The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 10, 1898, Page 1

T VOLUME LXXXIIL—NO. 100. SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS. MILLIONS APPROPRIATED FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE ' TRUE PATRIOTS, THE SENATORS PASS THE BILL When Americans Are Aroused at Their Country’s Danger They Pour Out Wealth to Make the Na- tion’s Honor Safe. Call Office, Riggs House, o Washington, March o McKinle upheld hands both Con- 's by [} President = have bee o (] ] o fervor unpar- ime of that body to-day passed cy appropriation bill leficiencies position of ,000,000 for na- The vote by sure was passed Seventy-six and emphatic delivered in favor one being simply during the roll- o © o o (] o romptness almost in the Senate in t 000000000000 0O000C00000 ringing “aye Not only did every Senator present register his vote in favor of the bill, but every absent member the authori ve annou ent was made that if he were present he would vote ave. From the time the bill was presented to he Feowre by Hale of Maine until it was passed not inharmoniows note was sounded ty lines were swept aside. In a general outburst of patriotic feel- ing pairs were broken, every Senator It was just 12:13 when Hale §reported the bill to the Senate and asked that it be placed on its passage. The mbers of the Committee on iations had previously entered whereby there e on the bill, and ediately on its passage. fter the bill was re- to the ate the Vice-President ced its unanimous passage. so far as Congress was con- become a law. Some of the 1lly grasped the meaning of on, and when the an- of the vote was made a r of applause ran through the The members of the Senate. s however, ma the realiz; keen t the passage of so unusual a measure was too grave to prompt an outburst of ap- plause. T! arnestness and determi- nation was evinced on both sides of the Chamber, but there was not a note of levity that would detract from the se- riousness of the work perfected. At the conclusion of the usual morn- ing business Hale of Maine, chairman of the Appropriation Committee, quietly rose and said: “ report from the Committee on Ap- propriations without amendment an act to supply urgent deficiencies for the current year and for other purposes. and I ask that it be placed on its pas- sage.” The bill, which was the measure ap- propriating $30,183,000, of which $50. 000,000 was to be placed at the disposal of the President for national defense, | was then, amid intense silence, read in full. At the conclusion of the reading therc being no. amendment to the bill it was placed on its passage. Hale asked that the ayes and nays be cailed. Such unanimity as the rollcall developed was as unusual as it was significant. Pairs were broken on both sides of the cham- ber in order that all those present might evince their patriotism and desire to up- hold the hands of the President in this time of emergency by voting directly for the measure. During the rollcall it was authorita- tively announced for every absent Sen- ator that if he were present he would vote aye. Allen of Nebraska, in making the announcement for Thurston, said. “Mv colleague is unavoidably detained from the Senate, but if he were here he would vote aye,” whereupon Vest of Missouri suggested, sotto voce, that Thurston might vote in Havana. where he is now. The sally created a laugh among those near by. When Perkins of California made a similar announcement for Mr. White he said: “My senior partner, if he were here—" and then, catching himself, xious to register his vote on the | was read Vice-President Hobart | The | ss was accomplished so quickly | ost of the people who crowded | es scarcely realized that the | iined a dignified silence. | mong all of them being at a situation which warranted | 1000000000000 000002000000000000006000606069 @;‘zw@@(--@@@@@@@@@@@~50®®©®0®@®90060@0000%g 20 FIFTY MILLIONS GIVEN &4 ‘ig FOR NATIONAL DEFENSE. 2 g £ 64 22 WASHINGTON, March 9.