The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-03-02
The Senate WrestIed With it at
the Night Session.
TILLMAN RAISED A ROW IN THE
AUGUST ASSEMBLY BY DECLAR-
ING. THATTHE ARMOR MANUFAC-
TURERS HAD THEIR PAID
AGENTS AMONG THE SENATORS.
HE ALSO CHARGED THAT THE
HOUSE WAS IN TIE POWER OF
THE TRUSTS.


When tie Senate resumed it's session ut
o'clock the naval appropriation bill was
taken up, the pending amendment being
that relative to arnor plate
Mr.. lIawicy, of Connecticut, opposed
both the establishment of II government
armOr factory and the fixing of the price
of armor ut either $500 or 500 per ton
lie defended the private manufacturer
OF war material, and said that Instead of
trying to cheat the government they only
sought to give the government the best.
The builder of Il crack cruiser was
prouder than if he had been decorated By
his government.
Mr.. Elkins, Of West Virginia, opposed
the expenditure of the $3,2l0,000 for
arm Or plate carreG by the bill u:iti!
something definite was known of the real
cost OF the armor He inveighed against
the policy OF buying anything without
knowing anything about its value. The
committee on appropriations had fixed
one price and the former Secretary OF the
Navy CHR. Chandler) had fixed another.
and 10th were cropping in the dark. II
was Il remarkable piece of legislation that
fixed the price of armor plate without any
definite knowledge of the value, and to
say to the contractor in the same breath
that if he did not accept this ultimatum
the government would buy his pla t at
much more than its value. lie advocated
n suspension of the work on the battle.
ships If necessary, for with the Congress
about &c adjourn, with an arbitration
treaty with Great Britain awaiting r;ititi-
cation, with the Cuban question l.aving
the right of way and Julio Sanguily on
his WAY to the Senate to see'sympathizers,
there WAS 10 necessity for haste.
OF manufacturing armor." said Mr..
Elkins, land therefore, says the Senator
from New Hampshire (Mr. Chandlcr), we
will pay $500 II ton. Therefore, says the
committee on appropriations, we will pay
Sl0O IL ton; and the Senator from Mary
land (Mr. Germany says sAmen: we will
pay 400 IL tom while we who furnish the
votes have to follow them bllndly."
Mr.. Tillman said that, while he was II
member of.thc committee,on naval affairs,
he was unable to give Mr.. Ekins all the
light he desired hut he knew there was
no expenditure, so rocking with fraud
and so disgraceiul to those responsible
for it. = He said that investigation into
the cost of making armor mad shown that
the cost heretofore paid the Bethlehem
steel works for armor had paid FOR the es-
tablishment OF the plant twice over and
virtually made IL present Of it TO the COM
pany. He further asserted that the two
armor-maliing plants in the country. the
Bethlehem and Carnegie plants, instead
of competing, were in collision to keep
up the price Of armor plate.
The mere suggestion that the Govern
mcnt should go into the business of
manufacturing armor was sure to raise
the spectre of Government ownership of
railroads and like concerns. People
but instead of this 1.-THE trusts had their
hands in our breaches pockets He
hated to think that these monopolies had
their paid agents in the Senate, but it
looked like it.
II don't want to say anything harsh,
he went on impressively, "but, God
knows, | believe every uJterance that
have made is true
This statement came like II bombshell
in the Senate and led Mr.. Hawley to de-
mand whether the Senator from South
Carolina dared To make such Il charge
against the Senate II dare say" replied
Mr.. Tillma.: deliberately. that so far us
| can see, and can explain this on no
other grounds.
II am bound to put two and two to-
gether. l cannot explain it on any other
hypothesis" said Mr.. Tillman, and he
went on to say that the companies got
their prices because they have friends i'm
this chamber
He spoke of the examination made into
the armOr furnished by the Carnegie
Company some years ago, when it was
shown that the blow holes were plugged
UP, the Government stamp misused and
the plates imperfectly tempered, and the
Secretary of the Navy, through some
"hocus poems" fined Mr.. Carnegie for fur
nishing defective pilates, while ''our
illustrions President, who, God be
praised, goes out of power in three days
more, remitted this fine
1t was scandalous that orr boosted
navy, cur pet" should be protected by
these "spongei plates and the first shot
from IL foreign war .ship.would 80 through
one of these boosted ships and 800 or
600 seamen are sent to the bottom of the
sea through frauds perpetrated in the
Senaten
Rather than pay any more money to
these armor barons he would build Il Gov
ernment factory for..the manufacture of
armor even if it cost $500 or $500 ton,
for then there would be at least the con-
ISOLATION OF knowing that the armor WAS
good aud the money distributed among
the workingmen.
In answer to II question from Mr.. Quay
Mr.. Tiilman said that nothing would he
gained by sending the bill back to the
House, for that body was in the power
of the trusts-the Standard Oil Com
pany--as much rs the Senate, land
every man there was manaced and under
the rule of one man, the speaker, and