The San Francisco call., 1908-04-08
SOUNDS WARNINGOF
. TOO BIG WAR fund
Hale Says Increasing Expendi-
lures Menace Treasury
of the Nation
SIO0,00O,000 Army and Navy
Bill Stirs Much Discus
sion in Congress

| WASHINGTON, April IA warning
against increasing expenditures for the
military establishments of the United
States was sounded in the senate to-
day by Senator Hale. chairman of the
committee on naval affairs, and his
alarm was taken up and repeated by
other senators.
The discussion was based on a
signed article printed in the Washing
| ton Post today saying in effect that
| Secretary Taft favored a reorganiza-
tion and enlargement of the army
that would bring it up to 125,000 men,
The immediate occasion for Hale's
speech was the passage yesterday Of
| the army appropriation BILL carrying
nearly 100.000.000 and he used 1t as
showing the tendency OF the times
Moving to reconsider the vote by which
the army appropriation bill was passed,
: Hale said senators did not realize that
/ 10 per cent of the revenues of the gov
ernment were today expended for what
has been termed the needs of present.
past and future years.
i What Is going on continued Hale.
without senators of the country being
1 aware of 1t are the enormous increases
! of the military establishment to the
prejudice of all other appropriations
and claims.
OTHER BILLS CROWDED OUT
I'VE cannot get consideration of
! other bills because everybody knows
! the revenues are waning and We are
1 likely to be confronted with a deficit
and in not many months we shall be
found spending more money than comes
/ into the treasury from the existing
! ordinary sources. We cannot pass the
omnibus appropriation bill, which has
| thousands of items that ought to be
! paid as much as note at hand; we
are to have no river and harbor bill
because 1t is a peace bill; we can have
no public building bill because the
| military expenses are mounting so
| rapidly that we cannot afford these
items that are for peace
! Hale recapitulated appropriations
for military purposes and said every
item represented great aims of the
future. There was, he said an In
crease of 20,000,000 in the appropria-
tions for the army and about the same
increase for the navy This, he said.
i did not represent the enormous in
crease for the navy. only two in
stead of four battleships are provided
for
When you build up a navy" he de-
/ clared. you only begin to spend
pairs and maintenance, making neces-
sary an increasing appropriation, and
If you go on we are going to have
naval appropriation in three or four
years that will amount to s150.0o0,00o
annually"
Ganinger called attention to an ar
/ ticle published in a Washington paper
relative to an ambitious program for an
enlargement of the army. Gallinger
said the article seemed TO be inspired.
/ Senator Warren promptly inter-
rupted Gallinger. He did not believe
the published plan referred to was in
spired and said so far as he was con-
cerned he would be very slow to com
nit himself Aldrioh spoke on the
So me lines.
| 81 hope" said Hale. resumings that
this enormous, unreasonable and wicked
program is not the Judgment of the
secretary of war
Hale then arose and declared that
any one who talks with the general
staff of the army will be told that the
| army must be doubled.
MAKES A SALLY
That he said, 'is the opinion of the
chief of the general staff. who is the
head of the operating part Of the army
with authority during the prolonged,
/ frequent and necessary absences OF the
secretary of war" A sally which oc
casioned smile throughout the SEN
ate chamber.
Senator Hale spoke of the Philippine
islands as a pestilence which had con-
tributed to the policy of military ex-
pansion. He said the general staff
would not now abandon any 'rickety
post" because of this proposed mill
tary expansion.
Senator Clapp of Minnesota said he
thought the motion to reconsider should
be pressed.
lswAR TALK NONSENSE"
Beveridge said that an army OF $4,000
| would be useless against single army
corps. Hale inquired:
..Where does the senator think this
limaginary army corps is to come from?"
He added that a conflict of this
country with another was practically
impossible, and characterized war talk
| as sheer nonsense
WARREN DEFENDED THE ARMY
Did not the secretary of war in a
recent speech favor a large increase
in the army?" asked Gallinger.
Warren said he did not know of such
a speech but hoped that '.the country
would grow fast enough and rich
! enough to feel like having an army as
was suggested"
and Frye. in his colleagues behalf.
!, moved to lay the motion to recon-
slider on the table.
CALIFORNIANs IN NEW YORK