Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-02-28
The House Devotes Day
to Military Matters.
Plan to Abolish Lieut.. General
Rank Is Defeated.
Senate Agrees 10 Vote on the Statehood
Bill, Friday, March 9.

tSio iiClu tlft ilteIlllOIl Vi TIE
today, the army appropriation bill be-
Ing under consideration for amend
ment. That Gen. Corbin and Gen. Nc
Arthur might become lieutenant gen.
erals, the provision in the bill abolish
ing that rank was eliminated on n
point of order raised by Mr.. Grosvenor
of Ohio, who substituted an amend
ment to abolish the grade after these
officers had been promoted, but this,
too, met defeat.
Members of the appropriation COM
mittee disputed the right of the mill
tary committee to appropriate for an
apparatus for fire control of field artil-
le1y, but without success.
Only eight of the so pages of the bill
We're passed upon when the House ad-
Jourend.
AS its first business the House
passed the DalZell bill chartering the
Lake Erie & Ohio Ship Canal Co. with
an authorized capital of $600O0,00O.
The House today ordered destroyed
Il resolution of inquiry purporting to
have been introduced by Van DuZer,
New, but which he repudiated. The
ltSOlutiOIl IdIiCu VIZ tiC SAotC W l'eAi
ment for the report of Herbert II. d.
PIERCE regarding the condition of con-
SulateS i'll the Orient.
A roll call was begun on the Dali
zcll Lake Erie & Ohio ship canal bill.
The first roll call resulted in ordering
the previous question is to IS. Will
liams secured Il second roll call which
resulted in the passage of the bill 1856
to 81.
On motion of Hull Ia, the army APP
propria ton bill was taken up for con-
sideration under the tive-minute rule.
The reading of the bill was interrupt
ed by Crumpacker, who raised an in
quiry which developed a lively turn OF
debate.
Mr. Crumpacker had read in the pa
pers the charge that $30O00.OGO had
been wasted by army officers, who
bought useless apparatus, scientific and
otherwise, including flying machines,
telescopes, etc.
i desire TO say" replied Mr.. Hull,
that the committee on military af-
fairs has never authorized flying ma
chimes. That has been done by the
great and good committee on apprO-
priations not by the small committee
on military affairs
The Notifications bill, coming from
the appropriations committee, explain
ed Fitzgerald, N. Y, had annually car
ried an amount for experimental pur-
poses.
MY recollection is" continued Hull,
that lying machines We're specifically
q nj Dn,yA1 IVA Axyin
chimes as absolutely absurd. 1
am rot a scientific man but a machine
that will fly to the bottom of the riv-
err
At this point Grosvenor broke in to
ask where the flying machine para
graph of the bill was located and Hull
did not complete his estimate of fly
ing machines.
A sharp dispute arose over committee
jurisdiction between the appropriations
and military committees.
Lttauer, n. T., made a point of or
der against the provision for fire con-
troll for field guns on the ground that
the appropriations committee had jur-
isdiction over coast and field artillery
in the Notifications bill.
An exhaustive review Of the subject
was made by Mr.. Boutelle, Ills, in the
chair, who concluded by ovcr-ruling
the point of order with reference to the
iire-control apparatus
Grosvenor. Ohio. made a point of
order against the provision of the bill
abolishilg the grade Of lieutenant gen
eral.
Clark Mo-. declared that it was the de-
sire of Gen. Miles to become n lieutenant
major general. and the coalescing OF
their friends revived the rank of lieuten-
ant general in 1900 by Senate amend
ment. At that time he had made an Ell
fort to confine it alone to Gen. Miles and
was now glad to see it abolished
An interesting review of the rank of
lieutenant general was made by Clark.
who said politics had always entered in
to the question. Thomas H. Benton he
said came near having that rank con-
ferred on him as the Democratic hero of
the Mexican war. If 1t had been done.
and it failed by only three votes in the
Senate, Benton would have been elected
President twice and the Civil war would
not have been.
After Grosvenor had announced that he
should offer an amendment to abolish the
rank at a future time so as not to ex-
clude from promotion Gen. Corbin and
Gen. Macarthur, Gardner, Mich, asked.
"Who was this man Corbin? The high
est rank he ever attained in war was
that of lieutenant colonel and command
ed a regiment. He never originated or
executed a campaign; he never COM
manded an army in battle; practically
speaking, he knows nothing about war
except as the commander of a regiment.
This is nothing against him; it is not
saying that he would not have been, un-
der other circumstances. a great com.
n,ander. but he was not. and that set
ties 1t.