The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-02-27
NAVAL BILL
 PASSES HOUSE Party Contests on Several
 Propositions. PRICE OF ARMOR DEBATED The Eight-Hour Law Also is
 Discussed. Several Amendments Ruled Out on Points of Order and Others
 Offered by Democrats are
 Voted Down.
PRICE OF ARMOR DEBATED

itt3 -s -
 Washington. Feb. 2e.--The House pass ed the naval appropriation bill today after having it under consideration for n week. There was | party contest on number of propositions during the day and espe- cially on the effort of different minority members to fix the price of armor plate at the figure bid by the Midvale Steel Company.
 Several amendments were ruled out on points of order.
 An intellectual effort was made to have the eight hour law applied to all ship construction.
 The contest over submarine boats was quite exciting
 The minority failed to secure a record vote on the proposition to recommit with Instructions, the proposed instructions be- Ing declared out of order.
 MT. Roberts (Mass.),' in discussing the naval bill, declared hotly that he de- sired to resent the insinuation of Mir Dayton (W Va.), that he (Mr. Roberts) was the representative of any particular typa of submarine boats. He then crit ictsed Mir. Hill tConn.), for his enthusi- asm for certain type of torpedo boat.
 Hill's Smart Trick.
 Mir. Loudenslager (N. J.), declared that the Efill substitute was cleveriy drawn to prevent the ptrchass of any subnisa- rines because there were only two makes of these boats and should one company refuse to put their boat in competition nOns could be purchased.
 MT. Roberts's amendment authorizing the purchase of five submarine torpedo bOats was lost by a vots of 45 to 196, and Mir Hil1's amendment incorporating the language of the last appropriation, au- thorixing the Secretary of the Navy to ptirplfase submarine topedo boats and pfo- vfdEng for competition but increasing the limit of appropriation from $50O.o00 to ssb0e00 was adopted by vote of 9i to 09,
 AIT. TdHernaah proposed an amendment Iss6siaiisg that no money pafd Sat fsFi construction under the bill shall be paid to any contractor until he has covenant ed with the Government that no laborcr shall be required to work over eight hours, forfeit of S5 a day being pro- vided for each man required to work be- yond that time.
 Debate on S-Hour Day.
 Mir. Foss raised point of order against the amendment. Mir. Livernash said the practice had been for the House to pass eight hour legislation which would go to the Senate on the eve of adjournment, when. he said, the subterfuge had been to leave the bill buried in committee He said that Congress was now on the eve of adjournment and the committee of the House ''ls still tagging along" ContIa- uing, he said: I would have this bill amended m this form and sent to the Senate. so that the Senate will have to show it's guilty hands, so that it will have to cut this provision out or leave 1t In by positive vote"
 The House was all right on the ques- tion. ne said. but should protect itself from the other side.
 Mir. Payne (N. Y.), declared the amend ment to be bold proposition to repudlate contracts already entered into by the Government with contractors. He sad that whatever might be said on the eight hour labor law he could not stand fur any proposition proposing repudiation 0f contracts made by the United States.
 overruled by Cannon.
 The point of order was overruled by the chair, but on a rising vote the amend- ment was lost-62 to 110-two Republicans voting for it and about dozen DemU- crats against it.
 Mr. Livernash then sought to amend the bill so as to make the eight-hour law provision apply to the construction ot the new vessels provided for in the bl;l, put thS WaS Fuleu oul Oh punt oA order. O..
 Mir. Dalzell (Pa.). raised a point of order against the paragraph "under arm ament" authorizing the Secretary of tAe Navy. unable to make contracts for ar- nor at price reasonable and equitable in his Judgment to procure a site and erect an armor plate factory, s40OO,OOO being appropriated. The point was sus- tained by the chair. who was upheld in his decision by party vote of 13l to 9S.
 MT. Foss moved that the committee re- port the bill. but a number of members on the minority side were on their feet for recognition, each holding aloft an amendment.
 Rixey Has Amendment.
 MT. Rixey Va.). was recognized and proposed an amendment authorizing tie Secretary of the Navy to contract for armor at price not to exceed $39S a ton and being unable to contract at that price. to construct a Government armor plate factory.
 MT. DalzeIl raised a point of order against this amendment.
 Mir Underwood (Ala). contended for the amendment, but the point of order was sustained.
 MT. Rixey next proposed another fixing the maximum to be paid for armor at S39S. He said the Mid- vale Company was given a contract for six thousand tons at that prize whereas the Carnegia and Bethlehem computes were awarded contracts for five thousand tons each at $453 ton.
 Mir. Dalzell in opposing the amendment said that 1t was a vexatious question and should not be a partisan matter, but that whenever 1t came up, opportunity was given to abuse corporations and talk about the government being held up. The armor which the Midvale company pro- posed to construct. he said, was armor of their own type and as yet untried.
 Testimony of Cramp.
 Mir. Hitchcock (Neb) called attention tn testimony of Charles 1T. Cramp In which he was reported to have said that the profits of armor making were enor- nous and that he would be willing to build ships at cost If he could have the profit on armor.
 Mir. Dalzell said Mir. cramp had been building ships for a good many years and had not gone into bankruptcy.
 MT. Dalzell offered substitute amend ment providing that the Secretary be au- thorized to procure contracts for armor at