The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-12-09
THE STATE MILITIA CUT OFF.
HOUSE REFUSES TO INCREASE THE
$500 APPROPRIATION.


Considered an Ornamental Figure
head-His Department Cut on En-
tireIy-Chatham's Members Made
Hard Fight for the Military.
Gen. keII's salary Not Cut.
Atlanta Ga, Dec. Sat O'Clock this
afternoon. after hammering away upon it
all day long. the House completed the
genera. appropriation bill. 1t will go TO
the Senate tomorrow, and unless some
thing unexpected happens it will be fin
ished up in somewhat better condition as
to time than previous appropriation bills.
which have been in the habit Of going
through their final stages during the last
few moments of the session.
Speaker Little and his able lieutenants,
Chairman Chappen of the appropriations
committee and Hon. Clarence Knowles of
Fulton, who has acted throughout the de-
bate as chairman of the committee of
the whole. deserve no little praise for the
work they have done in perfecting the APP
preparation Bit The same praise is also
due to Chairman Freeman of the ways and
means committee for engineering the gem
erai tax act through so expeditIously.
The chief incidents of to-day's fight over
the appropriations were the defeat of the
friends of the mintary and the abolition
of the geological survey by the failure
20 appropriate a dollar for its continuance
Messrs. Mcmillan and LaRoche of Chat
ham and Mr.. Hardwick of Washington
chairman of the military committee, did
hard and persistent work to secure an ade-
quate appropriation for the maintenance
of the military department, and up to the
taking of the vote, they had every roa-
son to hope for success as Mr.. Mcmillan
had secured enough Pledges. he believed
to get at least $1,000, the amount asked
Tor by Gov. Gambler, or, rather, recon-
p1ended by him. Mr.. McDonough also ex-
erted himself in the behalf of the military.
but 1t is no disparagement to che effort
OF the other members of Savannahs team
20 say that Mr. Mcmillan stood as the
particular champion of this appropriation.
The work done was hard and earnest. ard
1t is in no degree the fault of che Savan-
nah members that the military was cut
off by the House.
Senator Grovenstein was in the House
with the Chatham members when the
fight was in progress. and when the result
was asceItained he declared that he would
carry it into the Senate, determined 10
nave the military properly recognized by
the upper house, if il was
at all possible TO succeed there
The military has been cut off
~ the House before now and restored bv
the senate, so that there is still some hone
81 the upper house takes a determined
stand in favor of the military fund.
MI LaRoche made a strong Mttle three
minute speech in support of the Hard
week amendment giving the military s12.-
goV re said that Savannah alone gave
her military that much money He urged
that the military establishment was one
OF che most important branches of the
government, and said that the 80 5Oo Of
Iered by the committee would be a death
blow to this service. There were promo
sitions 10 give $4,000 by Mr.. LaRoohe.
S15@ by Park of Greene, and $500 by Moore
OF Carroll, ali of which were voted down
peiore the report of the committee was
accepted. MI. Rawls of Efingham was
one Of those who voted against the an
proprat.ons.
The geological department did not sue
cumb until after hard fight had been
made for it by its friends. A good deal
OF ginger was injected into this debate by
the charge that the department was being
opposed by some of the reform leaders be-
cause of personal antagonsm 10 the pres
ent ineumbents of the department. Swift
or Ebert made an attack upon the de-
parlments administration by charging
that the geologist was feeding four horses
at livery stable at a cost of S44 per month
10 the state, the principal work of one
pair of these horses heino
TO pull carriage for the
biologists wife. He also attacked the
work of The department in making its re-
ports, and cited Prof Hall of Dahlonega
to sustain him. Immediately. however
there was a letter introduced and read
from Prof Han, which contradicted Mr.
Swift in some of his reflections upon the
department.
The row over the biologists office was
also said to be a contest between the low
country and the mountains. It being al
legged that the latter were the principal
benefciaries. Ex-Gov. Northen had indors-
ed the department and urged the legis!a-
ture not TO abolish 1t, and the special com
mittee appointed by the House with Ia
tum of Dade to investigate its workings
also strongly recommended that it be con-
tinued, but the House was convinced that
the geologist is an ornamental igurehead,
and hence ne was cut entirely off.
The only other item i'm the appropriation
bill which attracted any interest, was the
proposition of the committee to reduce the
ildg OF IHdl OiO nero OF the AfaD dnla. j
Mcintosh Ken. keeper of public build
ings and grounds, and adjutant general of
the state. The committee reported in ia
vor of reducing his pay from 5000 to 81
200. Mr.. Ellis of Bib, who won the admi-
ration of the House several days ago by
his eloquent speech on the common school
issue, again came to the front as the
champion of the old fighting officer of the
Alabama. In a ringing protest. he called
upon the House to stop and think wen
before il voted to touch the sustenance of
the lettering Old sailor who even now is
almost enveloped in the shadow of the
grave. Before the year is out he said, he
would in all human probability be beyond
the reach of the states bounty or graft
tude. as he is now almost helpless with
paralysis and comes out of his bed only
upon sunshiny days. to be carried by at
tendants into his office at the capitol
Mr.. Park of Green had announced in ia
vor of the reduction, but upon the speech
Of Mr.. Elias, arose and said he would not
vote to take dollar away from Mcintosh
I[q7l in this he hOrr of his necessity Nfr