The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-02
NR. STONE IS SEVERE
MAKES VIGOROUS ASSAULT UPON
 THE PRESIDENT.
Ridfcules Resolution Introduced by Senator AIdrich Giving Presi- dent Authority tc Purchase
 Canal Materials From FOreignera.

Washington, June 1.-when Senator
 Aldrich today A@sought to secure the
 passage of his resolution giving tho
 President authority to go outside the
 United States to buy supplies for the
 Panama Canal in case bids from the
 United States are extortionate or un-
 reasonable, Senator Stone took the floor
 in opposition to the resolution. He
 based his opinion on the ground that
 it was useless to pass it.
 NO one~can doubt" he said. that
 the President will buy practically all
 canal materials in America no matter
 what the difference in prices here and
 abroad may he If we are to judge the
 future by the past there is no room
 for questioning whst course the Pres ident will adopt. The men who con- trlbuted the stupendous slush funds ag-
 gregatipg millions upon millions of dollars to carry the last three presi- dential elections for the Republican candidates almost of necessity have their grasp upon those who accepted their princely donations
 The beneficiaries of those corpora
 ton funds may sometimes vince and shrink from the task imposed upon them and to hide the shame of it may | now and then perform some spectac- ular stunt in the limelight and before | the galleries; but in the end the forces | hold the strings will have their way | But there has been so much of this clustering and 1t has attracted such l wide attention that something must be done to relieve the situation. Some | thing must be provided for public cred ulity to feed upon. A soft place must
 be made for the President to fall The | scheme for all this is wrapped up in | this resolution
 Senator Stone said that ahouf a vear l ago the president and the secretary of | war had announced that they would | not be held up in the purchase of ma | terial for the canal by American man. | ufacturers or American shipowners.
 This declaration, he said. was ap- | proved generally by the American peo- | pie as in the interest of the general l welfare. But he declared that the | special interests affected resisted and won.
 In support of this contention, he ci- | ted the purchase from the Ward Line | of two ships for the canal service. | The president" he said, opened ne- | gotiations for the purchase of foreign | ships. but at the same time the batter | les of American shipbuilders were | opened on the president. The fight while 1t lasted was fast and furious. | For awhile 1t looked as If the presi- | dent for once would stand his ground. l But he hauled down his flag and sur l rendered. Instead of buying the two foreign ships of 5000 tons each for | $750.000 he bought two American ships | of 5.700 tons each for $1,300. 1000" These vessels said the Senator, had cost originally not to exceed $60o,0O0 | each. and as they had been in service l about eight years, were worth 40 per cent less. This he pronounced "a | shameful instance of treasury footing. '' | He declared the Presidents weakness | a costly thing for the country" And so,'' MT. Stone proceeded, the | Macedonian cry comes over from the White House to Congress. This joint resolution is the response Congress makes to that appeal. Hereafter. when the President goes on buying trust ma- terials at trust prices. he can excuse himself on the ground that Congress
 has established a rule for his guidance.
 That is about the only possible use to which this resolution can 6e put" When MT. Stone concluded, Senator Foraker read from the testimony of 1 Shonts before the interoceanic canal | committee showing that the two Ward | line ships had been built at a time | when material and labor were cheap | and that they had been so strengthen
 ed as to materially improve them and
 really make them a bargain at the price.
 Senator Carmack suggested that as an amendment preference shall be given to articles of domestic manu- facture when they can be secured as
 cheaply as others and spoke in sup port of 1t. He drew the conclusion
 that the government ought to afford
 to it's citizens the provision it demands
 for itself-that of buying elsewhere when prices at home are "extortionate
 or unreasonable"
 The resolution was still under con-
 sideration when the Senate went into executice session.