Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-02-11

| ttcteu cruiser. lno tVhr,seeyo -
Naval Affairs had considered whether
il would not be desirable TO re-
| port On amendment increasing the numper
| Of new ships. but on deliberation IL was
| thought not advisable to seek 20 auu 70
| the iouseproposition. In view OF the incs
that the Navy Department was n,ied WIN
| work on ships already authorized ana y.
course Of construction; ana tnat tns y'. ~
| Of builders were fully employed, tne
Secretary OF the Navy himself had
| thought that wisdom dictated that
| he should not press for any more
new ships; and so the bill IN tnat
| respect had been taken as caine
from the House. The two main Items .,nn u
| increase reported from the Committee on
| Annropriations were for two dry-docks-
| one in South Carolina and one on the fa-
| ciiic coast.
AMENDMENTS AGREEABLE AND OTHERWISE.
The first committee amendment that
| was challenged was an item or S22, oVo ior
| EQUIPMENT and arms for naval militia IN
| various States. Messrs. Carlisle ana
| REAGAN thought this appropriation might
| be the beginning of yearly recurring
| expenditure that would be likely 10 grow
| hereafter 10 unmanageaoie proportions
| md lead 10 abuses. Messrs. Hale. Hawiey, !
| and Hoar combated this suggestion, and /
after the word equipment had been
| stricken out, leaving il TO read for arms |
! for the naval militia" only, the amend |
| ment was agreed 70.
The next amendment reached was TO In |
sert paragraph appropriatlng Sl5O,OOg 70
continue the construction OF timber Dry |
dock at the cSoaling station at rort royal
s. G. Agreed to without question.
The next amendment was one providing |
| for dry dock on the Columbia river or on |
Puget sound. Several propositions 10 |
amend il were presented, among them one |
| to change the location and one 90 leave |
| the selection of a location 10 the Secretary |
of the Navy. Some amusement was was, occs-
what difference there was between dry |
| dock and a navy-yard.
Mr. Hale suggested that the New York |
Senator had never seen dry-docK, anu |
Mr. Blair interpolated the remark that the |
question of dry-dock on the Pacific Coast |
might be allowed to wait until the United |
States should be prepared to take posses |
sion of the big naval establishment across |
the Mountaineering the Esqui- |
mault.
No action on the amendmeet wasreached. |
Conference committees were ordered on |
the pension appropriation bill and on the |
army appropriation bill. Messrs. Allison,
Dawes, and German are the cOnferrees on |
the first bill and Messrs. Allison, Plumb,
and Washburn on the second.
COMMANDER EfIIfhh CAbEs
A message from the President with the |
correspondence relating 10 the conduct of |
Commander Reiter in connection with the |
arrest and killing of Barrundia was pre-
scented and referred to the Committee on |
Naval Affairs.
The Presidents veto message on the bill |
for public building at Dallas, Texas, |
with the action of the House passing the |
bill over the veto was presented and re-
ferred TO the Committee on Public Build !
ings and Grounds.
The remainder of the afternoon was de-
voted 70 eulogies upon the late Represen- |
tative Walker, OF Missouri. Those who |
paid tributes TO his memory were Messrs. |
Cockrell. Berry, Carlisle, and Vest.
Adjourned.
House of Representatives.
The House bill (comng over from FIJI |
day EVENING" was passed increasing to 800 |
q month the pension Of the widow or Cen |
eral Custer.
MIR. Wickham, of Ohio, asked unanimous |
consent for the Committee on Coinage, |
Weights and Measures to sit during the |
sessions of the House.
Mr.. Hopkins. of Illinois, objected, but |
subsequently, withdrew his objection and |
leave was granted.
The army and pension Appropriation |
bills were sent to conference, and the Sen |
officers on the retired list from the limited |
list to the unlimited list when they shall
have attained the age OF sixty-four.
PASSED OVER THE PRESIDENTS VITO.
Mr.. Abbott. of Texas, from the Committee |
on Public Buildings aud Grounds, reported |
back the bill providing for extension OF |
the public building at Dallas, Tex. at a
cost of 5000, 900. This bill passed Congress
last session but was vetoed by the Presl- |
dent. The recommendation of the COM
mittee is that the bill be passed over the
veto The bill passed-yeas 141, nays Co.
the necessary two thirds voting in the af-
frmative.
COMMANDER REITER DEFENDED.
The legislative appropriation bill was
taken up. In general debate the BarruDdla
case was revived by Mr.. Dalzell, of Penn
sylvania, who defended the action of Com
mander Relter. The public reprlmand adj
ministered to Reiter by the Secretary OF
the Navy was, he said. unwarranted and
unjust naval officer had been degraded
by public reprimand without the inter-
vention of court-martial. His case was
the case of every officer in the
service: but. higher than that, his
case involved the conduct Of our
rundia had been a notorious Guetemalan,
charged with the commission of murder
and the embezzlement of public funds, as
we'll as of high treason. He had come
voluntarily within the jurisdiction Of his
own country at time when he was resting
under these charges. Barrundia was killed
on the steamer Acapulco by officers under
taking to arrest him, which officers he I'M
dertook to murder. At that time two
United States ships-of-war, the Ranger
and the Thetis, lay in the roads,
Commander Reiter being their command |
ing officer. He had not interfered with
the arrest. The day after the killing
Reiter was detached, without any reason
being assigned for the detachment. Three
months afterwards the Secretary Of the
Navy had addressed him letter. which
was printed in the public press before IL
was received by Reiter. 1t was thus APP
parent that the letter was written by the
Secretary of the Navy not TO Reiter alone,
but TO the general public.
NO CRITICISM OF THE sECgETARY's TONE.
He DalzelD would not, he said, stop TO
criticise the Secretary's language and tone,
his logic and rhetoric, but whatever that
language and tone, whatever that logic
and rhetoric, the letter had become an
open public reprimand of naval officer
OF heretofore unquestionable courage and
fidelity TO duty. IL had placed a stigma
on his name and blight on his career.
IL took from him his dearest possession
and from his children their richest
inheritance. To Reiter's demand for
court-martial came the reply that
his demand showed his ignorance of naval
discipline. Could 1t be that an honorable
officer, who had faithfully served his coun--
try for many years, was to be degraded and
disgraced by the detum of an official whose
career began yesterday and might lin the
mutations of politics. end tomorrow If
it could be SO, it was high time that there
should be some legislation on this subject.
He (DalzelD did not deny the power of the
Secretary of the Navy to express his disap-
proval of the act ofan officer, but he did deny
the power of the Secretary to administer
public reprimand in time of peace. If
Reiter merited public reprimand he
merited dismissal from the navy. No Sec
rotary of the Navy could administer o
punishment the effect of which was dis
missal. without the intervention of
court-martial. He (DalzelD stood on the
bold, defiant ground that the Secretary of
the Navy had exceeded his power when he
wrote and published his letter to Reiter.
LODGE TO THE sEcRErARY's pEFEScE.
Mr.. Lodge came TO the defence of the
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