Evening star., 1922-06-03
ARMY OF $4,000
VOTED BY SENATE
100000 Muscle Shoals
Amendment Accepted
Without Roll Call.

The Army appropriation bill. pro-
viding for an Army of $4,000 enlist
| ed men and an average Of 1880 Of
ficers, was passed by the Senate late
yesterday. The bill carries $341,750.-
goo. The House bill provided for an
Army Of 115,ooo men and 1900 off,
GERS. The measure will now go to
conference.
The Senate voted 40 to 81 in favor
of the committee recommends tion
that the Army be, $4,000 instead of
115,000. Party lines were broken.
Nine democrats voted with the repub-
ltcan majority in favor of the larger
Army and six republicans voted
against it.
The bill was passed after six hours
of consideration in the Senate, which
was considered remarkably quick
time.
! Next to the question of the size of
the Army. the proposition causing
most debate was the amendment SUBJ
mitted by the agriculture committee
appropriating S7.500.000 for continue
tion OF work on the Muscle Shoals
(Alabama) federal power project,
! which the Senate accepted without a
record vote after preliminary tangle
which lasted for an hour.
Policy Not Determined.
The Muscle Shoals amendment
promised for a time to reopen the
whole question of the governments S
policy with respect to the power prof.
ect. but Chairman Norris of the agri-
culture committee declared that no
policy had been determined and that
to delay work further on dam No. 2
in the Tennessee river would be an
economic crime
Senator Williams. democrat, Missis-
sfppi, however, was the only one ac-
tually to discuss the broader phase,
and he did SO, he said, because he re-
garded the discussion as the open
ing skirmish, the firing on the picket
iine,' in the question Of whether the
government should lease or sell the
property or develop it itself Mr.
Williams dwelt at some length on
what he described as the "republi-
can antipathy" for the offer of Henry
Ford and asserted that the controver-
So over the Ford offer with the conse-
quent delay was because Mr. Ford
had once run for the Senate as
democrat.
Wndsworth Glimpses Peril.
In opening debate on the Army
strength. Mr.. Wadsworth declared
the committee believed rock bottom"
further reductions would imperil not
only the Army organization as con-
templated by the reorganization act
or 1870, but create menacing situa-
ton for the country in event of un-.
foreseen troubles. II would be utter
folly. he added, to ''mangle the skel-
eton' OF the Army SO that it could not
be revived in an emergency
Mr.. Wadsworth referred to the sea-
coast fortifcations. saying only twen-
ty five OF the seventy five were now
manned and that, a further cut in
the forces would leave an additional
ten or dozen in the hands of care
takers.
Reply by Hitchcock.
Senator Hitchcock, democrat, Me-
braska, replying to this statement
ccntended the country would approve
a cut In the Army even below the
House figure and added: Our Army
Is sufficient 1t is able to do more
than the work 1t has to do now. What
the people want is relief from the
burden of taxes and they would be
willing to take smaller Army to
get that relief
Mr. Wadsworth then gave detailed
figures to show that even with 1873,
900 men only 100000 would be left in
,continental United States
The Senate did not touch the ap-
preparation Of s42,s15.0o0 made by
the House for river and harbor work