The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1912-03-23
SUPPLY BILLS ARE FOUGHT
Deadlock Between House and 0snats
Might Leave Departments OF Gov
srnment Without Any vislbie
Means Of Support.
81 oEoRoE cLlNToN.

~~~Os~~~
the Holman rule prepared by Repre-
sentative Holman Of Indiana, the
watchdog Of the treasury" This rule
allowed legislation to bs put on the
supply measures provided It was in
tended to decrease government ex-
pendituros. The Republicans repudi-
Rted the Holman rule, but the Demo
Gratis have reinstated it. =.
The army appropriation bill carries
legislation reducing tho cavalry Of the
army from Is regiments to 10, and It
contains some other legislation which
the Republicans say Is "extraneous."
Tho senate is Republican and it seems
to be opposed to the action of the Dom
ocrats in attaching legislation to the
supply measure There are arguments
for and against the course which tho
Democratic majority in the house has
followed, but the right or the wrong
Of the thing aside, tho fact remains
that the senate .is likely to get at log
gerheads with tho house over these
matters and as result it may be that
congress will sit until time long
after the national conventions have
been held. -,
Produces New Situation.
II either house wishes to do 1t, it
can hold up appropriation bills and by
refusing to sanction them can leave de-
partments and branches Of govern
ment without visible means Of support.
provided, Of course, that adjournment
comes before the supply bills. have
been sanctioned: If tho senate shall
agree with the house and pass the ap-
preparation measures with their riders
it Is possible, perhaps even probable,
in ono or two instances that the presi.
dent will veto the bills which he does
not like. If he should veto the army
bill, for instance, because of attached
legislation Of which he disapproves,
the army officers and the $4,000 or TO-
900 enlisted men would be left without
q cent of pay, and more than this,
there would be no money for the pur.
chase of supplies. This thing did hap
pen once away back in the time Of
President Hayes. He vetoed an army
appropriation bill because it had
rider on it to which neither the presi-
dent nor his party could subscribe. The
matter which was put onto the bill
1t that time. however, was to some ex-
tent political and controversial in its
nature. Nothing has been put onto
the appropriation bills this year which
Is not either directly or indirectly con-
nected with the service for which the
money supplied by tho bill is voted. 1t
is said that there has been no situation
just like this within the memory of
the Oldest member ..
Fifty years ago Saturday, March 8,
was fought tho celebrated battle be-
tween the Monitor and tho Virginia.
or, 40 she has been popularity called,
the Merrimac. The whole story Of the
history making tight between these
two vessels has been told again and
again within tho last few days. Con-
troversy has been roawakened and
there are Union officers and Confeder-
ats officers still living who say that
no naval battle ever was so "improp-
erly reported" ~ that between the two
fronclads in Hampton Roads in March,
1862.
Changed Naval Architecture.
It 10 not necessary to 60 into tho
subjects Of controversy 1t seems as if
1t should be sufficient In one sense
for tho world to know that from the
day Of that fight the whole system Of
~
clad and steelclad replaced tho wood.
en- ships and there started that grad.
ual development of naval construction
which today is represented by the big
battleship type, type which 1t has
been predicted soon will pass, and that
inside Of 20 years armor plate will
be discarded .... =
It IL said that the vessels of tho fu.
ture will be able to make 40 knots an
hour and that: they will fight at long
range and that the one which gets
hit first will 80 to the bottom.
The 4th OF March this year was
. repetition In Washington of the 4th
Of March when President Taft was
inaugurated. "A blizzard prevailed and
the snow was four or i've inches deep.
This condition of things on the day
Of the month which next year will be
Inauguration day was better argu-
ment to congress for change Of the
date Of the Inauguration than was any
plea advanced by the thousands of peo-
pie who had been asking tho change.
"a constitutional amendment is neces.
sary to change the date of the oath
taking by thenewly elected president.
This cannot be effected in time to
put forward the Inauguration day Of
next year, butacongress seems to be Of
Z mood today to submit the matter of
q change Of the constitution to the
states, and it seems likely now that
hve years from now the elected pres.
ident. whoever he is, will take the oath
Of Office on the last Thursday In April,
the day when George Washington took
t3f IN Nnw vorl whon ho oufnrad ~, III.