Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1916-03-31
GOVERNMENT
MANUFACTU
OF MUNITIONS
Daniels Urges Plan Before House
Naval Committee
Hearing
DU POINT POWDER
COMPANY SCARED
Senators Propose Probe Of So
Called Gasoline Price Con-
spiracy

Washington, March 30.-A final re-
view of the administration prepar-
edness plans for the navy was gwen
the house naval committee today by
Secretary Daniels, who will be the
last witness heard before the commit
tee begins framing its bill. !.
The Secreatry added in several res
pects to the program he had mapped
out in estimates previously submit
ted to the committee. He urged the
establishment Of a government planl
to manufacture navy projectlles, rals-
ed the estimates for the proposed re-
search laboratory from $l,O0O,0oo TO
81 100000; asked for about $4,000 ad-
ditional men instead OF 10000, and
proposed that civilian educators be
placed at the head of the non-mlll-
tary department of the Naval Acade-
nv to release line officers for active
service.
Millions for Air Craft.
Requesting that all provisions fof
air service be stricken out Of the
hve-year building program Mr.. Dan.
iels urged an appropriation OF $2.oo0,-
600 for air craft this year. lie eX-
planned that there was no way OF
determining what expenditure would
be necessary in the future.
Criticism Of Secretary Daniels ad-
mlnisrration Of the Department fore
shadowed By the court OF certain
committee members in examining the
previous witnesses probably Will oc-
cur tomorrow.
Reserve Force.
An outline of the Departments
plans for building up An adequate
reserve force Of the navy was Ire
sented by the Secretary. It provides
for five classes of reserves. The first
the feet reserve; the second, the
naval reserve; third, the naval auxil-
iary reserve; the fourth, the naval
coast defense reserve; the fifth, the
volunteer naval reserve.
Secretary Daniels urged the COM
mittee to report favorably the armor
plate factory bill, which recently
passed the senate, and which will be
taken up next Tuesday.
Urges Projectile Plant
A prOjectile plant, Mr.. Daniels de-
clared, was vitality important to the
navy. He added that a government
plant would make it possible to guard
against navy inventions getting into
the hands of possible enemy powers,
as was now almost certain 10 be the
case.
A determined fight was begun in
the senate today by Senator Under
wood of Alabama, to incorporate in
the army reorganization bill a pro-
vision looking to the establishment Of
a plant. to make nitrogen from the air
to make explosives. Efforts to in
corporote such legislation in the
house were defeated.
Attacks Powder Co.
Senator Underwood declared the
program would not be completed
without this provision. He attacked
the Du Pont Powder company and its
agents, charging them with using
powerful influences to defeat such leg
1slation on account of the desire to
control all the powder business in
the United States and to prevent the
government from entering the field.
In this connection he declared that
Hudson Maxim, member of the ma
Wy civilian board, was consulting
engineer of the Du Pont company,
and as such had racterized con-
gressmen who fought for govern
ment nitrate plant, as pork barrel
proposition"
50.Year Leases.
Early in the day, Senator Salisbury,
of Delaware, introduced a bill pre-
pared by counsel OF the iDu Pont COM
pany, providing for 50-year water
power site leases to corporations,
which would enable them to erect a
hydro-electric plant for production of
nitrate from the air, and supply the
government at price to be. fixed by
the Secretary of War Senator Un.
derwood referred to this measure in
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