Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-06-30
THE NATIONS CAPITOL
Coast DefenCeS Under Discussion
in the Senate.
German Denounces the Ordnance
Department.
Halley Makes a Vigorous and Eloquent
Reply.
The Mil Of the Consreesmen Grinds
Slowly.
Reed Criticises the Majority OF the Com.
mittee for Attempting to Mislead
the Country.
The Mil Of the ConsreeSmen Grinds
Slowly.
Reed Criticises the Majority OF the Com
mittee for Attempting to Mislead
the Country.
WASHINGTON, June 30.
Senate.

Senate.
| The Senate resumed consideration of tn,
army appropriation bill, the pending question
being on Hawley's amendment offered Oh
Thursday.
! Mr.. German said the reason why he hat
raised the point of order on Thursday on the
amendment, was that he thought this was no
the proper time and place for such a propo
sition. He did not believe that the terms OF
| the amendment were sufficiently guarded t
protect the interests of the country, in be
ginning such great enterprise. 1t proposed
to place the whole 6,a00, 900 in the hands OF
the ordnance bureau, a system which was re-
garded as vicious, and sure to result in dis
aster. Experience in England and Russia
were adverse to such system a report tu
| 10 the English Parliament, as to the opera
tons of Woolwich arsenal, showing that the
government itself could not properly make
guns with economy and efficiency. He rec
commended legislation of the last Congress in
regard to fast cruisers and referred to the
establishment growing up on the Patapscu
river as one which was TO become the great
est in the world; that within FIVE years i,
v ould be prepared to make anything from a
nail to the finest vessel afoat He expected
that within two years, even with all the con-
ditions as they now stood, vessels would be
made there as cheaply as on the Clyde That
was one of the outgrow tbs of the last Con-
gress and of the intelligent ami patriotic all
minisiration of the navy department. He
denounced the ordnance department as affect
ed with dry rot. There was not man in it,
lie said, who had ever permitted an inventor
of the country to bring his invention to per
fection. Not satisfied with the liberal appro-
priatons made to it for experiments, II want
I'd exclusive control of the whole affair,
Notw outstanding the talk about protecting
American interests, the proposed amendment
would exclude all American inventive genius
and enterprise, except so far as the manufac-
ture of steel was concerned, from piItcipa-
ton in untold millions which it was proposed
TO appropriate.
Mr.. Hawley said that he was not only sur
prise,l, but discouraged, 1t was now thirteen
years since dollar had been spent in the
construction of coast defences. The United
States land forces had but one modern siege
gun, and even that had not yet been accept
ed. There were twenty five or thirty excel
lent steel rifle guns for light artillery. And
yet here cones the old story over and over
again, and the Senate was asked to wait, was
told that something was to be invented, that
someb-Iy was to put up new plant and that
something in that line was to be done in
the future.
The great modern guns of Europe and these
proposed to be reconstructed under the
amendment, were the result and crowning
glory of the genius of America and Europe
directed to that subject.
After the harrassng times of old John
Roach, the man who did honor to the coun-
try. not one manufacturer in the country
would spend million dollars making a gun.
As to the dynamite gun which the senator
from Maryland represented as a complete
final success, he (Ilawley) didn't know it
was. Yet it was largely a success and had.
he thought, come to stay as part of war
fare He defended the ordnance officers Of
the army and navy, to whom the grosest IN
Justice had been done. There was body of
young men in the ordnance corps of both the
army and navy who were not surpassed or
equalled on the staff corps of any nation.
Butler argued in favor of the amendments.
The appropriation, he said, should be made
promptly, without further delay.
Bece said that no senator was more will
ing than he to vote money for guns, but he
objected to spending millions for navy,
then getting no navy, and spending millions
for guns and getting no guns.
Reagan, Stewart and Chandler advocated
the amendment. The discussion was sus-
pended for other business.
Committees of conference were appointed
on the legislative, diplomatic and consular,
and District of Columbia appropriation bills.
Allison reported back the JOINT resolution
extending the appropriations for the present
fiscal year for thirt, days from June 3oth, in
departments Of the government for which
az. L.. a. hall
not have become law, and the Senate pro-
ceeded to consider it.
A long discussion took place on the pro-
priety and necessity of passing the joint res
oIution, Senators Sherman and Emunds
conten,liug that the departments could run
on until the first of August without this spec
ial law, while Senators Teller and Allison
argued that it could not be done without a
violation of the law, the latter senator pre-
dieting that if the joint resolution was not
passed the government printing office would
be closed up next Monday morning. The
resolution was finally passed aud the Senate
refumed the consideration of the army ap-
priation bill, the question being on the
amendment offered by Hawley.
Eyarts advocated the amendment.
Hawley stated that with an appropriation
of five million dollars 290 guns would be
constructed, but i, would take FIVE or six
to expend the money
Plumb suggested that the gun of the fut-
ure v oold . OF be made of steel at all, but OF
metal composed of iron and aluminium in
combination aluminium being the uni
yer,al metal contained in all clays. being
lighter. more ductile. with more tensile
strength than iron or steel. He predicted
that If the proposed plan was adopted II
would be abandoned within i've years, and
said that one shot from a pneumatic dyha'
mite gun would do more damage than thou
sand shots from the best guns whose propel-
| ling power was powder.
| Stewart asked how il would he If the
/ United States should be At war tomorrow
How would it be, wss the reply, it the starr
| should fall? We should catch larks. The
| man doesn't 1--we who will hear the first hos
tile shot fired on the American coast
Hawley replying, appealed to Piumb's
common sense whether an Is inch gun, or a
u inch or in. gun that would throw q
| 100 lb. ball, would likely to be ever super
seded. As to Plumb's prediction that no one
would ever hear hostile shot on the Amer
icap continent, he said no man could proph-
esy the touch of the electric signal that
would plunge Europe into war aud migh
involve the United States. Great Britain
had, he said 275 vessels which could sail ou
| TO-DAY to make war upon the United States
| She had Al vessels drawing less than feet
of water with 10 inch guns that could sail VI
Welland canal and into Lake Erie. The
superficial observer could see only cleal
skies over the United States in 1850. ye
within the year war had broken out ant