Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-05-18
NAVAL BILL PASSED
The Government May Make
It's Own Armor.
FREE HOMES BILL ALSO PASSED
Tongue Secures q Board to Invests
gate Columbia River Dry.
dock Question.

Washington, May 16.-After dis
cussion lasting five full days. the sem
ate today passed the naval appropria-
tion bill. Pra ctically four days were
devoted to the consideration of the
amor plate proposition, which was
agreed to finally as reported from the
committee, with the exception that the
secretary of the navy is authorized to
make contracts only for such armor as
may be needed from time to time. The
secretary of the navy is authorized to
procure armor of the best quality at
$445 per ton; but if he be unable to
obtain 1t at that price, he is theA
authorized to pay $545 per ton for the
armor for the battleship Maine, Ohio
and Missouri and proceed to erect an
armor factory, the cost not to exceed
s., ,000,0 900. one-half of which amount
is made Immediately available. The
committees proposition carried by a
vote of 32 to 10. The secretary of the
navy is directed to purchase five Hol-
land torpedo boats, at price not ex-
ceeding $170,OO0 each.
just before adjournment, Nelson
(Rep. Minn.) called up the ''free
homes' bill, and it was passed with
out word of debate.
A bill for the establishment of
lighthouse and fog signal at Ship Point,
WASH, at cost of $12, 200 was passed.
A concurrent resolution was adopted
for survey of the outlet Of Flathead
lake, Mont, with view to keeping
the lake full.
A bill providing for the appointment
of collector of customs for the Gus
toms district of Hawaii. at a salary of
81 900 per year, and for such deputies
as may be necessary, was passed.
Hale (Rep. Me-. then called up the
naval appropriation bill. the pending
question being on tbs amendment of
Chandler (Rep. N. H. substituting in
Tillman's amendment $445 for $500 as
| the price of armor. The amendment
| was rejected, 25 to 81.
Hoar (Rep. Mass.) offered the follow
ing amendment to the committee prop
osition with respect to the construction
of an armor plate factory:
"That if, under the operation of the
above provision, no government armor
plate mandatory is begun or built.
the secretary of the navy shall submit
to congress at the beginning of it's next
session a detailed report, in which he
shall estimate the entire cost of fully
equipped government armor plate man
ufactory including site and the probable
time at which the best modern armor
plate could be produced at said factory
and ready for delivery"
The amendment was accepted by the
committee and as amended the COM
mittee's proposition was adopted, 80
to 10.
The next proposition of the committee
provided for the pun chase of five Hol-
land submarine torpedo boats, at a
price of $4,000 each, and it was
adopted after some debate with an
amendment making the purchase
mandatory.
Chandler offered an amendment re-
ducing the number of armored cruisers
provided for in the bill from three to
two and the number of protected cruis-
ers from three to two. His purpose
In Offering it, he said, was to direct
| attention to the fact that we are ex-
pending too much money for our navy
and too little for the development of
our merchant marine.
| Mcbride (Rep. Or.) secured an
amendment providing for the appoint
ment of board of officers to determine
the desirability of constructing dry
dock on the Columbia river. Or.
Pettigrew (Sil. S. d. declared that it
was the purpose of the dominant party
in congress to make these great con-
tracts for war vessels and armor in
order that it might be then in position
to obtain vast contributions to its cam
paign fund.
The bill then passed without division.
Nelson (Rep. Minn.) secured the
passage of an act providing for free
homesteads on the public lands for
! actual and bona fide settlers and reserv-
ing the public lands for that purpose.
| In Central Africa.
London, May 16.-Lionel Decla, who
is conudcting Cape-to Cairo expedi-
+ion fitted mn nv the London Daily