The San Francisco call., 1897-07-14
Sensational Debate in the
Senate on Buying More
Arm ament.
THREE UNCOMPLETED SHIPS
LIE USELESS.
Buffers Amendm ent Reducing the
Rate to $500 Per Ton Was
Finally Passed.

|
in the general deficiency Appropriation
bill. The Senate Appropriation Com
mittee had reported an amendment
authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to
| pay an average rate OF 1925 per ton for the
armor plate require for three new battle
| ships.
| Butler of North Carolina had offered an
amendment to that, reducing the rate to
| $500 per ton and directing the Secretary OF
the Navy to make Investigations and in
vite proposals for the establishment OF
Government armor works.
These propositions gave rise to a long
debate, in which the conduct OF the Bethle-
hem and Carnegie com panies, the utility
of the new navy, the Cuban war, the weak
ness of Spain and the magnitude of Eng
land in naval armament, were touched
upon. The debate ended in the adoption
of Buffers amendment and the passage
of the bill.
There was some informal talk at the
opening about the absence of quorum
and the impossibility of disposing of the
armor-plate question without an aye and
no vote, between Chandler and Hale.
Then Pettigrew said: This amendment
is an exceedingly important one. Last
year we limited the price of armor-plate
to $500 ton, the evidence before The
Naval Committee showing it could be fur
nished at $3.50. Two armor- plate factories
/ being in colusion refuse to furnish plate
at $500 and insist on having 1925. Instead
of the Appropriations Committee report
| ing a bill to establish a Government fac
tory for furnishing armor-plate it now
proposes to accede to the demand of this
trust and surrender to this admitted COM
bine. For my part / shall insist that dis
cussion shall go on before the full Senate,
and therefore l make the point OF no
quorum"
! The Vice President thereupon ordered
| the call of tie Senate, and the call was an
swered by forty five Senators. just quo
| rum. The debate then proceeded.
Butler was the first speaker. He said he
had made calculations showing the cost to
manufacture armor to the Bethlehem and
Carnegie companies to be 1926 so per ton
Three battle-ships, he said, would require
5000 tons of armor. If the price were
fixed at $500, as his amendment proposed,
| the profit would be $570,6O0 Was that
profit, he asked not large enough? He
charged that through fraud, collusion and
bribery the Carnegie Company had
passed off on the Government defective
| plates which could be pierced like pine
boards.
Hale asked whether the Senator from
North Carolina believed that any of those
defective plates had been received by the
Government and placed on ships.
Butler said he did believe it and that
there was proof of ii in the testimony be-
fore the Naval Com mittee.
Hale said his i'm preston was that the
investigation referred to had disclosed
certain irregularities, but that there was no
proof that any of those defective plates
were day on any United States vessel.
Such a condition as the Senator from
North Carolina had described was appall-
Ing. but there was no warrant OF fact for
the assumption.
Butler spoke of the Juggling of
armor plates by the Carnegie Company.
and said the company which had been
guilty of such conduct should not be
allowed to have another contract for Gov
eminent work. He knew of no more dam
gerous treason. One of these vessels, the
batte-ship Oregon, with spongy, imper-
feet fraudulent plates, had been ordered
to the Hawaiian Islands. 1t would be
fortunate # the first hostile shot fired at
Ter did not hit one of those plates, if, in
deed, there were any good ones on her.
lie Sdlu, we are 10 TAKE the f1d-
waiian Islands; if we are to go into the
land d-gra bbing business, we must have
fleet as good as any other country in the
world. If we are launching on that
policy, we must be able to compete with
England or any other naval power"
Hale replied 10 the charges, praising the
navy. He said three great battle-ships
authorized by Congress, were ready for
their armor, useless without it and stand
i-,o, n ha HoJ
by the world because Congress would not
make trade to furnish armor for them.
Foreign complications were crowding
upon us; with All era of what was called
American superiority, and by some jlngo-
ism, determination TO assert our
selves and do things that might
involve us in conflict with other
stood with three battle ships, unable to
finish them. II do not want to see that, ,"
said Hale. II am willing 10 sacrifice S125
at once. lam willing to let $50 ton ad-
ditional go into the treasury OF rapacious,
grasping, selfish companies for the time
being. We have got our National honor
and our National dignity to maintain.
our hands. l leave the matter to the
Senate"
Tllman spoke against armor-plate COM
panies as being "leprous with fraud in
their dealings with the Government
Perkins said the question was whether
the United States should become the
laughing stock OF the world by leaving
three splendid specimens of naval archi-
lecture useless as log because Congress
was too picayunish 10 pay high price for
armor to complete them.
Allen agreed with Teller that the three
battle-shIps had better remain on the
stocks. He scarcely ever took up an
American newspaper without finding
that some American war vessel had run
aground, or collided. He doubted if the
United States had battle-ship capable OF
going into action against one of the best
vessels of Europe.
This closed the debate. The passage of
the bill followed. A motion to ad journ
over till Thursday was opposed by Nor
gan on the ground Of the Importance of
speedv action in the matter of the Union
Pacific foreclosure. The motion to ad-
iourn was lost, and the Senate at 6 clock,
Oft har ~ od