Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1897-03-02
A SCENE IN THE SENATE.

a SCENE IN THE SENATE.
Senator Tillman, of South Carolina,
in the U. S. Senate yesterday said: No
recent expenditure of the government
has been so reeking with fraud and so
disgraceful to those connected with it as
the armor plate business. When Sec
rotary Whitney made the first contracts
for armor plate it was understood that
those enormous prices were to be paid
only for a time, and on account OF the
great expenditure necessary to build an
armor plate plant. When last year,
under the impetus of the Venezuelan
war scare, the House sent proposal
for four battleships to the Senate, the
| Number was fixed at three, because
there were only three yards in the
country that could build such ships.
The three companies had agreed upon
| the price, had bid in collision, and con-
sequently the government was paying
over million and half more for these
ships than was necessary. The theory
advanced in this body, as we hear it
of the District of Columbia, in the mat
ter of electric lighting and gas, is that
Congress can regulate monopolies here,
hold them down, and make them pay
or make them put their price at what
, ever we please; that we can control
monopolies say here that the evi.
dence is overwhelming in this electric
light business and everything else; that
instead of their controlling monopolies,
monopolies have the Senate in their
breeches pockets.
I grow so indignant when trace the
history of this Ubiquitous business that
l am apt to say harsh words, but God
knows | believe every utterance | have
made here is true. | would hate to be-
lieve, or even to insinuate, that these
people have their paid agents in this
chamber. 1 would hate to suppose or
suspect
Mr.. Hawley-"Does the Senator
| dare
Mr.. Tillman-"I dare to say that 80
far as l can see there are things here
than can be explained on no other
theory"
"If the Senator dares to say or even
to insinuate such disgraceful thing he
says what is untrue, and that it is
disgraceful SANDER unworthy of a gen.
tleman," Mr.. Hawley replied very de-
liberately and emphatically.
"To that l can only say it is the gall
ed jade that winces," was MIR. Tillman's
response.
Senator Hawley-"If the Senator ap
plies that to me l have a sufficient an
swer."
Two or three other Senators gather
ed around Senator Hawlev, endeavor-
ing, apparently, to calm him. Finally
be walked with them into the cloak
room, while Senator Tillman continued
his speech.
~ don't want to say anything harsh,"
he said. "God knows I've got enough
vitriol in me now. | said I would feel
ashamed to insinuate that there were
men here who are so lost to their du
ties to the men who sent them here and
to the States they represent as to be
guilty of this, but I am bound to put
two and two together. lam compelled,
as an honest man, to speak what | be-
lieve to be true, and so help me God,
unless this be true, then l cannot ex-
plain it upon any other hypothesis.
There was proof that the government
was to be looted to the extent of two or
three millions, yet Senators said, 1--WE
can't help it." The trusts had the gov
eminent down and their hands in its
pockets, yet if any one opposed them,
if any one proposed that the govern
ment do its own work, make its own
armor-plates, Senators were quick to
bring out the awful specter of socialism.
"Ihe country's eyes are on u.s." We
are already disgraced because we do
not hasten to do the bidding of Wall
street fast enough. The touch of the
button between Wall street and the
Senate seems to have been broken
somewhat lately, and so the metropoli
tan press is set upon US to whip US into
line"
Continuing, Mr.. Tillman said there
was still darker page in the history of
the dealings of the Carnegies with the
government. He referred to the
charges of making defective armor in
1894.
Iuc uuioFeS WcIc Caught, ue Salu,
"but they were released. The Secre.
tary imposed fine, but this glorious
President of ours, who, thank God,
goes out of Office in two days more, re-
mitted the fine. And yet, in the face
of these facts a Senator, with his thin
skin, gets up and undertakes to twit me
with slandering the Senate" He said
he had no doubt the proposition would go
through THE old guard never surrendors."
he exclaimed. "You get up here and squab-
Bile over your little $4,000 items, and let
these million dollar steals go through like
creased lightning" He had, no said con.
WINGED himself that the cost of producing
armor plate did not exceed 5000 per ton.
He said, however, that the naval committee
had placed the amount at $500, because it
was necessary to do so in order to reach an
agreement, and also because they had in mind
that the bill must run the gauntlet of the
House, where" he said gag law is in full
force and effect; where man, free Ameri
can, must crawl on his belly like worm or
fawu like whipped cur to get any recegni-
ton for anything" He said they had also
borne in mind that it would have to run the
gantlet of the moguls of the Senate committee
on appropriations.
The Richmond citv council last night |