The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1870-02-11

! Dor n:tlve land for ever I!
For her cause in alien land,
With hearts that would not waver,
Three men perished hand in hand,
Praying God to save her!
All for Ireland died the Three,
All for Ireland's liberty,
All for Ireland here are we
Our native land for ever .
RADICAL EXTRAvAGANCE.
Cons Dawes % the Cnrrupsion
and Prodis atty Of HIS Party.
On the 18th ult. the house OF
representatives resumed consideration
of the bill for the transfer of tho
Philadelphia navy-yard to League
Island, at a cost Of $500, 600. Mr..
Dawes (radical) of Massachusetts,.
chairman of the. committee on ap-
propriations, mls', an argument
againss the passage of the bill. He
, showed that under it, fit could have
been forced through under the pre-
yious question, the secretary Of the
navy could sell thrcs millions Of prop
erty 1T private sale Of the Phila-
delpbia navy yard to whom he pleas
ed, aud Oh what terms he plea sed,
the only obligation on him being that
no should obtain the approval Of the
president. who. from the nature of
his duties, could pay no regard or At.
tention to the proceedings. The Sec
retary Of the navy could sell the
property to any personal or political
friend on any terms he chose, and
could apply the proceeds to such pur-
poses as he pleased on League Island.
lie did not see why, in regard to
League Island, the Representatives
Of the people should be relieved of
the duty Of appropriating that money
from time to time. He knew full
we'll that the navy yard had to Le re
moved from Philadelpbia, and he as
sumcd that ultimately it would 70 to
League Island. That was fixed
fact, but other things were Fixed facts
also, and one of them was that the
passage of this bill involved an i'm
mediate expenditure, independent Of
the three millions, of more than a
million dollars. Me engineers re-
port to the secretary Of tho navy
three pears ago showed that in orde,
to make League Island high enough
above highwater mark to be beyond
the cncroachmetts of the tide, the
the whole area, four hundred acres,
would have to be raised between nine
and ten feet. This would require
four and q half million cubic yards
Of earth, and no one would pretend
that that would cost less than fifty
cents a yard, making an aggregate ot
two and quarter millions. Not 4
shop could be transferred to League
Island until the surface was raised,
unless they wanted to have the navy
yard carried to sea He knew that
an estimate Of $500, 200 had been
prepared at the navy depa rtment for
League Island to follow this bill. lie
asked tho house to consider whcth hcr
there was an absolute necessity for
undertaking this work at this timo;
was the treasury in such abundant
funds as to undertake it? It becomes
the representatives. Of the people to
answer that question. This was a
time Of peace; there was no pressing
necessity for the enlargements Of the
navy yards. The British navy dc
pended on private ship yards. Nine
ty per cent Of all the work done fol
the British navy was doue in private
navy yards. Admiral Porter had re
Gently stated before one of the house
committccs-thc committee on navi.
cation intercsts-that the govern
ment had spent $4s5, 600. 600 for q
navy during the war, and that there
was nothing to show for that expcn.
diture; that We really had no navy,
and had suggested the building Of .
merchant marinc of iron screw steam,
ers as . substitute.
! Mr.. Dawes went on to call the at
tcntion Of the house to the estimate
furnished for the navy yards for tn,
fiscal year, as follows: To Ports
mouth, N. H., $577, 900. agains,
$50, 900 last year; to Boston $747,
341. against 800, 900; to New York
1858, 5ll, against 800. 900; to Phil
adclphia, $ll1.9s5. against $25, ,OUC
to Washington. $55l,s75, agains
$50, 900; to Norfolk, $25S. 312 ag's
! $50. 900; to More Island, $92, 123
against $50. 900. In short. the SEQ
rotary Of the navy proposed. beside
the $500, 900 for League Island. ,
total expenditure Of "a. .6O7, 1884
against $45l. 900 last year. The es
Inmates did not inspire him Will
much confidence, although the secre
tary promised to effect saving 0
-, 900, 900 in the article Of uoa
alone, which had only cost $3.50, ,OOt
for the last two years. -bat vas a,
schiovsment in mathematics whicl
found parallel only ia the achieve
ment Of the postmaster general, VII,
proposed to save IS, ,0O9, 900 . yea
BY the abolition ef tho f-ankipe priv
ilege, while the franked matter woul,
not produce 100000. He though
III the two mathema ticians who ha,
prompted these two secretaries coul,