The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-28

prior activity there had been stimulated
by the war feeling got up at the time;
while the suspension Of the work was due
10 the fact that the manufacturers OF steel
tubes and steel jackets had failed to FUR
niSh them according to contract. he dld
not snare, ne sad, IN the Ieenhg tnaI
there should be any great haste IN pre-
pairing for war. If the treasury was IN
a proper condition, he would favor the
appropriation. But he submitted that II
was unw:se at this time TO appropriate
a large amount on account of guns and
follow it up with $20,OO0OOO for war YES
Mr. ouay's amendment was adopted.
Mr.. Chandler offered an amendment pro-
hibiting retired officers of the navy or ma
rine corps from taking en-
ploymen with any person or
company furnishing naval supplies
or war material to the government-the
iss7 not 10 take erect III 'D'''
He stated the objections existing to
that custom; said he would not parteu-
larize, but that there were cases OF the
kind which did not reflect credit on the
officers concerned.
Mr. Gray opposed the amendment and
justified the practice of retired naval OIL
GERS taking service with private firms
which contract with the government
Mr.. Hale sustained the amendment for
the reason, among others, that the prac-
tice sought TO be broken up created scan
In the further course of the discussion.
Mr.. Chandler stated that when the com
mittee on naval affairs was inqulring IN
to the supplies furnished by the car
neg.e Company and by the Bethlehem
works, the two naval officers there We're
called for; and when they came before
the committee ii turned out that they
were officers on the retired list, VINO were
in the employment of those contractors.
Mr. Chandler added that he could make
statements which would tend TO snow that
the system was an unwise one; but he re-
Trained from doing so.
MIR. Bacon, dem, of Georgia. member
of the naval affairs committee, supple
mented what Mr.. Chandler had said as TO
the two officers employed at the Carnegie
works. and the Bethlehem works. de salo
the government paid $500 ton Tor ire
armOr for the battleships, ana that the
committee desired to know the actual cost
of its production. The committee coulu
not ascertain that fact from these two
officers. A.
No Mr.. Bacon replied. I'VE had no
such right. But the point is that these
officers had no right TO be IN any eM-
ployment where they could stand before
a committee of congress and refuse 10
answer question:.
Senators Chandler and Bacon and made
an argument in favor Of the right OF
retired naval officers to seek and 10 acss
cept employment for the maintenance OF
their families-and to seek it where their
experience and education would make
their services valuable. How, he asked,
by their doing SOP How much worse OH
was the government for having contract
with a company that employs a retired
naval officer either IN working OF super
Mr.. Bacon asserted that the contractors
for armor for battleships were making
a most enormous proht.
IF they are" Mr.. Gray replied, they
are not doing so by reason or their ern~
ployment of these retired naval officers.
An army pensioner might as well be pro-
hibited from working in one of these com
panies foundries a retired army ofl-
Ger from taking employment with them.
Mr.. Tillman, a member of the naval
affairs committee, advocated the amend
ment, which was offered, he said, for the
mittee, in examining the question as TO
the cost of the armor, had come to the
conclusion that the interests of the gov
eminent and of the manufacturers were
opposed to each other. The government
wanted to get armor of the best quality
at as a low price as possible While the
manufacturers wanted to get the last
dollar possible.
These two companies (the Carnegie and
the Bethlehem have formed a trust ana
propose to rob the government because
there is a law requiring American armor
TO be used on these ships. Therefore they
are in a position to charge us $500 a ton
for the same armor that they supply to
Russia a $500 a ton.
Mr.. Hale, member of the committee
on naval affairs, advocated the amend
ment. He would have the prohibition
made so that a bureau officer who now
took part in making such contracts would
not fall into the temptation of looking
forward to the time when he would be
on the retired list and enter the service
of the contractors.
In answer to a question by Mr.. Lodge,
Mr.. Hale said that the two officers of the
government at the Carnegie and Bethle-
hem works informed the committee that
the cost of the armor to the contractors
was about $3.50 ton.
Mr.. German reviewed the history of the
contract with the Carnegies, and said
that 1t was made on Nov. 20, 1890, by the
then Secretary Of the Navy (Mr. Tracy
on precisely the same terms as the prior
contract had been made by Mr.. Whitney,
with the Bethlehem company. The terms
of these contracts, ne said, had been con-
Sidered as low, as reasonable, and as
much to the interest of the government
as any contracts ever made. And con-
gress justified them. AS to the state
ment that the armor was furnished to
Russia at $500 a ton, he stated that the
Bethlehem company. finding that ii had
not work enough to keep all its machinery
in operation, had made contract with
Russia at loss; and that the armor sup
piled to Russia had proved to be so superb
or that further supply had been ordered
at prices about the same as the United
States government was paying. By that
one single act, Mr.. German added the
United states had been able to ship large
quantities of such armor and other prod
ucts of American furnaces abroad, until
it looked, and for the first time in the
history of the country as if the United
States would compete with England by
sending steel blooms from this country to
London and Liverpool.
After further discussion, and without
action on the pending amendment, the
at 5.15 O'clnpE a adjourned n.