Connecticut western news., 1917-05-03


 rnents, but Differences Will Be Soon Smoothed Out-Only Eight In Senate and Twenty four In House Against Conscription on Final Ballots.
 The house in committee of the whole passed the $2,8OO,OOO,0O0 army and navy appropriation bill. It is the lar gest war appropriation bill ever passed In the countrys history.
 By overwhelming ma1orities both sen- ate and house have passed the admin fstration bill to raise a war army by selective draft
 The final roll calls brought into line behind the bill many senators and rep resentatives who had fought for the volunteer system until routed by decis sive defeat of volunteer amendments M both houses. The senate, which had voted down the volunteer plan, 60 to 1S, passed the bill by vote of 81 to 8. ER the house the vote against the vol anteer plan was 313 to 109, and that by which the bill itself was passed was s97 to 24. Whether congress finally would ac- seept the staff's recommendations re- Garding the ages between which con- &crfption should apply appeared more ancertain. Tn the senate the bills stip- wlation that men between nineteen and &7Wenty-five should be liable to the draft was changed to make the mini num tWenty-one and the maximum 9wenty-seven. The house voted down al proposed changes In the military eonmittee's recommendation that the limits be fixed at twenty one to forty Amendments In Conference.
 These and number of lesser amend Maents will be considered as speedily as possible i'll conference In the hope that fae measure may be sent to the presi- dent for his signature by the middle of the week. -.....
 Roth senate and house adopted amendments just before the final roll calls, which would greatly increase the gay of enlisted men during the war The house provision would make their pay $30 month, and that approved by the senate would fix 1t at $29 month. The present pay is only $15.
 En the house at the last moment Chairman Fitzgerald of the appropria- lions committee objected vigorously to the appropriation of $3,00O,O 100000 car Ffed fn the bill for the expenses of the new army, and the section finally was eliminated entirely MT. Fitzgerald de- clared that to place this vast sum in the hands of the secretary of war would make of congress a "mere au- tomaton' and promised that if the sec ton were voted down the committee would provide funds promptly in a sep arate measure.
 Woman For Conscription.
 Speaker Clark, Democratic Leader Kitchin and Chairman Dent of the military commission. who had favored the volunteer system, all voted for the draft bill on the final roll call. Repub- Mean Leader Mann also was recorded in the affirmative, as was Miss Ram kin, who previously had voted with the volunteer advocates.
 Senator Harding's amendment to the army bill designed to permit Colonel Roosevelt to raise four infantry divi- Rions for service in France was adopt ed by the senate, 50 to 31. Many Dem ocrats voted for 1t. A similar amend Rent was rejected by the house.
 The amendment does not specifically mention Colonel Roosevelt, but It's pur- pose has been we'll understood, and its author referred to the fact it would permit the former president to raise troops to go to Europe. It was not dis. cussed at length.
 Among the more important amend nents adopted in the house was one empowering the president to exempt from the draft i'll his discretion persons engaged i'll agricultural work. Another would require each state to furnish 6 quota of men apportioned according tc population, and still another provides that mo bounty shall be paid to induce any person to enlist" and that mo per son liable to military service shal hereafter be permitted 'or allowed tt furnish a substitute for such service
 Prohibition Amendment Lost.
 Yn the senate there was long debate aver proposals to prohibit the sale ol possession of intoxica ton liquor dur ing the war. Several amendments were adopted, including one to make 1t unlawful to sell or give liquor tt officers or men in uniform or to mem bers of congress or other officials, an( linen the senate reversed itself an( adopted a substitute simply forbiddin, sale of liquor to s.'diers in uniform and giving the president wide discre Honary authority to make other pro h;bition regulations. Tn the house similar amendment was rejected on point of order.
 An amendment by Senator Curti Etipulating that men subject to draf who voluntarily present themseIve shall be recorded as volunteers was ac