The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-07
Says He FayOrs Them in
 Present Struggle.
AcRID DEBATE IN SENATE
Tariff Bill for the Islands Un-
 der Discussion.
Senator Hoar Excoriates the Sedi- tion Laws Passed by the Philip pine Commission and Foraker
 Makes Telling Reply.

Washington, Feb 6-For four hours today, the Senate had the Philippine tar if bill under discussion. Toward the Hose of the session the discussion became heated.
 In response to a resolution offered sev- eral days ago by MT. Rawlins Otah), the Secretary of War transmitted to the Sem ate the sedition laws enacted by the Philippine Commission. They were read in full and immediately drew the fire of the opposition of the Governments poll icy.
 MT. Hoar of Massachusetts expressed astonishment that such laws should be enforced by tho Government authorities. MT. Foraker (Ohio) had read from the Revised Statutes of the United States, the laws of Congress relating to the crime of treason ard similar offenses against the Government and said that the acts passed by the Philippine Commission were almost identical in their language with the laws enacted by Congress in the days of the fathers of the Republic. and that there was nothing unprecedented or un- usual about them.
 The Ohio Senator was interrupted con- tinuously and had several warm collo- quys with Senators who were opposing him In one of them he announced with earnestness that the American army would never return from the Phil ippines until it returned victorious.
 Early in the day MT. Scott .(W. Val delivered a speech in which he advocated an investigation of the San Blss route for an isthmian canal, and Mr< Hans brough made carefully prepared address on his bill to provide national system of irrigation of arid lands. ssF r- |. Mir. Scott (Rep., w. Va-) called up ana had read a resolution which he offered several days ago providing for the ap- pointment of a commission of experts to examine what is known as the San Bias. or Mandigo Bay, route for an Ssthmian waterway. and to report to the Senate the cast of construction of an inter oceanic canal by that route. He dis .laimed any Intention to obstruct the consideration of a canal bill or to delay he building of a canal.
 He said, after thorough investigation, he was convinced the San Bias route net practically every requirement., be- :ause the adoption of that route involved the driving of a tunnel through the gran lte of a mountain range sufficiently large to admit of the passage of any ship, the route had been regarded as impractica- ble.
 Mir. Scott explained that the San Bias route connected the two oceans from the bay of Mandigo. in the Gulf of San Bias. on the Atlantic side, to Pearl Island Har- bor to the Gulf of the Pacific on the Panama side of the Isthmus. Including the five-mile tunnel the canal would be thirty miles long. He said. that the harbors of the San Bias route had excited the enthusiasm of all engineers who had inyestigated them. He believed that electrical power made it entirely practi- cable by this route to tow sailing ships through the canal by electric trolley. The route he proposed, he said. offered great natural and commercial advan- tages.
 He quoted both American and Euro pean engineering authorities to show that the construction of the San Bias tunnel was quite practicable. For the follow ing reasons MT. Scott believed that the San Bias route was the only feasible And practicable sea level canal route:
 First-Its healthy location.
 Second-Its shortness.
 Third-Its magnificent harbors.
 Fourth-Its total absence of locks.
 Fifth-The probability of working gangs of men night and day, in the wet and dry seasons and under good sani- tary conditions.
 Sixth-The very important considera- tions that by this route and no other sailing vessels could be lowed by Nelec- tric power: by night as well as by day.
 Seventh-The economical maintenance of the canal when completed.
 Eighth-The permanency of it's rock bed and the absence of earth embank- ment
 Ninth-The desirable fact that it can be constructed within three, or at most five years.
 MT. Scott concluded by strongly urging the adoption of his resolution.
 Mir Morgan, Chairman of the Commit tee on Inter-oceanic Canals, moved that the resolution offered by MT. Scott be regferred to that committee. He said that the committee had General Sorrell. the promoter of the San Bias route, be- fore it and the matter had been referred to a subcommittee, which was now con ducting an investigation of that project. He pointed out that Colombia would probably oppose the adoption of the San RIas route as that would destroy both the Panama canal and the Panama Rail road Company It would be a hopeless task, he thought, to convince Colombia that the San Bias route would be the most desirable one proposed.
 Without objection the resolution was referred to the Committee on Inter oceanic Canals.
 Mir. Hansbrough (N. D. then address, cd the Senate on the general subject of the irrigation of arid lands, his remarks heinz based upon his bill appropriating the receipts from the sale of public land fin certain States and Territories to tbe construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands. Mir. Hansbrough said the bill did not con- tamnIate a raid on the United States Treasury, the cost of carrying the project into effect being limited to the proceeds nf the sales of public lands in thirteen States and Territories. These proceeds would amount to $o. 100000 per annum. In a neriod of thirty-eight years, he said. ao doo ooo acres of land would be reclaimed b, the available waters, all the work to he done under the direction Of the Sec ystsrv of the Interior.
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