—The bill putting s |22 into the hands of the President $50,000,000 to Zg »o be expended at his discretion in strengthening the ¢+ ©¢ defenses of the country has passed both houses ¢ Zg of Congress, has been signed and is now the law zg «s Of the land. PO Z:Z i**************************-}; z: £ 5.4 7 RESOLVED, That there is hereby appropriated out 4 L84 |o® & ©of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropri- ©® Y % ated, for the national defense, and for each and every ®o jo purpose connected therewith, to be expended at the PP loe * giscretion of the President and to remaln available until * PP oo : June 30, 1899, $50,000,000. * P 6o R A R R E R R R RN R R R R ®® |e® ®e ggg Mr. McKinney, the enrolling clerk of the House, $% |<e in anticipation of the passage of the bill by the ¢s |¢% Senate to-day, had it printed on parchment yes- 54 |+ terday ready for formal enrollment, but it was not ¢¢ iz anticipated that the biil would be passed by the :Z | ¢ Senate without debate. The parchment copy, ;: | e« therefore, was still at the Government Printing ¢s |22 Office when the bill passed the Senate and was s |®o returned to the House. e |22 Mr. McKinney, as soon as he learned of the ac- .~ % tion of the Senate, telephoned the Government gg » Printing Office to hurry the bill to the House by a ¢+ 2% special mounted messenger. 22 < At 1:15 o’clock the messenger came clattering ¢¢ | |£2 up to the Capitol with the printed bill. Mr. Hager oo bés of lowa, chairman of the Committee on Enrolled 22 ¢s Bills, hurriedly compared the printed copy with ¢e 2¢ the bill as it passed the two houses. 294 2: At 1:40 P. M. the Speaker of the House an- 28 oo nounced that he had signed the bill. At3 P. M. @2 2% the bill was signed by the Vice-President and zg | ©o taken at once to the White House, where at 4 <o 22 o’clock the President affixed his signature to the §2 Z}: measure. ::2 IR E R R R RS S ®©®0®®®000000@0®@@000@é@ PePvo00e PPV POPIVPPPOOPPPOOCOPOOIOCOOOPOOPS joined good-naturedly in the general |or more of her vessels now building in laugh which followed. Chandler of New Hampshire pre- sented the following resolution, which indicates that the disaster to the battle- ship Maine is to have a thorough inves- | tigation by the Senate: “Resolved, That in conducting the in- quiry into the cause of destruction of the battle-ship Maine in Havana her- bor on February 15, 1808, under resolu- tion of the Senate of February 21, the Committee on Naval Affairs is hereby authorized to send for persons and pa- | pers, to employ a stenographer and to make investigation by the full commit- | tee_or by sub-committees thereof. the expenses of said investigation to be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate.” The resolution was referred to the | Committee on Contingent Expenses. At 12:40 p. m., on motion of Davis of Minnesota, chairman of the Commit- tee on Foreign Relations, the Senate went into executive session, adjourning at 1:35 p. m. -— HAS AMERICA BOUGHT WARSHIPS OF BRAZIL ? It Is Stated in Rio Janeiro That One or More Cruisers Have Been Sold. NEW YORK, March 9.—From his correspondent in Rio Janeiro to-day Charles R. Flint of this city received a cable dispatch announcing that the Government of Brazil had never au- thorized mnor sanctioned the salé to Spain of the Amazonas or her sister warship, which are now being con- structed by the Armstrongs in England. A Buenos Ayres cable to the Herald says: The Herald's correspondent in Rio Janeiro, Brazil, sends me these ad- vices: The Brazilian Government offi- cials persist in denying that Brazil has sold any warships, but I am informed on high authority that she has sold one Europe to the United States. As for Spain, I am authorized to state that if there were negotiations on her part for the purchase of ships from | the latter country refused to | Brazil sell, for very obvious reasons. Brazil has in the Armstrong ship yards at Newcastle three cruisers of the same type—the Amazonas, rozo and a third vessel not yet named. The vessels reach 300 feet in length and 44 feet in breadth. They have twin screws. Their tonnage is 3600 and their horse-power 7500. They are expected to | attain a speed of twenty knots. cruisers cost £300,000 each. SPANISH STATESMEN ARE_KEEPING COOL. At the Same Time the Speculators Are Inclined to Deal Largely in False Rumors. MADRID, March thought the Cabinet council held this afternoon and this evening would de- velop something sensational, but noth- ing of the kind occurred. The Ministers took a common sense view, and the re- The sult is that there is nothing new. All | is peaceful and calm. Officials and the general world have | taken yesterday's events in America with a marked lack of emotion, which is more significant than much noise. There is a strong undercurrent of feel- ing that it merely means America must be prepared for the worst, but war is not necessary. The Bourse took a pessimistic view on endless false rumors, the principal one of which is that the Spanish Charge &' Affaires in Washington, had been handed his passports. Catholic Knights Ready. SPRINGFIELD, Ill., March 9.