The Washington herald., 1917-07-22
AIRPLANE BILL
PASSES SENATE
$640, 900, 900 Bill Disposed
of in Hour; La Toilette
Votes No"

1t took Just an hour yesterday to
put the great ss4o, 10000 aviation bill
through the United States Senate. As
soon as the food control bill had been
disposed of. Senator Chamberlain un-
expectedly called up the airfieet meas
ure. BY .. m. II was ready to go
to the President.
II could have been ready earlier had
1t not been that Senator Calder. of
New York, was anxious to have some
legislation drafting aliens added to the
bill He was convinced. however. by
other Senators that this discussion
would only delay the main bill So
Calder withdrew his amendment, on
the understanding that it will be taken
UP early next week on its own merits.
Hardwick, of Georgia, attempted
yesterday to strike from the bill the
provision allowing the President TO
draft aviators. His motion was de-
feated by a vote of 6S to II. The
only men who voted with Hardwick
on this amendment were: Borah,
Broussard, Curtis. Gore. Gronna,
Hardwick. Kirby. LaFollette. Nickel
lar. Norris. owen, and Vardaman.
Gore. Gronna, Hardwick. Kirby. La
Toilette, Norris. Stone and Tramell
voted against conscription when the
Senate passed the seIective draft bill
May Il. Theirs were the, only votes
registered against the scheme. Stone
and z'rammell voted with the ma
jorfty. -
A proposition by Senator Owen to
have a committee of expenditures to
supervise contracts in connection with
the bill was defeated by an over
whelming viva voce vote. This, how
ever. indicated little. as about an hour
before the Senate had passed in con-
nection with the food control bill the
authorization for a joint committee on
war expenditures.
Debate on the draft proposal in the
aviation bill was short but bitter.
La Toilette, of Wisconsin, made an
excited speech in which he registered
his opposition, saying:
81 wish to reply to the statement
made by the Senator from Massachu-
setts Dodge) that the draft is part OF
the military system of the United
States. l shall stand for the repeal Of
the draft law. and 7 will offer such a
hill on the floor of the Senate and
fight for it as long as I can.
THE question will be an issue in
the next election. and make the pre-
diction that 90 per cent of the people
will register their protest against it
at the ballot box"
Hardwick spoke for his motion. and
Norris supported him. Lodge and
Weeks spoke briefly against it.
Heated denial was made by Gronna,
of North Dakota, that he had ever
said he intended to hold up the bill.
He termed newspaper predictions to
that effect unqualified. deliberate,
malicious falsehoods," and said he
doubted IF the man who sent out this
statement would have the manhood
to give equal publicity to his denial. i"
However" he went on. this lying
insinuation that ] wished to hamper
the bill by voting against the draft
has not changed my position. I shall
vote for the Hardwick amendment" Z"
And he did.
Would Draft Aliens.
Senator Calder was very sincere IN
bringing up the amendment TO draft
aliens who have been here more than
year and have not declared their
intention to become citizens. He
spoke Of the unequal proportion for
the draft basis. and commented that
aliens had not been called for service
while Americans had to fill an unequal
quota.
The amendment he presented was a
replica of the separate bill Senator
Chamberlain already has on the cal
endar.
Senators Reed. wadsworth. Borah.
Lodge, Brandegee and Smoot all ex-
pressed their great interest in the
subject and their belief that some leg
islation of the character should be
passed but doubted the wisdom of
trying to pass II In connection with
the aviation bill.