The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-05-10
Open Session Decided ON, Because
Closed Doors Are No Bar To RE-
porters Who Want the News.
DEBATE ON THE NAVAL PLATE
ERECTION OF AN ARMoR-PLATE
PLANT URGED BY SENATORS.
Manufacturers Alleged to BE Trying
to .sHold Up" the Government
TESTS at Indian Head.

WASHINGTON, May 9.--Again to-day
the Senate discussed in secret session the
mysterious projectile with which the Navy
Department has been experimenting on
armor plate. The publication In this morn
ings papers of the details of the secret ses-
sion held yesterday. in the course OF which
Mr.. Tillman. of South Carolina. laid before
the Senate information he had received at
the Navy Department concerning the
armor-piercing projectile that had played
such havoc with the best armor tested at
the government proving grounds at Indian
Head, convinced many senators of the
futility of attempting by secret session to
keep information from the public. How
ever. while Mr.. Tillman was explaining
to the Senate to-day what he desired TO
accomplish by the secret session yesterday
another "secret" session was moved. the
Senate preferiing to hear the South Caro-
lima senator's explanation behind closed
doors
After the galleries had been cleared Mr..
Tillman reiterated substantially the state
ment concerning the Indian Head tests OF
armor plate which he made yesterday. He
pointed out the effectiveness of the pro-
jectile. tipped with a point of soft steel.
against the armor tested and used that fact
as an argument against the payment by the
government of what he termed monopo-
listic prices for armor. He dwelt on the
vulnerability OF the best known armor--in-
cluding the Krupp armor-against the pro-
jectile. He arraigned the Navy Depart
ment for making public yesterday the de-
tails of a test of armor with the six-inch
gun. in which one of the soft-nosed projec-
tiles pierced the plate almost as II would
have pierced oak. declaring his belief that
the test had been published for the effect
ii might have upon the Senate debate on
the pending bill
Mr.. Chandler felt that the Navy Depart
raent had not dealt frankly with the Senate
in respect to the information regarding the
tests.
Mr.. Hoar. Of Massachusetts,, discussed
the subject briefly, deprecating the evident
inability of the Senate to keep it's secrets
and criticising the Navy Department for
publishing information withheld from the
Senate.
After some brief discussion it was de-
cided. inasmuch as the salient facts had
been published, that the armor plate mat
ter might as well be considered I'm open
session. In this connection IL was pointed
out that there really was no secret about
the soft-nosed projectile, as the Navy De-
partment has been experimenting with the
projectile for years. Later in the day a
communication was submitted to the Sem
ate by Mr.. Hale, from the Bureau OF
Ordnance of the Navy Department. In
which was described minutely the effect of
the projectiles in question on various kinds
of armor. 1t was shown that the projec-
tile. which is solid steel shot-not shell
carrying no explosive charge. would
pierce the best of armor when the conai-
tions of test were perfect in every partic-
ular. but only in such conditions.