Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1901-01-11
.B[oNIOIHE ARMY CAN7F[N
Senate by Vote Of "a to IS
Agrees with House.
THIS ACTION ALMOST FINAL.
Text Of the Army Temperance Section
Is 1t Now stands In tho Bill-Strong
Speech of Mr.. Teller-Pettigrew At
tacks Bill. -.-...

washington, u. o., Jan. 1l.-ln spite
Of the almost unanimous testimony OF
the officers Of the army to the effect
that the canteen or post exchange is
in the interest of real temperance, the
senate by the unexpected vote OF "a to
Is, agreed to the house amendment to-
tally abolishing the sale of liquors in
the army. The action taken by the
senate is almost final. There is bare
possibility of a revulsion Of sentiment
in the senate which would permit OF
another vote, entirely eliminating the
house amendment. This would throw
the matter into conference, where the
whole subject could be adjusted with
out difficulty, but unless the senate
hereafter reverses itself and rejects the
house amendment, that amendment
must stand, for the house has no op-
portunity to reconsider it's own action
unless there is disagreement on that
particular section and paragraph. The
vote in the senate was so overwhel-
ming against the canteen that when
the section comes up for final action it
Is likely to remain in the bill.
Effect Of the Vote.
The effect of the vote is to restore to
the bill the house provision abolish
Ing the army canteen so far as the
sale of any kind Of intoxicants is con-
cerned. AS the section now stands in
the bill it reads as follows: THE sale
or dealing in beer, wine, or any in
toxicating liquors by any person in
any post exchange or canteen or army
transport, or upon any premises used
for military purposes by the United
States, is hereby prohibited. The secre-
tary Of war is hereby directed to carry
the provisions of this section into full
force and effect"
Strong Speech by MIR. Teller.
During the debate Senator Teller de-
livered an effective argument against
the canteen. He read number of let
tiers received from friends in Manila
showing the demoralizing effect of the
sale Of Intoxicating liquors, not only
among American troops, but among the
natives Of the Philippine islands. He
declared that the United States was
cursing the people of those islands with
curse as vicious and vile as any the
Spanish ever placed upon them" It
was, he said, within the power Of the
President and within the power OF
Congress to destroy government en-
couragement of drinking among the
soldiers Of the American army and the
Filipinos. He directed attention to a
statement Of President Schurman OF
the old Philippine commission to the
effect that one Of the most demoraliz-
ing influences taken to the Philippines
by the United States was the Ameri-
can saloon. He said that the few thou
sand Americans in Manila drank more
per capita than the same number OF
Americans anywhere else.
Pettigrew Attacks the Bill.
Mr.. Pettigrew made characteristic
attack upon the pending bill, devoting
some time to a criticism of the senate
committee for not bringing into the
senate more elaborate report in sup
port OF the measure. He urged that
the report submitted dealt almost ex-
clusively with the canteen provision,
while the far greater question of the
proposed increase Of the army to 100,-
900 men was passed by with only a
brief paragraph. He was not opposed,
he said, to the post exchange, but he
was opposed to the sale of liquor in the
post exchange, which he declared had
become nurseries Of drunkenness and
kindergartens of profigacy.'
Fight Over River and Harbor Bill.
The house of representatives entered
to-day upon the consideration OF the
river and harbor bill. One Of the first
items to excite opposition was the ap-
preparation of 5000, 900 for a survey of
a deep waterway to the Mississippi
from the drainage channel.
Porto Rico and the Constitution.
Washington, D. c., Jan. 11.-Upon
the reconvening of the United States
Supreme Court F. R. Coudert, Jr., re-
eumed his argument in the Porto
Rican cases, continuing his contention
that Porto Rico is not foreign terri
tory and hence that it is incompetent
for the government authorities to levy
and collect duties upon articles i'm
ported from Porto Rico to New York