The National tribune., 1908-03-12

something ought to be done about il
We can't have our Navy talked abou
and scandalized by those who are sup
posed to really know what it is afte!
this fashion. Commander Sims, whoS'
record is above reproach, goes right a
the heart of the matter, and declare!
that some Admirals and others have
not spoken the truth concerning oul
battleships. Then he goes on to sa!
to the Senate Committee:
1.-The most dsgraceful exhibition evel
witnessed on the face of this globe was
the shameful state of inefficiency by the
United States Navy during the Spanish
War;"
Il was under the impression" said
Senator Tillman, when he had recovered
from his surprise, that the naval bat
ties of Santiago and of Manila Bay
brought glory to our ships and praise
from the entire world"
such praise was not merited," as
serted Commander Sims, land there Is
documentary evidence at the Navy De-
rartment to prove my assertion"
Commander Sims did not specify to
which battle he referred, but, in re-
sponse to Senator Tillman's remark, he
made the following statement:
Mine thousand projectiles were fired,
and only 120 hits We're recorded, or
about one and one-nalf per cent. The
rest were misses. The exhibition of
workmanship was disgracefUl. If there
hai been any decent display of sea-
manship ON the part of the Spaniards
thev would have gotten away, and our
guns would not have stopped them
Cervera did not have proper ammunl-
ton to fit his guns
These statements We're made under
oath before the Committee on Naval
Affairs of the Senate. 1t is pretty rich
be, you know, Commander Sims is draw
ing it a l-e-e-tle bit fine.
There was battle royal in the House
before Mr.. Mann, charged with the
onerous duty, got rid of the Committee
on Ways and Means, and fired it over
into the new Office building of the
Hcuse. This committee is presided over
by Serene Payne, of New York. 1t has
always been considered the great COM
mittee of the House-of Congress, for
that matter-and did pretty much as It
chose. 1t had a committee room just
across the corridor from the House, and
the members could saunter back and
forth Just as they liked and know all
that was going on in the House. Now
that the new House offices are habitable
it was necessary to move the commit
tees, and in the Encouragement of the
rooms it was desired to give to the
Speaker of the House more commodiOus
quarters, and this could only be done
by taking the rooms that the Commit
tee on Ways and Means had. The COM
mittee fatty declined to move. The
new House Offices are a good 500 feet
from the Capitol Building, and you get
to them by crossing the Capitol plaza.
or by way of light, airy tunnel; but it
takes time, especially if you are not
young and are fat, as the Chairman of
the committee is. He didn't want to
move, and he declared he wouldn't
move. Representative Mann did all that
he could to get the committee to move,
and then as a last resort brought the
matter to the attention of the House,
and it voted that the committee had to-
go. Chairman Payne, who is the floor
leader and charged with the duty of
saying each day, 'I move that the
House do now adjourn" is much ag-
grieved thereat but the edict has been
promulgated. The Committee on WAYS
and Means has got to move.
Senator William B. Allison, of Iowa,
celebrated his 18th birthday anniversary
March 3, and on March rounded out
35 years in the United States Senate.
When he reaches his 8Gth birthday he
wifi have served six terms in the United
States Senate, record that has never
been reached by any other man. He
served eight years in the House before
graduating into the Senate, however,
and has 43 years to his credit in Con-
gress. No man ever reached that by
many years. Senator Allison seems
hale and strong and good for another
term.
President Roosevelt will be asked to-
withdraw the nomination of Grosvenort
A. Porter as United States Marshal for
the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Nu-
merous charges have been filed with the
Senate Judiciary Committee against
Porter. They allege immoral conduct
and misconduct in the handling of pub
lie affairs. The nomination has been
pending for number of weeks before
the Judiciary Committee. Porter was
Marshal of Indian Territory before
Statehood, and on the admission of
Oklahoma he was at once appointed
Marshal Of the Eastern District, en-
bracing the Indian Territory region.
Then citizens began to put in charges
against him, and the committee deemed
these sufficiently serious to ask the
President to recall his name.
Mrs. Frank J. Cannon. wife of former
Senator Cannon, of Utah. died in Og-
den, Utah, last week. Mrs. Cannon was
well known in Washington several years
ago. when her husband was attending
the sessions of Congress here.
The wheels of state turned very rap
Idly one day last week, when some mis-
chievous pages at the Capitol get hold
of and run up a new flag some months
before The symbolism on II was due to
fiutter 10 the free winds of heaven. ItI
is a well-known law that the new star
does not go on the flag until the Fourth
of July, after a new State is admitted
into the sisterhoof of States. The flag
makers have to take convenience into
consideration, however, and make flags
against a day of need. In other words,
they have to make their flags as fast as
possible to supply the demand. The
flags on the Capitol are wearing out,
and new supply with the 46 stars on
them had been laid in, with no inten-
tion of using them until after the Fourth
of July, however. Some of the pages
got onto the fact that the flags were
In hand, and run one up above the
House the other day. and the missing
flag wac soon located by the messen-
ger in charge. There were things
doing right off then, and the flag was
yanked down in a hurry. Then the
House got facetious over it, and pro-
ceeded by resolution to vote the flag
that was raised i've months too previous
to the Oklahoma Representatives., and
they will carry ii back to raise over the
Capitol on July 4. Gov Haskell will
probably not object, since it comes toi
Oklahoma with Confederate votes