The Washington herald., 1911-02-23
OYER $142,OOO,OOO
VOTEDIN FAST TIME
House Quickly Passes Three
Appropriation Bills.
ALL ARE RUSHED THROUGH
Ordinarily Naval, Diplomatic, and
Fortifcations Measures Would
Have Consumed Nine or Ten Leg
. iSlatiye Days-onIy Two Supply
Bills Remain to Be Passed.

Three appropriation bills, authorizing
expenditures in excess of $40, ,0Oo, 900, were
passed rapidly by the House of Rep
resentatives yesterday. The measures in
question were the naval bin, the dip
lomatic bill, and the fortihcations bill.
Ordinarily these bills, taken as a whole,
would have consumed nine or ten fegisla-
tive days
The naval bill was debated a part OF
Monday, part of the day Tuesday, and
was put through yesterday altar a brief
debate. 1t carries an appropriation of
S133, 000, ,001 The Notifications bill author
ICES expenditures approdmating $S,21.-
600, and the diplomatic bill makes avail
able the sum of $4,06,oo0
The naval bill, as it passed, carries an
the radical anti-steel trust and eight-hour
amendments injected into 1t Tuesday.
Only one effort was made to amend the
measure yesterday. This was when Rep
resentative Padgett, of Tennessee, moved
to recommit the bill to the committee
with instructions to report it back with
provision for one battle ship instead of
two. The motion was beaten, on a record
vote, 1G3 to 167. The House thus went
on record in favor of two battle ships, as
proposed by the Naval Committee
Loaded with Amendments.
The naval bill goes to the Senate
loaded with amendments, which, in the
ordinary course of events, will be dis
agreed to by the higher body. What will
be the action of the House when the
bill is returned to ii minus the antitrust
amendments remains to be seen There
may be a determined fight over this
proposition, which is bound to complicate
the legislative situation in the closing
days of the session.
The fortifcations bill, which was re-
ported by Representative Walter L
Smith, provoked very little debate. The
appropriations that it carries will be
expended on the Atlantic and Pacific
coasts, in the Philippines, and in the
Hawaiian Islands.
Three or four hours debate were de-
voted TO the diplomatic bill. Among the
new items in this measure is one appro-
priating $4,000 for clerk hire at United
States consulates. This increase the
report on the bill set forth, grows
out OF the enlarged commercial rela-
tionS of the government and the policy
Of the Department of State, which has
been approved by Congress and by the
people at large, to .Americanize the
entire consular service
Would Measure the Earth.
4 provision in the bill appropriating
$500 as the contribution of the United
state to assist the International Geodetic
Association in its work of measuring
the earth kicked UP some discussion
Representative Macon wanted to be in
formed how long it would take to meas
ure the earth. Representative Foster. Of
Vermont. who was in charge of the bill
confessed that he didn't know.
1T will take a thousand years." re-
marked Representative Palmer, of Penn
sylvania
''Or as long as it took to discover the
north pole, perhaps" suggested Repre-
sentative Mann, of Illinois.
Representative Macon asked Repre-
sentative Foster how long the Interna-
tional Geodetic Association had been
on the job I'VE have been contribut-
ing to this. great scientific work for
twenty years. replied Mr. Foster.
DO you know how much of the earth
has been measured in that time?' asked
Mr.. Macon. IAN inch.e perhaps" inter
rupted Representative Palmer.
Only Two Bills Remain.
Only two of the supply bills remain to
be passed by the House. These are the
sundry civil bill and the general def
cheney. The sundry civil bill will carry
an appropriation of $50, 10000. 1t will be
TepOTIe0 IO-Ody. II PROVIDES FUNDS for
practically every department of the gov
ernment and for every public work, in
cludtng the Panama Canal 1t also makes
provision for the fortihcation of the
canal, the sum OF 100000 having been
made available for the purpose by the
House Committee on Appropriations.
The sundry civil bill also contains an
amendment making an appropriation Of
$4,000 to enable the tariff board to con-
tinue its work of inquiry. This amend
ment provides that the funds allowed
shall be available until expended
The Democrats object TO the form of
this amendment 1t is designed to keep
the tariff board supplied with money for
two years, the administration having
asked the committee to make such
provision because of the fear that the
Democratic House in the next Congress
would refuse to make appropriations for
the maintenance of the tariff board The
purpose of the amendment, of course, is
obvious. and the Democratic minority.
which will be the majority in the next
House, is resenuul.