The age-herald., 1900-04-18
HOUSE STILL ON
  THE NAVAL BILL
Wheeler Discussed the Question
 of Armor Plate.
HE MADE SERIOUS CHARGES
Said That an Officer in Uniform of the United States Army Was Re- sponsible for the Armor
 Plate Trust

Washington, April 17.-The second days debate upon the naval appropriation bill in the house today was confined closely to the subject matter of the bil and was, as a rule devoid of interesting features. The questions of armor plate and the build ing of warships in government yards, yesterday, attracted most attention. General debate was closed today and to- morrow the bill will be read for amend ment under the five-minute rule. MT. Day ton of West Virginia, a member of the naval committee the first speaker, con- tended that the naval programme outlined in the bill was not an eXtravagant one. He said 1t was not as liberal as it should have been, and predicted that large appropria- tions would be required in the future He opposed the building of warships in goV- ernment yards.
 MT. Wheeler of Kentucky asked If there was not lobby here to defeat the propo- sition to build ships in government yards T never heard of such lobby" replied MT. Dayton.
 The only lobby I have seen was the lobby of naval constructors, if it could be e4s 10 LoAgJ uI Suln5ae 'GqqoI B peHeo proposition l oppose
 MT. Dayton also opposed the establish ment of an armor plate factory The gov- ernment had we'll go into coal mining or the production of any other products which it must buy.
 Armor Plate DatG
 Mir. Wheeler asked if the manufacturers ot armor plate had ever furnished con gress the data upon which the cost of ar nor plate could be determined?
 When I buy a suit of clothes" replied MT. Dayton, "1 do not require the tailor to furnish me the cost of cloth, thread. Luttons, tailoring, etc, and hope to God the time will never come when the Ameri government CTS to furnish such details simply to grati- fy what l consider an impertinent cu- riosity."
 Did not the government fine the manu- iacturers for furnishing defective armor?' asked MT. Wheeler.
 Not defective armor" replied MT. DaI- zell, of Pennsylvania, who interposed to reply, that armor was per cent better than the required tests.'
 Was it not full of blow holes?'
 Mot enough to hurt anything" replied MT Dalzel
 ''I will discuss the matter later'
 One of the strong reasons urged by MT. Dayton against the government embarking on the manufacture of armor was the pos sibility that in a few years the whole scheme of defending ships might change. Already naval expert had suggested com- pressed air q substitute for armor.
 MT. Vandever of Mississippi, also a mem- Der of the naval committee who signed the minority report, advocated government armor manufactory and the building of ships in the government yards.
 MT. Fitzhugh of New York argued in fa- vor of building ships in government yards.
 Wheeler Concluded Debate
 MT. Wheeler of Kentucky member of the naval committee, concluded the debate for the day. He criticised severely the rule of the house which prohibited mem- bers from making public on the floor what was done and said behind committee doors and declared himself in favor of compelling committees to open their doors to the press. He said the most vicious legisla tion was matched behind closed doors. He had no insinuation to make against the committee of which he a member, he said, but he thought the practice bad one.
 He also opposed, he said, the appoint ment of men with special interests to serve on committees. Their desire to serve their constituents, he said, outweighed their du- ty to their country.
 Mr. Wheeler said he opposed on conviction to Q government armor plate factory and the building of ships in gov- ernment yards but when it came to sur rendering of his convictions or submit ting to highway robbery he would let some of the former go. He was convinced from what he had been able to learn that the profit on armor plate was from 150 to POO per cent MT Wheeler said he had in his possession testimony to prove that Krupp armor could be produced cheaper than Harveyized armor, but he was not at lib- erty to use It.
 MT. Wheeler created something of sen- sation by expressing the opinion that an officer in the uniform of the United States was responsible for the armor plate trust" He did not name the officer, and was not questioned to whom he meant.
 General debate was then closed
 A joint resolution was adopted authoriz- ing the secretary of the interior to exfib- it the printing relics at the New York Printing exposition, May to June ?.
 At 5:20 D. m. the house adjourned.