—Major General Lee H. Kadesky, commander- in-chief of the uniform rank Catholic Knights of America, said to an Asso- clated Press reporter that of the 25,000 members of the organization, all well- drilled men, 10,000 men could be put into the field within twenty-four hours in case of war. the Bar- | 9.—Some people | IN THE HORNETS’ NEST. The United States Cruiser Montgomery Lying at Anchor in Havana Harbor Near the Wreck of the Maine, Sur- rounded by the Warships Viscaya, Almirante Oquendo, Alphonso XII and Other Spanish Vessels. W Coudin, UNDER T ® @ Copyrighted, 189, by James Gordon l® Bennett. [O2K ] l® @|s¢ SPAIN’S NAVAL g © HAVANA, March 9.—Spick and span ® | 38 | @ in the glistening garb of white paint, © | §3 REERARATIONS g | @ the United States cruiser Montgomery © |8 Copyrighted, 15%8. by James Gordon g8 | @ lies at her moorings in Havana har- © | & st r::"“_:_'h = n 8 . @ , Ma .—The Temps pu @ bor..a protly controst 19 the black- S iighes « dispatch from Havre stating o | @-Pa/oted halls of ber larger neighbors, that the flEting out of the Spanish o the Vizcaya and the Aimirante Oguendo. © s e, | ® s v ) armored cruiser Carlos Quinto Is ® 8o 'cloanulm'pmw to fl{e stern of o being pushed forward rapidly. A $ l® the Vizcaya that _order_s given on the ® high powered 11-Inch Hontorea gun 2 |@ deck.of one ship might almost be 3| & has just been mounted in the for- & |® heard in the forecastle of the other. o ward armor clad turret. A similar b l® A good second-base man could easily ©| g gun will be placed in the after turret. @ l® thraa{abaublelimmnneof the ViZ- G| @ g uREREERERRENES | @ caya’s frowning guns to one of the ® e | ® Montgomery’s ten rapid-fire five-inch & bly accupy the entire time of the court dur- | @ breech-loaders. ® ing the remainder of its sojourn here. | There lie, almost end to end, the repre- | sentatives of sovereign powers. The usual naval courtesies have been exchanged | with punctilious politeness. Commander | Converse is quite the equal of gallant | Captain Eulate in affairs of this kind, and the discipline of his ship is superb. When | 1 ran alongside the Montgomery's gangway this afternoon a detail of seamen was busy scrubbing from her glistening sides the last black smudges remaining from yesterday's coaling at Key West. A marine orderly at the head of the gang- way informed me courteously that no vis- | itors would be received. He took my card | to Commander Converse, however, and the captain immediately requested the executive officer to receive the Herald's correspondent on the quarterdeck.” Commander Converse and Captain Sigsbee were busy at the mo- | ment in the captain’s cabin preparing for their | official calls ashore. | The Montgomery's executive officer told | me all hands arrived well and ready for any duty assigned trem by the department. The | reason for the dilay in entering the harbor | this morning, he explained, was a desire to clean up the ship and make their toilet be- fore entering put, their hasty departure | from Key West nct having permitted a thor- ough washing of the ship’s sides after tak- ing on coal. Commander Corverse received me a mo- ment iater. He stid frankly he had no idea how long the Moitgomery would remain in port, but that tle Herald’s correspondent | would always be welcome aboard. As an earnest of this he introduced me to each of his officers. Ensign Powelson has already transferred | his baggage from the Fern and made him- | self at home on tre Montgomery. While 1| | stood on the cruiier’s deck a boatload of | | pleasure-seekers frim shore passed between | the Montgomery’s orow and the Vixcnya’a‘ stern. Some exulerant passenger in ihe | small boat hoisiea an American flag and | called for three cheers for the United States | navy. Some of the bluejackets swarming | on deck forward siowed a drsposition fo| | respond to this patrotic call from the ex- uberant stranger. Just across the narrow stretch of intervening water the trim sailor men of Spain were watching with curious | eyes, but the vigilant officer of the deck in- | stantly suppressed any demonstration by the | Montgomery's men. “No demonstrations forward there!" he | sang ‘out, and the biuejackets who might have feit like cheering resumed their posts and their stolid faces simultaneously, like | martyrs to duty nd discipline. i The Court of hquiry is still busy direct- | ing the work ol divers and hearing their | reports, Olsen