Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-31
A|RSH|P FUND VOTED
House Adds Half Million DOL
lars to Army Bill.
FOR SIGNAL SERVICE WORK
Objections to Appropriation, as
New Business" Ruled Out.
HULL PROPOSES INCREASE
Amendment Approved by Vote of
rs to 55-Deeds Of Wrights
Pointed to With Pride.
L PROPOSES INCREASE

| By a vote Of 81 to % the House of Rep
/ resentatives yesterday afternoon added
$4,000 to the signal service item Of
$25O.O0O in the army appropriation bill, TO
be used in aeronautcal experiments.
| Previously Representative Macon of
Arkansas had made a point of order
against the provision already in the bill
for $4,000 for the Signal Corps because
| it contained the words war balloons.
He commended that as these words were
not in the bill last year therefore this
made the paragraph new legislation with
in the meaning Of the rules of the House
and consequently subject to a point Of
order. He said, however. that he would
withdraw the point If any member could
show him that it was not new PROPOSE
ton.
Balloons in Civil War.
Representative Capron of Rhode Island
jumped up and told the House he had
operated a military balloon during the
civil war. Mr.. Macon, amid some APP
plause, withdrew his objection, which.
however was promptly renewed by Rep
resentative Sherley of Kentucky.
The burden of the arguments in sup
port Of the balloon provision was that
balloons had now become part of an
efficient army. Some opponents main
tanned that balloons were not used in the
RuSso-Japanese war, the Spanish-Amer-
lean war and the Boer war.
Mr.. Macon insisted that balloons had
played no considerable part in warfare.
His statement was controverted by Mr.
Cochran of New York. who said that a
balloon performed a signal part in the
war between France and Germany when
NJ. Gambetta escaped from Paris by such
means and organized the national de-
Tense.
Wireless Development Cited.
Mr.. Mann of Illinois, in favoring the
balloon provision. pointed to the sinking
Of the Republic. and said that no one
could have cited ten days ago any case
where wireless telegraphy had saved hun
dreds OF lives through shipwreck.
THE time for citing the case in ref
erence to balloons he said, will come
after they have saved hundreds of mill
lions Of dollars and maybe hundreds Of
thousands Of lives. and possibly a great
deal more"
After a number Of members had spoken
for and against the proposition Repre-
chair, ruled that the point of order was
not we'll taken. The item of $4,000 re-
manned in the bill.
Hull Proposes Increase.
AS soon as the chair had ruled Mr..
Hull of Iowa offered an amendment in
creasing the appropriation carried by the
paragraph from $4,000 to $3.50. 900, which,
Mr.. Hull admitted. after being subjected
to rapid-fre questioning. was largely to
be used for experiments with and the
development Of balloons and airships.
In the course of the debate on the
amendment Mr.. Slayden of Texas pointed
to the achievements of the Wright tbrotf1-
ers in aerial nayiSa ton, which, he said,
had been SO conspicuous that a foreign
government had already acquired rights
In their inventions. He deemed it of
the utmost Importance that the American
government should take the lead in MILL
tary aeronauticS.
Finally. after much debate, q vote was
taken and the Hull amendment agreed to.