The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-07
Decision Comes After One of Hardest Fights In
 Present Congress
IS DOUBTFUL IF TT
 WILL BE PERMANENT
Lees Amendment Lost By Marrow Margin-Vardaman and Gallinger Debate the Race Question.
 Lobby Is Charged

WaSnlngton, April 6.-The Senate re- tained the volunteer army provision in the army bill late today by vote of S6 to S4, rejecting Senator Lees amend ment to strike the section from the bill. The vote ended a four-day debate on the section.
 \ Advocates of the aNtional Guard as the first line of defense behind the regu- lar army supported the amendment vigor- ously and the struggle was one of the hardest fought in the Senate at this ses- sion of Congress. It began after the defeat of the military committee last night when proposal to create a Ma tional Guard section of the army general staff was written into the bill.
 The narrow margin by which the fed eral volunteer provision was retained makes it doubtful that it will be in the measure finally framed by the confer ence committee between the two houses. An effort during debate on the House army bill, which is designed to provide such a force as the continental army proposed by former Secretary Garrison, was decisively defeated.
 REPUBLICANS AIDED
 Without republican support the volun- teer section would have been voted out by the democratic senators despite the fact that it was unanimously recom- mended by the military committee. Twen- ty-four democrats and 10 republicans, in- cluding nearly all the progressive repub- democrats and r republicans voted to re- tain it. The vote follows:
 Voting to eliminate the section: Demo- crats-Ashhurst, Bankhead, Clarke (Ar- kansas), Culberson, Gore, Hardwick, Hughes, Kern, Lee (Maryland), Lewis, Martin, Overman, Ransdell, Reed, Robin son, Shafroth, Simmons. Smith (Georgia), Smith South Carolina), Stone, Swanson, Taggart, Thompson and vardaman-24. Republicans-Cl Cummins, Curtis, Jones' Kenyon, McCumber, Norris, Page, Sherman and Works-10. Total 34.
 Voting to retain the section: Democrats -Beckham, Broussard, Chamberlain. LlitSASoSh, iAOiiS, I1uStiu6, JOiiiiSOth (Maine), Johnson South Dakota), Lane. Newlands, o'Gorman, Pittman, Pom creme, Salisbury, Sheppard, Smith (Mary- land), Thomas, Walsh and Williams-19. Republicans-Borah. Brandegee, Catron, Clark (Wyoning), Dillingham;, DuPont, Gallinger, Lippitt, Lodge. Nelson, Oliver, Poindexter, Shoot. Sterling, Sutherland, Warren and Weeks-17. Total S6.
 The vote followed charges that the Ma tional Guard organizations throughout the country were conducting a lobby against the federal volunteer plans. Senator Chamberlain, chairman of the military committee, warned the Senate in the Guard proposed to become politically ac- tive and endeavor to direct legislation as it had done in this case he would in future oppose any further federal aid for the state soldiers.
 Champions of the guard retorted that the Military Training Camps associa- tion had been equally active in behalf of the federal volunteer section. They pointed to the mass of telegrams laid
 
 Chamberlain to sustain their conten- tion.
 NO GENERAL BEARING
 The struggle had little bearing upon the general question of preparedness beyond the fact that advocates of the volunteer plan asserted it was vital to any scheme to back up the. regular army with citizen soldiers while op- ponents said 1t would only serve to disintegrate the. regular army. Others Neclared in favor of preparedness, and many urged even, more liberal pro- visions for the regular army and the National Guard than the bill makes. Others urged that the volunteer sec tion be made stronger.
 Senators yardaman and Gallinger
 Continued sa Pare Twsl