ald Smith being the divers | most in evidence b-day. Naval Constructor | Hoover and Mr. Hims, the ship-carpenter of the Maine, spent seme time among the divers [ and floats obtaining and verifying data bear- ing on structural ésidence as to the cause of the disaster. Thigkind of work ‘will proba- OF GRIM MORRO. White Cruiser LI Where the Maine’s Men Went Down to Death. THE MONTGOMERY HE GUNS ies in the Harbor BURRRURRRR.UNVRRRRKR e Much of the evidence of the Merritt & Chapman Wrecking Company's divers re- mains to be taken, and there is no certainty that this will bring the court’s work to an end. One of the most prominent members of the Court of Inguiry told me to-day, seemingly with the utmost frankness, that they themselves could not yet determine, even approximately, the probable time of their departure. In reference to General Weyler's denial in the Herald that mines were ever placed in Havana harbor, it has been said that Cap- tain Sigsbee indirectly confirmed General Weyler's denial, because the Maine's officers, immediately after her arrival.here, had made a careful examination with a view to deter- mining whether the harbor was mined in | their vicinity. This statement, in so far as jt applies to the action of Captain Sigsbee and his men, | am in a position to deny un- equivacally, on the highest authority. No such examination was made, nor would it have been practicable, even if deemed ex- pedient. The ship was in a friendly harbor on a visit of courtesy. For her officers to 620200 06 06 08 08 10008 10 K00 10 06 108 18 10101 10 0 00 08 08 10 0 0% 108 108 100 K8 K0 06 00 0K 00 10X 90 0 0 R K X X have gone about dredging for hidden mines or other menaces to life would have been as discourteous as the action of a guest who took pains to inspect the closets or cock his pistol and look under the bed before retiring for the night in the house of his friends. INSTRUCTED TO BUY ALL THE POWDER IN SIGHT. Commander Brownson to Contract for Every Available Pound of the Explosive. BOSTON, March 9.—It is learned that the most important task which has been assigned to Commodore Brownson in his trip abroad is to buy powder for the use of the navy. The most impor- tant point is that he is not simply told to buy powder, but to contract for all the powder he can get.. The supply of powder in the United States suitable | for naval use is limited, and ammuni- tion manufacturers are not in a posi- tion to fill emergency orders. It is said that the navy has hardly enough smokeless powder to begin operations. An important factor in the manufac- ture of powder is camphor.. Practi- cally the entire camphor product is now used for this purpose, and even if ammunition manufacturers possessed all other facilities thgyv would still be unable to procure this necessary in- gredient. No substitute for camphor in powder manufacturing has ever been discovered. S T el Mortars for Pensacola. ATLANTA, Ga., March 9.—Five car- loads of war material for Galveston and three big 10-inch guns bound for Pensacola passed through Atlanta to- night. In the Galveston consignment were four steel mortars, weighing 117,- 000 pounds, and two carloads of gun- powder. The big guns for Pensacola weigh 67,000 pounds each. All of the way bills for these instruments of war are marked “rush.” “ .abroad for sale, avhilable for any TO BUY SHIPS OF WAR IN OLD WORLD MARKETS The Officers of the Government Will Give Their Attention Also to Rifles for the Army. Call Office, Riggs House, ‘Washington, March 9. The Secretary of the Navy is making every effort to se- cure from our naval attaches and by diplomatic. officers abroad, all informatien ob- tainable respecting the num- ber of ships building, their price and other data. This will not necessarily interfere with tne exzcution of the plans confided to Captain Brownson, who sailed for Southampton to-day, but rather promises to assist him materially in mak- ing speed with his inquiries. Up to this moment not only has the Government bought no warship, but it has not even secured an option on one. There are many applications comir g to the department from persons and firms which de- sire to sell ships to tue Gov- ernment, but in most of these cases one of two fatal obsta- cles are encountered to the consummation of the sales. Either the craft offered is not suitable for naval needs, or the date of possible completion is so far distant, from three months upward, that it can- not be regarded as worthy of purchase to meet an emer- gency. There is less