The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-16
HOUSE TURNS
 DOWN ROBSON
tContinuea from Page one,

fContinued from Page One) that the United States is sxpending z for this purpose |, only s36,SS4s6e.0 .0s less than Germany with her army of 600.000 and her navy of s2.eot men that the United States Is expending for this purpose in excess of amount expended by France with her army of s50,0 and her navy of 56.Zs5 men s2.6S3, ,332.44.
 Maintaining that navies are built for national defense. Mir. Tawney said that they were not intended and coul1 not be justified upon the ground that they are necessary to satisfy the smbi ton either individual or national to compete with other nations In tinie of peace In size and number of fight ing machines.
 He argued that tile United States. the prestige and power of the nation, did not depend upon the size ot thc army and navy.
 There is no policy for our govern ment." he said, either foreign or do- nestle, to enforce which the size of either is the first or only essential
 Strength Is in People. The country. he said. had eighty millions of patriotic people and 1t Is in these that the strength of our nation exists and not In our standing army or our permanent naval es ablisb- ment"
 Continuing. Mir Tawney declared that the strength of our policies and the ability of our government to en- force them will always be measured by ourselves and by foreign nations not by the size of our army or navy but by the resources. the patriotism and the loyalty of the people who tt all times, are known to be ready and willing to sacrifice their property and even their lives in the defonsc of their government and It's beneficent institu- tions"
 The people, therefore. he argued. should not be encouraged 'to surrsn- der that self reliance. that conscious ness of superior individual etrength as a nation. by trying to teach them to rely upon a standing army and navy in time of peace, large enough to be capable of successfully compet- ing with the armies aud navies of the world or any one of chgf1 in time of war"
 Discussing the question of war, Mir. Tawney said if there was any reason to apprehend war with any foreign power within the next decade the in- formation upon which that appenhen- sion was based had been carefully withheld from the legislative depart ment of the government,
 He asserted that the geographic ls- olation of the United States was far more valuable as a means of national defense "than all the naviss we could build if we did not possess this ad- vantage"
 Diagustins Spectacle.
 Mr. Tawney charged that the Uni- ted States in the past had pursued a bunKlinK naval policy. and he point cd out that the tourney of the Allan tic fleet to the Pacific was made pos sible only through the aid of twen- tv eight vessels flying d foreign flag.
 "A more disgusting spectacle was never witnessed" he said, and he con demned the naval policy which had overlooked auxiliary vessel as to sup ply the fleet with the means absolute iy essential to its existence
 Tt may be- he said In conclusion, "that this mistake is due to the fact that a collier, which Is as essential to the efflcieney of the navy as bat tieship. is not so attractive. does not involve the expenditure of so much money and does not afford the oppor- tunity for the same pyrotechnical dis- play upon the ocean or at the summer resorts along the coast. and for that renYon we have made the mistake of building a navy. that today IS 10 make It's way from one ocean to anoth- er.. and is obliged to rely upon the vessels belonging to another nation,
 MT. Richardson of Alabama. favored the building of four battleships and Mr Lassiter of Virginia denounced the policy of naval expansion and wanted hut one battleship provided in the bill.
 Mr Humphrey of Washington read a brief note addressed to him by the President dated April 1s, expressing surprise that any one should oppose four new battleships, and Mir. Humph- rev, waving his hand toward both sides of the House. said that every body knew that at the bottom Of the