The herald., 1898-03-08
COAST CANNON
Will Not Lack for Men to
Fire Them
HAWLEY BILL PASSED
PROVIDING FOR INCREASE Or
ARTILLERYMEN
"MILLIONS FOR DEFENSE"
Carried py a Bill to Be Considered
Today-The Senate Ignores
Cuban Matters
MILLIONS FOR DEFENSE"
rress Special Wire

Associated rress Special Wire
| WASHINGTON, March THE spirit of
patriotism was rampant in the house to-
day. and by almost unanimous vote the
Hawley BILL providing for two additional
regiments of artillery, was passed under
suspension of the rules. No effort was
made to obstruct action, but Mr.. Bailey.
the Democratic leader, pleaded for more
time than the forty minutes allowed under
the rule, and because 1t was refused, after
the bill had been passed, he inaugurated
a flibuster against District of Columbia
legislation that continued all day. Mr..
Bailey desired to speak in favor of the
bill, but could not get time.
| Mr.. Hull, in opening the debate, ex-
planned briefly the necessity for these men
| to man the coast defenseS of the country.
| BY July 1st, he said, pa big guns and 232
mortars would be mounted. These guns
required eighteen men each to handle them,
and in time of war, sixty. There were
4O25 artilerymen, all told in the service.
The guns emplaced July 1st would require
1000 men, regardless of any exigency that
might arise. Even if no eXigency arose
these men, he insisted, would be necessary
| 10 care LOT tne IOrllHcutlOnS ana guns upon
which We were expendng millions of dol
lars. The charge that this bill was an at
tempt to increase the standing army, to be
used possibly, to overawe the cities, he
said, he considered too frivolous to dis
cuss.
Mr.. Cox, in opposing the bill, said he
would vote as cheerfully any man in
the house for this bill if it were needed for
| the national defense as a war measure,
but he argued that the president, as COM
mander-n-chief of the army, had author
ity to detail men from the other branches
of the service, the cavalry and the in
fantry and that such details could man
and care for the coast defenses without in
creasing permanently the standing army.
Mr.. Belknap (Rep.) of Illinois, son of
ex-Secretary of War Belknap, and Mr. G.
b. Mcclellan Dem) of New York, a son
of Gen. Mcclellan, both warmly advocated
i the passage of the bill in brief speeches.
and Mr.. Hay Oem.) of Virginia created
the first open enthusiasm by declaring
himself in favor of the taking of every
step necessary now to prepare for the
emergency which confronts the country.
| Mr.. Jones of Virginia, the other Demo-
| crat who opposed the bill, insisted that
the bill was not a war measure as it had
been recommended for several years.
Mr.. Shaffroth of Colorado caused a round
of applause when he expressed his regret
that a single voice should be raised against
such a bill at such time There was no
denying the fact that our foreign relations
with Spain were on the eve of rupture.
War ought to be averted if possible but
we ought to prepare at once, he said, for
every emergency
| Mr. Williams (Dem.) of Mississippi said
| that while his voice was now, as ever, for
peace, it seemed absolutely certain that
Spain was forcing us into war to extricate
the reigning family from the desperate
straits into which it was placed by the
futile attempts to subjugate Cuba. He was
for Cuban belligerency and Cuban inde-
| pendence. If war was to come as a re-
suit of our sympathy for those who were
struggling for their freedom, he would not
refuse to give his vote to any measure
designed to prepare us to meet the enemy.
The time for debate expired at this time,
and Mr. Bailey, who had not been able to
get the floor, asked for unanimous consent
for three minutes. Mr.. Hepburn (Rep.)
of Iowa objected.
Mr.. Lewis (Dem) of Washington at
tempted to offer an amendment prohibiting
the use of these two regiments to suppress
strikes.
The bill was then passed without diyi-
slon The great chorus of ayes was offset
by three votes on the minority side:
Messrs. Cox Dem.) of Tennessee, Jones