The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-26
GIVE S3,0OO,0OO ID FORT|FY CANAL House Overwhelmingly Fa-
 vors Fertilization QUESTION IS SETTLED Senate Is Known To Be Greatly in Favor of Plan Tawney's
 Amendment Is Bone
 of Contention

| Washington. February 25.-After | nearly five hours debate the House of
 Representatives, shortly before 10
 o'clock tonight. voted overwhelmingly
 in favor of the policy of fortifying the
 Panama canal and appropriated $3.000,- | 900 to begin the work. the total cost of which has been estimated at $12,000,- | 900. The action of the House practic- ally settles the question of fortifica-
 tion. for the sentiment in the Senate
 Is said to be more than to 1 in favor of protecting the Isthmian waterway l by seacoast batteries. The real test in
 the House came on an amendment pro- posed by Representative Tawney of
 Minnesota, chairman of the committee
 on appropriations. MT. Tawney has
 been opposed to fortifying the canal | from the first and made a forceful speech against that policy near the close of the debate tonight. He then offered an amendment which provided that no part of the money set aside | for fertilization should be used until the President of the United States had attempted to negotiate treaties with all of the leading maritime nations guar anteeing the neutrality and interna- tional protection of the canal.
 l Representative Sherley of Kentucky | bitterly, attacked this amendment and warned members that it had been in | troduccd for the sole purpose of de- feating that appropriation.
 Tawney Defeated
 1 The Tawney amendment then was voted down 130 to 63. A motion by | Representative Keller of Ohio to strike | out all provisions for the fortfication of the canal was lost 135 to 51.
 The real interest in the debate seemed | to center in the Tawney amendment and the speeches made for and against | 1t by MT. Tawney and MT. Sherley. MT. l Tawney, stalwart republican, look ed | to the democratic side for sympathy and applause and received both MT. | Sherley. one of the democratic leaders | of the public. was accorded an ovation 1 by the republican members. When 1t came to voting the republicans gener- 1 ally supported the fortification plan and the democrats opposed it. The de- lection of abouf 20 republican from the l general policy of fortification was off
 set by similar defection in the dem Iocratic side in favor of fertilization. The fertilization of the canal was pro- vded for in the sundry civil bill, but
 was considered in the House practically as a separate measure and after all the other features of the sundry civil bill 1 ladd been disposed of. The debate began shortly after o'clock. Representative Walter I. Smith of Iowa led off in favor of fortification and was immediately fol- | lowed by Representative Keller, who led the opposition forces The debate was general from that time on and no less
 than 20 members spoke from to 20 mln- lt,to Mr. Cy,1tf 1Ix, Js.d as representing the administration in tho l fight for fertilization. He began by cit | ing the various treaties on the subject of a canal and declared that the United
 States had an absolute right to fortfy. Have Right to Fortify
 When the canal is completed said Mr. Smith, i've will have spent $400. coo. 600, chiefly for the purpose of increasing the great ocean highway. Others may de- l fend the fortification of the canal upon what ground they please. Some may as- | sert that we would be justified even in violating a treaty in time of emergency | in defending ourselves as best we could. | am not here to defend any proposition
 so shocking to public and private morals. l I am here to insist that we have the right to fortify the canal; that 1t is more
 than a right; that. in fact we have con- |
 protect 1t against blockade. This makes | it the solemn duty of this people to for tify the entrance of the canal as securely as any of the ports of the world" | When General Keller had concluded hls speech against the fortiflcation. which fol- lowed the general line of an extended ad-
 dress he made to the House on the sub | ject several weeks ago, he made point
 of order against the application for fortifl-
 cation. declaring It was not Justified by
 existing law.
 Keller Overruled
 Representative Mann of Illinois was in
 the chair and overruled the point. MT
 Mann declared the last Hay-Pauncefote
 treaty, which was ratified. superseded and
 abrogated the Clayton Bulwer treaty, in
 which there was a provision against for
 tification. The Spooner act. he declared,
 distinctly gave the United States the
 right to construct, maintain and pi otecr
 the canal. Mr. Mann said that as far as treaty obligations were concerned tho
 United States clearly had the right to police and protect the canal in any way 1t
 saw fit.
 A number of the democrats who spoke
 and voted against the fortification dc-
 clared they were in favor of fortifying
 the canal after 1t was completed but
 they did not think the work had pro- cressed far enough to do so now.
 | Representative Smith explained that if the forti1cation were not begun and car
 ried on while the present effective con
 struction was on the isthmus the work
 would cost several million dollars more. | Mir. Tawney declared that if such 2 | proposition had arisen when the canal | was first contemplated. its construction
 never would have been authorized. He
 asserted that in opening the canal to the commerce of the world the United | states had conferred the nations prop
 erty right in the canal. Mfr. Tawnex in-
 sisted that the Qualifications of the canal
 ultimately would cost not less than $6D,- | GOO GOO. He declared that the interest on | the s375.0O0000 of construction bonds and | on the s6O, ,0O0 900 for fortification, together
 with the annual cost of $7,000000 for maln- tenance and operation of the canal and
 $10.OCO,O ,OO0 for the pay of troops and the | up-keep of fortihcations. would bring the
 annual total expenditures on the canal | up to $30,0O0,0O0. The estimated revenue. l he said, Is only $000.000 year. leav- ing the net cost to the United States at
 s2s0Oo,O0o a year.
 Invitation For Destruction
 l "If we want to invite the nations of the world to destroy the canal" MT.
 Tawney said. "the best way to do 1t is
 (CoxTrNUsD ON FACE 9