The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-04-17

sentative 1lutTWDOQ SCOTtu d NlGlOTS III
 the House today by the adoption of his
 amendment changing the provisions of
 the naval bill to allow the three and
 one-half millions expended for submarine
 boats left to the Secretary of the Navy
 In other words the amendment throws
 open the submarine boat purchases to free competition and insures that the govern
 ment will get the best type boat on the
 market instead of conining the purchase
 to one company.
 Washington April 16.-Before consider
 ation of the naval appropriation bill could
 be resumed in the House today 1t was
 first necessary to obtain a quorum and
 this proceeding occasioned considerable
 delay. When the bill was finally gotten
 under way MT. Madden of Illinois made point of order against the provision re- lating to the method of contracting for
 the 10 torpedo boat destroyers. The chair
 sustained the point and the words went out of the bill. A proposed amendment by Mr Hughes of New Jersey making
 the eight-hour law applicable to laborers
 or mechanics doing any part of the work of new construction authorized by the bill except in cases of national emer- gency, was lost on a point of order by
 MT, Foss. MT. Williams appealed from 1 the decision, but the chair was sustained, l 115 to 92
 Mir Roberts of N1assac chusetts opposed 1 the Bonynge amendment, declaring that l the limitation of the Secretary of tue l Navy in the original submarine amend l ment was practically identical with the l battleship provision requiring him to build
 those two ships along the lines of the
 Delaware. The only people" said Mir. l Roberts, who have got any encourage
 ment out of this matter of favoritism is
 the Lake company. whose boat was dis i credited in the trial last spring" The
 Lake boat, he declared, was found to be 1 radically defective, and yet" he said
 notwithstanding that fact that company
 came up and got contract for s45O, 900 | for one of those discredted boats, and in l that contract the Secretary of the Navy l encourages that company to the extent of
 $20,Ooo, being the interest on the money 1 they are going to put into it." And the only encouragement the com l mittee got was from the Holland peo- 1 pie, hotly interjected Mr. Landis of In- l diana. ncIcTcnCc 10 EIncy.
 The gentleman from Indiana is fol- l lowing the lead of the gentleman from l Connecticut" retorted Mir Roberts This reference was to MT Lilley, and that l gentleman jumped up to reply, but Mr. Roberts declined to yield
 MT. Roberts maintained that the rec ords of the committee naval affairs showed that it provided for competition. Here is the defeated man." he ex- claimed "cOmine m now. whining that he has not had fair play, when he agreed in writing that he would abide by the results of the tests and accept them as final"
 l MT Bonynge inquired if the naval com mittee had examined into the Denver 1 boat but MT. Roberts declared he did not know what that has to do with the | whining of the Lake people. He asserted | that the language of the Bonynge amend
 ment was in the language of Symon 1 Lake, but MT. Bonynge sharply retorted l that the words were from the acts of ! 1903.
 i Mir Underwood of Alabama. presenting 1 an amendment striking out the proviso l of the original provisions leaving it dis i cretionary with the Secretary of the Navy
 as to the type he shall select | The need of submarines was empha-
 sized by Mr Bragg of Texas and he eX- l pressed himself against paper anu l model' boats and Lake boats in favor Of
 boats of the Holland type, which the com l mittee recommended. A still further 1 amendment was offered by MT. Humphrey l of Washington, providing for the con- ] struction of some of the submarlnes on | the Pacific coast
 The restoration of the original para i graph was strongly urged by MT. Lou 1 denslager of New Jersey, whereupon de-
 bate upon that proposition closed
 Amendments Lost. 1 The Ocott and Underwood amendments 1 were adopted 1OS to l04; the Humphrey l amendment was lost on a point of order,
 as was also the Bonynge amendment As finally amended the bill authorizes l the eight submarines. but strips the ! secretary of the Navy of the limitation to construct only for boats of the Hol- land type.
 On point of order by MT Stafford of
 Wisconsin there was stricken from the | bill the provision authorizing a sub-
 surface destroyer or torpedo boat. There was a brief discussion over the | old question of armor plate and its cost MT Hitchcock of Nebraska contended
 that there really was competition and | he offered an amendment fixing the prlce
 at s375 ton of 2240 pounds. MT. Tawney insisted that there was l competition and said that as a result of 1t l the government saved $4O000o on the bat tleships Delaware and North Dakota alone.
 After a long consideration of the ques- ton of point of order against the
 amendment recommended by MT. Foss. the
 chair sustained that gentleman and the amendment was lost.
 | In a brief speech Mir. Knowland Of California blamed MT. Liley for making palpaby false and misleading statements 1 in his speech Of last week regarding worthless navy yards, in which he stated IsIo rI uaS | of them.
 MT. Lley. he said, had grossly misrep-