The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-03-29
NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL
Under Discussion In the Hous Mr.. Pear.
son, on Motion, Strikes From the Record
Matter He Had Printed Therein.

Matter He Had Printed Therein.
debate on the naval appropriation bill
| today in the ous every utterance in
favor Of aggressive action against
| Spain was applauded TO the echo by the
crowded galleries The main contest
O. the day was over a proposition
| TO decrease the number Of tanb-r dry
dock authorized by the bEi from four
| to three. It led Mr.. Cannon, chairman
Of the appropriations committee, who
made the motion, to discuss the whole
| question Of war preparations n to
inveigh against undue extravaganza.
He said the situation should be met
with loyal hearts and cool heads
but the temper of the house was in
| favor of the utmost llberafity and he
was voted down IS to 107. A PROPOSE
Iion to specifically climate the provis-
ion for the lock at Portsmouth. n. H,
shared the same fate. No point OF
order was made against the proposed
timber docks. but Mr.. Cannon gave
notice that he would raise a point
L 0oN~-~ 49, $3.50 NS~A KY 80
| giers, La, on the ground that a dock
necessarily involved in the future the
establishment of a navy yard. There
was some further discussion of the rela-
tive merits of large battleships and
| smaller war craft in which the temper
of the house seemed almost equally di-
yided, but the paragraphs relating TO
the ships had not been reached when
| the house adjourned.
| A special notice was sent TO all the
| republican members OF the house this
| morning, 10 be in their place at noon
today. The leaders had ecide to
bring ine a special rule to bring the
| nava appropriation bill TO a vote if the
filibustering of yesterday was TO be
resumed, but as the democrats gave
| assurances that the obstructive tactics
| ould not be contained, the plan of
| bringing in a rule was abandoned.
Before the journal was approved Mr..
Bailey, democrat, of Texas, called at
rterjtbon to what he though was an
abuse of a privilege to print a personal
| explain alton given to Mr.. Pearson, re-
publican, of North Carolina.
Mr. Pearson, he said, had been accus-
ed of abusing the franking privilege
| of the house and under leave to print
had made the very frank which he had
| been accused of improperly franking.
Mr.. Pearson maintained that he had
not abused the privilege granted him
He called ~attention to the fact that
some of the matter printed was from
! a paper in which w. j. Bryan was in
terested. d o object to what Will
| liam jennings Bryan says?" he ask
ed smiling.
Il am inclined to indorse anything
Mn. Bryan says at this time" Demo-
cratic applause.)
! MIR. Bailey then moved to strike the
l NJ hri(Gotiop no v1i1h 1ra nhiaa-rIn1 fySn,,o
the record.
MIR. Handy, democrat, of Delaware,
denounced Mr.. Pearson's action as a
fragrant violation of the privilege of
the house. The correspondence which
he was given leave ITO print, ne declar-
ed, could not have related to the pub
location which Mr.. Pearson had print
ed because the correspondence began
upon the day before THE publication
originally appeared.
Mn. Pearson then took the floor and
made his explanation. ut involved, he
said, questions of ~propriety and deli
cacy. He. explained that the matter
about which he had written had APP
peared five days before in a North
Carolina paper. He had recognized
Immediately that five seats from North
Carolina in this house depended upon
THEM attitude toward THE public aItion,
which consisted i'm fact of resolutions
adopted by the populists at Raleigh en-
dOrsing THE fusion of the silver forces.
The article from THE other paper which
he printed in the Record bore on THE
same subject. In conclusion Mr.. Pear
son said that he would rather sit in the
house with a democratic gentleman
than a pOpuliSt TRAITOR. AT his request
Mr.. Bailey then withdrew his motion
and by unanimous consent the article
to which objection was made was
stricken from the record.
The consideration of the naval bill
was then resumed, under the five min
ute rule.
Mr.. Elliott. democrat, of South Caro-
lima, moved am amendment to provide
THE naval militia with c~lothing-was
lost
Another amendment was offered by
Mr.. FoOte, republican, of New York,
to increase the appropriation for arms,
accOutrements etc, of naval reserves
from $780, 900 to 500, 600.
MIR. Boutelle, republican, of Illinois,
i'm supporting the amendment, argued
that it was THE duty of the United
States to intervene i'm Cuba.
Mr.. Lewis, democrat, of Washington,
also argued in favor of intervention.
War, he Said. was already upon us.
We We're fools to disguise it. 1T was
not patriotic to delude ourselves
u lAiNI IL opdIl1oA lCA p~uo oG4I1
was sailing toward our shores. He as
serted that DIT was the duty of the gov
eGnment to intercept that fleet anGt5low
her from the seas. When he quoted
John Randolph's utterance delivered
i'm the house in 1922 "as we would not
he bullied by the British lion, 50 We
refuse to be frightened by the Spanish
jackal,' the house broke into cheers.
The amendment was defeated-6 to
81.
Mr.. Elliott, democrat, of South Caro-
lima, made a point of order against the
provision that nome of the money APP
propriated for the naval station at Port
Royal, S. c., should be available until
the United States acquired title TO the
land claimed by Agnes A. Niver, ada
cent to the Port Royal drydock. The
point of order was o~verTulled. There
upon Mr.. Elliott, moved to strike out
the provision.
Mr. r sar+z 1QmNcvat of Ohm arp1ln1