The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-07-14
SCANDAL OF THE WARSHIPS.
SENSATIONAL DEBATE OVER THE
COST OF ARMOR PLATE.


ernment Can BE Pierced by "a Cam
non Ball If II Was Pine Board.
He Names the Oregon as Coated
with SpOngy Plates and Speaks of
1t as Treason Of the Highest type.
| Washington, July 13.-The price to be
paid for the three battleships, now in
course Of construction, was the theme of
extended. and at times lively debate in the
! Senate to-day. Late in the day an amend
ment to the deficiency appropriation bill
was agreed to restricting the price of ar
NOR plate TO 800 per ton. or $l25 less than
the amendment reported by the commit
tee and recommended by the navy depart
ment as the minimum rate acceptable to
the armor contractors.
| Consideration of the bill was resumed
! Immediately after the Senate met, and the
! question Of armor plates for the new battle
ships was considered. The bill provided
! total appropriation Of IS, i10,725 for armor
| for the three battleshlps authorized in
| 1896, and limited the cost per ton TO Sl25.
! Mr. Butler Of North Carolina offered an
amendment reducing the total co 81, i07, 500,
| limiting the cost to $500 per ton and pro-
viding for tine establishment of govern
ment armor factory if private concerns do
not bid within $500 per ton.
| Mr.. Petugrew spoke of the evidence TAX
en- before the committee on naval affairs,
showing conclusively, he claimed, that
armor plate could be made for $50 per
ton Notwithstanding this, the armor fac
tories being in collision, refused to make
armor for 500 and demanded S425. Instead
of opposing the trust MIR Petugrew said
! the naval committee now proposed to ac-
! cede to it's demands 1t was a procedure
too disgraceful to be tolerated. che senator
asserted.
! Mr.. Butler spoke in severe criticism of
the course of the armor factories and of
the disposition in official circles to yie.d
to them.
| The senator reviewed the investigations
made by Secretary Herbert as to the cost
| of armor plates and read from the report
of the House committee on naval affairs
relative 10 irregularities of the manufac-
ture of such plate.
lie said that the report showed that by
fraud and deception armor plate had been
palmed on the government so defective
that 1t could be pierced like pine board.
| The senator asserted that men had been
shot and put in dungeons for offenses of
far less magnitude.
MIR. Hale, under these statements, said
that none of the defective plates were at
present in actual service on the warships
Mr.. Tilman insisted that many of the
alleged defective plates were in use, and
said their exact location on various war
ships was specified in the report of the
| House naval committee.
When Mr.. Butler reiterated the state
ment as to the extent of the defective
armor in use MIR. Hale interrupted with a
| sweeping denial. He said that such a
condition would be appalling if it existed
! in reality. but there was no ground for
! the assertions by the North Carolina SEN
ator. He utterly and absolutely denied
| that any portion Of the armor plate on
warships was unserviceable.
Mr.. Butler declared that he knew of no
| more dangerous kind of high treason than
| the equipping of war vessels with defec-
! tive plates. one of those vessels the Ore
| gon, with spongy, imperfect, fraudulent
| plates had been ordered to the Hawaiian
| Islands at a time when Japan was threat
| ening to take possession of these islands.
| 1t would be fortunate if the first hostile
| shot fired at her did not hit one of those
| defective plates--if indeed there were any
good ones on her. If we are to take Ia-
/ wall, If we are to 80 into the land grab
! bling business, then said Mr.. Butler we
must have a fleet as good and better than
any one country in the world. If we are
/ launching on that policy of agrandze-
ment, then we must be able to compete
| with England or any other nation.
When Mr.. Butler closed, Mr.. Chandler
/ facetiously called on Mr.. Tiilman to take
the floor. The South Carolina senator re-
/ sponded that unless there was something
| to fight there was no need of talk.
/ Mr nj In m n
| what had become of the House resolution
| adopted as a result of the Carnegie inves-
| tgaton. 1t had come to a democratic
/ Senate. and had been referred to a demo-
| cratic naval committee. He asked Mr..
Tillman, IL he was a democrat, what the
/ democrats had done with this resolution
MIR. 1tllman responded that he thought
his course had shown him TO be impartial
/ in pointing out the short comings and the
rascality-if that word were allowable
! of democrats, as well as others. The nav
/ al committee which the honorable sena-
/ tor had referred to as having a majority
/ of so-caled democrats, had simply pig
/ eonholed that resolution.
| Mr. Til man pointed out alleged irregu-
| larities in furnishing armor plates, and re-
| ferred TO the fact that Secretary Herbert
| had imposed n fine on the Carnegie com,
pany, which fine was remitted by the
! President.
! And was il a democratic President
who RENTED the hne?" asked MIR. Allen.
] please don't leave out so-ca.led, In re-
ferring to that President" answered Mr.
! Tnlman. amid laughter, "as it hurts my
/ feelings TO hear him referred TO as a dem
ocrat.c President"
lie went on to say he had never sought
to fathom the mystery Of how the Presi-
dent had tried TO override law and decen-
cy by renting the fine. The senator re-
viewed the evidence on the cost of making
nrmor. and said that unless the Senate
adopted some remedy such as the one now
| proposed there would be an absolute and
shameless surrender Of public interest to
| the armor plate factories.
Mr. Bacon of Georgia moved TO place
the rate at $3.50 per ton. He believed the
| government would have TO build It's own
foundry, but for the present he urged that
| IL would be eXpedlont to offer $3.50 and
| stand by n, allowing the armament Of the
| snips 20 fan u need be until congress re-
| assemblies.
Mr. Teller contributed a lively speech
/ II had been the general impression that
our ships represented the power and dig
/ nifty OF the nation. but. he said our war