New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-16
EXPENSIVE ECONOMY.

EAGENSlN II EtONOMi.
IMPROVED ORDNANCE PROVIDED FOR BY Ihb
HOUSE BUT MONEY REFUSED FOR ALTERING
FoRTIFICATIoNs
my TELEGRAPH iHE TRIBUNE!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.--The House Of Represen-
tatiyes devoted the entire day to the consideration
of the FOrtiications Appropriation bill, ana hnaliy
passed il exactly it was reported by the AplrO-
priations Committee. The amount appropriated is
100000 for the care. repair and preservation oi
fort6catious, $4OO,O0 for armament and $4,000
for torpedoes
General Joseph E. Johnston. under instructions
from the Military Committee, offered an amend
ment TO increase the first item TO $40O00O and 10
insert the word modification in the first section
of the bill. SO that a portion OF the money might be
expended to make such changes the casemates
and embrasures of forts already built as may be
necessary to accommodate the new heavy guns
which are to be placed in them. Mr.. Blount OF
Georgia who is a member OF the Appropriations Com
mttee and statesman of small calbre rs well, was
horrfied at this proposition, and lashed himself INTO
q great fury in opposing 1t. General Johnstons s
clear. precise statement that the casemates ard en-
brasnres which wero large enough for the small
guns in use at the time when the forts were Duilt
are entirely too small in these days of heavy ord
nance, was apparently wholly incoinprehehsioio "
the duh Georgian.
Sneaker Randall took the floor and launched out
into his annual speecl in favor of " Economy" He
was very emphatic. and did not forget the usual
demag, gc ailusons with which all his speeches on
this subject interlaIded He declared that the
United States Will not have war with any foreign
power for long time to come, If ever, and that the
proposed appropriation would be unwise and un-
necessary. He did not say how he had obtained his
information regarding the long era OF peace which
is assured to the United States.
General Johnston puckily defendedsthe amend
ment and declared that our seacoast both oceans
is practically defenceless. The fleet of any small
European Power he said, might pass the harbOr de-
fences of NewYork and there in two days levy con-
trbutions that would exceed in amount any sums
required to put the barbor in state of thorough
defence.
Mr.. Reed, of Name. in a vigorous speech of five
minutes, completely demolished the weak argu-
ments and refuted the still weaker assertions of
Mr.. Randall. BY this time the House was thor
oughly warmed up. and the discussion became very
animated. although, with the exception of Mr.. Ran
DALI the speakers generally avoided political allu-
sons. General Anson G. McCook made an admirable
speech in defence of the amendment, in the course
OF which. in answer TO the iings of a Western mem-
ber against the City of New-York he said that the
people of every State are as much interested IN the
protection and safety o that great city as are the
citizens of Nrw-York themselves
The Western members generally opposed the
amendment That very narrow-gange statesman,
Mr. H of Ohio, waxcd very eloquent as he M
formed the House and the country THAI the Almighty
has fortified the United States by placing the At
lantlc ana the Pacific Oceans either side. He
also communicated the information that our coun-
try is sufficiently fortified by her Constitution and
laws as well as by the genus OF her institutions.
Another Western member, Mr.. CalkIns, OF Indiana
declared that the United States sufficiently fOrt-
fled By the inventive genius OF the American peO-
pler-a fact which Mr.. Hill omitted TO mention.
After the amendment had been voted down, General
Irupg of WIScOuSQ. who had favored IT., Oitfcu an
amendment to cut down the item for armament
from 300 900 to 5000 900, on the ground that 1t
would be useless to manufacture the heavy guns ln
tended unless suitable torJIhcaIIons were provided
IN which to use them. This amendment was also
defeated
III the bill becomes law in its present form the
world will witness the spectacle of great nation
industriously engaged IN manufacturing for It's
seacoast defence ordnance which, for all the SER
vice u could render in actual warfare, might as
well remain IN its native state of iron ore and
all this because the Congress of the United states
refuses to appropriate a few hundred Thousand
dollars for the purpose of makicg the necessary
notifications n expensive but obsolete 1ortih-