Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-06
The Resolution Providing for an In
vestigation of the Kittery
Navy Yard
ADOPTED In A MODIFIED FORM.
Republicans Declare That the Fresh
Charges Brought Against the Speaker
Are Only Absurd.
AN AIR-TIGHT ANTI.CHINESE MEASURE
Reported TO The House FavOrably BY Majority Of the
Committee.

WASHINGTON, August 6.-1n the House
to-day Mr.. Mckinley, from the Committee
on Rules reported (as a substitute for the
Cummings resolutiOn)a a resolution asking
the Secretary of the Navy for the reasons
for the increase of the force at the Kittery
Navy Yard.
In speaking to the resolution, Mr.. Cum
mings, of New York, said that he rose in
defense Of public morality and public law
which had been menaced by high public
Official. The order increasing the force OF
the Kittery Navy Yard looked as though
the design was to use executive power for
partisan purposes. He commented on the
fact that certain shops of the Kittery Navy
Yard had been burned in January, and
that the chairman of the Committee
on Naval Affairs (Mr. Boutelle) had ap-
propriated money for their repair in the
naval appropriation bill. He contended
land in support of this contention he quoted
from remarks made by Senators Allison and
Hiscock) that it was not in the interest of
good government, of economy, or of the
navy, to reconstruct these shops. Despite
the remarks of these two eminent Republi-
can Senators the Secretary of the Navy had
ordered an increase Of the force at the Kit
terry yard to reconstruct the shops ana to re-
pair the Lancaster and the Monongahela.
Fifteen years ago Republican secretary OF
the navy had stated that the Lancaster was
not worthy of repair, and that the Monon-
gahels was in tolerable condition with a
speed of 1o1l knots. Laughter.
A GREAT EVIL.
He referred to the great evil which would
result from the introduction of politics into
the navy yards; and, going back to the ad-
ministrstion of Secretary Robson, he COM
mented severely upon the action of that
official in filling navy yards with partisan
friends just previous to Congressional cleo
ton. He charged that the Kitterv yard
was used for political purposes, and quoted
figures to show that previous to elections
the list OF employees was much larger than
it was a month or two afterward. A majority
of the men came from Maine, the home Of
Thomas Bracket Reed. He quoted at
length from the testimony taken by the
Whithorne Committee in 1876 to show that
the policy of the Republican party had
been to use the navy yards to expedite po-
litical ends. This policy was worse than
the shotgun policy.
The Committee on Rules had reported (as
a substitute for his resolution) a resolution
which referred the whole ofense to the
offender himself (the Secretary of the Navy.
The answer of the Secretary would be :sent
to the Committee on Naval Affairs, the
Chairman Of which, in an interview in a
New York paper had characterized his (Mr
Cummings) resolution as the ''most perfect
rot imaginable" and stated that when their
report came in that would be an end of the |
matter.
AN APOLOGY NECESSARY.
Mr.. Boutelle, of Maine, said that he felt |
like making an apology for answering the |
remarkable demonstration that had been |
made by the gentleman from New York. |
The gentleman in his search for sensations
had worked himself up to high state of ex-
citement over the fact that the Secretary of
the Navy had really possessed the bardihood
to obey the mandatory instructions of the
Congress of the United States.
In the remarks made and in the news
paper comments there was a strong implica- |
ton that somebody had the idea thar in |
Maine and New Hampshire there was |
purpose to practice the colonization method. |
He suggested to the gentleman from New |
York that, though the elections generally |
were held in November, the Congressional |
election in Maine was held in September, so |
that if there were 0,000 men-whether clad |
in buckram or not-transported to the Kit |
terry yard under the certificate of the Secre-
tary of the Navy not one of them could vote |
for Thomas B. Reed or the Representative |
from New Hampshire. IApplause on the |
Maine provided that every voter should |
have legal residence OF three months at
the place where he was to vote.
A PARTIAL DENIAL.
The gentleman from New York did him
too much honor in ascribing to him the
exact words of newspaper interview The
gentleman with whom he had had the con-
would bear him out in the state
ment that the whole tenor of his remarks
was that the resolution offered by Mr.. Cum
mings was that the answer of the Secretary
of the Navy would be conclusive to every
sensible man. He was free to admit that he
did say to The correspondent that he could
hardly believe that so bright a man as
Amos j. Cummings had perpetrated so
stupid thing. Laughter. He had said
10 the correspondent that when he read the
resolution he said to himself and to others,
hat ii bore all the earmarks and imperIee-
ions of one of Mr.. Springer's characteristic
3ukes. Laughter and applause.
In justice to his colleague, the Speaker, he
,nly desired to say, after all the feeling the
gentleman from New York had piled up in
lis bosom over the alleged packing Of the
AIttery yard in the interest of Mr.. Reed, |
hat the greatest majority ever cast for
Thomas B. Reed was 2, ,432 over his Demo-
ratio opponent and ,62S round majority in
888, when the navy yard had been packed
" a Democratic administration. loud |
applause on the Republican side
The resolution was then adopted-yeas,
2l; nays, rs.