The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-07

lid do not believe we are likely to have war. The last statment brought Mir. Till man to hts feet with the suggestion that 'if the Secretary of State is sit ting on the lid and the Secretary of War Is trying to .pry him off, 1t will go off. because of the greater avoidupois of the head of the war department" ' Without entering in the Jest, Mir.
 Hale replied he was willing to trust
 the kSecretary of War in this matter notwithstanding he had transmitted the recommendations of the staff. He added the statnnent that the staff was taking on itself the responsibility for the conduct of the war department. 1 was, he said, the purpose of that or- ganizationi to invade China which would be declaration of war.
 MT. Hale was replying to dues- tion of MT. Tillman who asked how many troops. had been sent to the PhAl- ippines with view to their being sent to China, and MT. Hale said;
 T do not know how many troops
 have been sent there, but I think sev- eral thousand. The purpose of the general stan Is that they may be used 1 if an emergency arises or can be made to invade China which of course would
 be declaration of war while congress
 is in session
 MT. Warren called attention to the fact that even with the increase per- mitted by this bill the medical staff would still be smaller than that of the navy. but MT. Hale eontended there was
 no analogy between the branches of the service.
 MT Hale also spoke of the great expense of the retired list saying that in the last three years we have retired more brigadier~ generals than was ever retired before in the same time, even after q great war. He also said the | navy list was something startling. MT. Warren replied to the last sug- | gestion by saying that It was due | largely to the bill of the last session retiring officers who had served In the civil war, with increased rank and called attention to the fact that Mir. Hale had supported that measure. Mir. Hale responded the increase was | due to the civil wars-but the fact that | officers were given increased rank for
 a very brief time in some cases for only a day in order to give them bet | ter rank in the regiment.
 MT. Warren took exception to MT. ! HaIe's statement that the pending bill
 was one of many looking to an increase | of the army declared it was not in- 1 tended for that purpose and that no l increase in expenditure would result l from the passage of the bill.
 l MT Pettus. in support of the bill said that statistics show that three out of four men who die in war. die as the result of disease and he quoted statis. tics to show that the Japanese had changed this ratio and said that re- | suits had been accomplished by the attention which the Japanese gave tc their medical department. He con tended also for the importance of rank Il on the part of medical officers, urgine | that very little attention was paid to contract surgeons in the army be- cause of their lack of authority.
 l Mir. Long addressed the Senate or | the statehood bill. He spoke especially
 of the fitness of Oklahoma and Indiar Territory for statehood and then enter
 ed upon an effort to show that Arizons
 was not only not now, but never wouiC
 be fit for statehood. He said that thu | only purpose in now antagonizing join | statehood for Arizona and New Mexico