, 1908-04-27
SENATOR HALE IS
AFTER THE ARMY
MOVES A RECONSIDERATION OF
ARMY BILL, BUT LATER
WITHDRAWS.
In a Speech in the Senate the Maine
Senator Laments Action Of the
Taft a Lick is Believed to be the
Rear Animus in the Kick.

teresting time in the senate for the
chairman of the military committee,
the Hon. Francis q. Warren of Wyo-
ming. He had succeeded in getting
the bill through the senate in record
time, when Senator Hale of Maine, the
chairman of the committee on naval
affairs, took 1t upon himself to raise a
row over the matter, but to his own
discontinue. In reporting the matter
the New York Sun says:
Senator Hale of Maine, chairman OF
the committee on naval affairs of the
senate and a leading member of the
committee on appropriations, made an
earnest protest in the senate today
against the rapidly increasing expen-
ditures by congress for the military
establishment. His remarks were
based upon the prompt passage yester-
day afternoon of the army a%ppropria'
ton bill carrying appropriations az.
gregating sos, 100000 in a little over
an hour. MIR. Hale called attention to
the fact that the figures showed an in
crease of 500, 900, 900 over the last
army appropriation bill. He said he
was absent on important official bust
ness when the bill was passed.
Senator Warren interposed to say
that congress had been compelled to
pass urgent deficiency appropriations
to meet deficits caused by insufficient
appropriations. Continuing, Mr.. Hale
declared that the increase in the navy
4, ,Wrro,,;,d;A hill thiv caccion would
be at least $40, 000, 900 more than that
OF last session. He warned the sen,
ate that the appropriations were not
temporary but permanent, n he re-
peated the warning uttered by Repre-
sentative Tawney in the house a few
days ago that the expenditures on &C.
count of wars past and present, in
Guiding pensions, represented 10 per
cent of the total CT the gov
eminent"
Mr.. Hale declared that the military
feature of the government was being
emphasized at the expense of the civil.
The great omnibus claim bill must
watt said he. I'VE shall have no
river and harbor bill and no omnibus
public building bill. All this is be-
cause the military establishment Is
mounting SO rapidly"
Senator Gallinger of New Hamp-
shire inquired of Mr.. Hale whether the
warning was nj all the more timely
in view of an article in a morning
newspaper, apparently inspired" quot
ing Secretary Taft in favor of a radi-
cal increase in the army.
Does the senator know the article
was inspired?" asked Mr.. Warren.
Continuing, Mr.. Warren said the
writer of the article had published sew
eral stories about himself the past sea-
son which we're not inspired, but were
utterly unfounded and untrue" The
senator from Wyoming declared that
the writer got much Of the material
concerning himself from the feeble
minded secretary to a feeble-minjed
or radical secretary of the interior,
who is not now a member of the cabi-
net"
Mr.. Culberson of Texas suggested
that the article bore upon its face the
assertion that it was inspired.
Yes replied Mr.. Hale, and that
article was one of the things which has
brought me to my feet"
Mr.. Warren expressed the opinion
that the article was not inspired.
Il, for one, hope the army will not
be materially increased" he added.
Continuing, MI. Hale characterized
the program for the increase of the
army as ian ~extravagant and wicked
program"
He hoped that the secretary of war
was not responsible for it. "Yet you
will be told by the chief Of staff that
the army must be doubled" said Mr..
Hale.
This officer is the head of the war
department during the long, frequent,
necessary and prolonged absences Of
the secretary of war. l cannot bring
myself to believe that the secretary of
wal with all his experience, will give
his approval to this wicked program"
Mr.. Overman of North Carolina in
sisted that the writer had access to
confidential sources of information,
and cited an article from the same
source a few days ago in which a con-
idential official communication in the
attorney-general's Office was quoted.
Mr.. Money of Mississippi asked Mr..
Hale if he considered the present mill,
tary establishment large enough in
view CT the policy of holding the Philip
pines.
Yes, l think it is large enough even
with that pestilential curse of the
Philippines on our shoulders" replied
Mr., Hale.
Continuing, Mr.. Hale said it was i'm
possible to secure the abandonment
of an old rickety army post in the west
because the general staff wanted it to
remain as an excuse for increasing the
army"
Senator Clapp of Minnesota suggest
ed that the proper thing to do was to
move a reconsideration of the army ap.
preparation bill, w%hereupon Mr.. Hale
made the motion. Later he withdrew
it But Mr.. Warren expressed the
hope that the motion might not be
withdrawn. IF there are any penitent
senators here let them vote to set
themselves right" he said.
Mr.. Warren proceeded to pay a com
pliInent to the army. We love the
army in war and hata n in poaca %