composed of men of average congression- al ability, who endure hard work and good pay, and legislate as well for the country as can be expected, when we consider the vast and conflicting interests of our immense nation.

�� �