The Washington herald., 1912-02-18

certain members OF the House IN .oD-
tanning information in an improper man.
ner and entering into combinations for
the purpose OF influencing legislation,
and, like many men in similar positions.
he assumed that he was possessed of all
the patriotism Of the House, and assum-
ed TO warn his party colleagues not to
imperil the country or the national de-
fense.
ssUnderhand'' Manner Used.
'Mr. Speaker, 1 have much more con-
fidence in gentlemen who spend here not
only the winter months. but also the hot
summer days, in this House in an honest
attempt to frame legislation which viii
result beneficially to the country than
L have for the off-hand Opinions of gen.
tlemen possessed Of the notion that they
possess some message which must be
delivered TO the eople through the
Chautauqua platform TO the neglect OF
duties they are called upon to perform
by the people.
''Under the rules OF the House, the two
columns of the Record which he insert
ed may properly be stricken out, but 1
prefer to leave them there. They will
not hurt me in any place, and they will
serve as an illustration Of the type and
character of the gentlemen, who, In an
underhand and covert manner, resorted
to this means Of rejecting upon his col
leagues
Il only regret, Mr. Chairman. that the
gentleman from Alabama is not pres
ent, because II he were ] would not feel
the same restraint that / do in submit
ting these observations to the House"
When Mr.. Fitzgerald had delivered this
parting shot, Mr.. Hay asked unanimous
consent of the House to take up the
cudgel in his own defense. He had sew
eral paragraphs of Mr.. Hobson's speech
read. The paragraphs objected to were
as follows:
For the first time since have been in
Congress, probably for the first time
since the oldest member here can remem-
Der, We find politics carried into the COM
mittees on national defense. The gentle
man from Virginia having failed to get
his legislative measures. one Of which
provided for the advancement of the Ad-
jutant General to the rank Of lieutenant
general, before the general caucus of the
Democratic party, did succeed, by the
use Of his position as chairman in get
ting II before a caucus of the Democratic
members Of the Committee on Military
Affairs.
Il have never heard Of caucus being
called inside the Naval Committee or the
Committee on Military Affairs. 1t is not
surprising. however, that the gentleman
felt the need of caucus action for meas
ures such as he advocated. Think or
proposition to make a lieutenant general.
a rank higher than any rank that exists
in the army, for an officer who has spent
the last twenty-slX years of his life at a
desk in Washington in a clerical and ad-
ministrative capacity! We have created
this exalted rank for officers OF renown.
who commanded armies successfully in
the face OF the enemy.
Speaks of "SandbnE Methods"
THE true measure of the inwardness OF
the attitude of the gentleman from Vir-
ginia can be understood when we see the
ruthless way in which he proposed to cut
down the pay Of enlisted men and off,
GERS serving under implied contracts in
the sickness and exposure of the tropics
in the name of economy and at the same
time proposed the astounding extrava-
gance of giving the rank and pay of lieu
tenant general to bureaucrats. Even the
leverage OF the position of chairman and
the sandbag method Of committee caucus
could not carry through the latter propo-
sition, but the efforts of the gentleman
from Virginia have succeeded in placing
our party in the position Of undertaking
to reorganiZe the army through riders on
an appropriation BILL
Mr.. Hay then said: .
Mr.. Speaker, regret very much that
the gentleman from Alabama CMr. Hob
SOM is not present, so that might char
acterize this covert attack as it deserves.
1 would not take it up in his absence did
not think it due to myself. as well as
to the members of the Committee on
Military Affairs. to repel the insinuations
which the gentleman from Alabama has
made. These remarks resulted because
declined to revise the remarks that
had made on a previous day in response
to speech and an attack directed at
me by the gentleman from Alabama 1
want to say now that these remarks.
inserted in the Record in a covert way,
in a way to which no man would resort
II he had the frankness Of spirit which
e man should have, are false insinuations
without basis or foundation in fact and
in the name of the Committee on Mill
tary Affairs and in my own name l Tepel
and repudiate them.
Might Be Better Democrat.
The gentleman's reference to a Demo-
cratic caucus and to the fact that was
unable to get this bill before it is an
insinuation which every member of that
caucus knows to be untrue. They know
that that bill was not taken up because
any measure of any sort, and that the
merits of the bill were not gone into by
that caucus in any way. The statement
that there was a caucus in the sense OF
there being any meeting of the majority
members of the Committee on Military
Affairs to bind them to vote for any pro-
vision in this bill is absolutely without
any foundation in fact. L had the right,
which 1 exercised, to consult with my
colleagues on that committee with re-
Gard to legislation pending before 1t; and
If the gentleman from Alabama (Air.
Hobson) would consult more with his
Democratic colleagues he would appear
more as a Democrat on this floor than he
now does.
In conclusion. Mr.. Speaker, want TO
say that no effort has been made by me
to unduIy advance the fortunes of any
man, AID L am here to avow that any
thing / placed in that bill when 1t came
before the House or before it came before
the House could have been justified by
me. and l stand ready to meet any re-
sponsible criticism from any responsible
party, made in any fair, frank, and hon
est manner"
Esfofa for ChFIdrau