difficulty experienced in securing tenders of war material, such as shot and shell and powder, and the Navy Department has almost assured itself of an abundant supply of certain kinds of smokeless pow- der abroad at short notice. The offi- cials of the department are in daily correspondence by mail and tele- graph with the agents of ammunition houses and besides are now fully ac- quainted with the plans of domestic powder makers for enlarging their plants to meet an emergency. The representatives of the armor making firms are in consultation with the department steadily, generally rela- tive to the supply of gun l’arglngsi and such material for use in the gun shops here and at Waterville, but the armor is receiving little attention, as | the armor makers report that they cannot undertake by any known agency to turn out such armor as would be required for a modern bat- tleship in less than seven months for the reason that tempering and face-hardening cannot be hastened without destroying the value of the armor. Thus, it has been demon- strated to the Navy Department, it will not oe possible to make the ar- mor for the superb battleships, three in number, now building at Newport News and at Cramps and at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, in time to render ships far better, | it is claimed, than any offered from | 4444444444424 4 44444442444+t 4 444444444444 4444444444444+ 444 06 108 306 X0 08 106 X8 108 10 108 10 308 30 08 108 108 10 10K 10 108 10 108 108 X0 308 308 08 106 18 104 106 10K 8 30K Y0300 000 Y 000 08 300 30 X emergency that may arise this year. The statement was made at the Navy Department to-day that the report of the Maine Court of Inquiry R B S R R e e e e e o SPAIN BUYING GUNS. NEW YORK, March 9.—A ‘Washington special to the Her- ald says: Spain is attempting to keep pace with the U'nited States in making preparations for war. Besides negotiating for ships, she is making plans to purchase large supplies of ordnance ma- terial from English manufactur- ers. Information to this effect was received to-day at the Navy Department. One representative of an English gun, projectile and powder firm informed the offi- cials that he had received a cablegram from his employers that Spain had practically com- pleted arrangements for secur- ing a large number of rapid fire guns, with necessary projectiles and powder. The officials be- lieve that this information was given in order that the depart- ment might be induced to hurry up and place orders ahead of the Madrid Government. Captain Charles O'Neil, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance, has refused to buy small lots of rapid fire guns which English mer- chants have offered. He and other officials are willing that the Spanish Government should get hold of these odds and ends. According to information re- ceived from Lieutenant Dyer, naval attache of the United States at Madrid, Spain is push- ing work with the greatest vigor on the torpedo vessels Don Maria de Molina, Marquis de la Victoria and Don Alvaro de Bazan, which will be ready probably in May, and on the battleships Pelayo, Vittoria and Numancia and the cruiser Al- fonso XIII, which are about ready. These vessels Spain intends to send to Cuba as soon as they are placed in commission. It is possible that they will accom- pany the squadron now at Cadiz to protect it from attack by the United States ships. R b R e e e e R e e R R R R R R R R e R S + O R S probably would come to the depart- ment some time next week. It did not appear that this was founded on any direct report from the court, but was rather an estimate based upon the progress so far made as ravealed by the change of methods on the part of the court. 1t is not expegted that Lieutenani Commander Marix, the Judge Advo- cate of the court, wil leave the couri until it has completed its labors, and it is the custom for the Judge Advo- cate to assist in the preparation of the final report. Many congratulations are coming to the White House and the State Department from all parts of the country upon the patriotic spirit in dealing with the latest phase of th¢ Cuban question. Miost of them ar¢ official, in character, but many ar¢ personally directed to the President Admiral Sicard has been author jzed to enlist suitable men for th¢ navy at Key West if he can find the material. He reported that he had received some applications from mas chinists and seamen and was imme: diately given the power to take the men. The department is still striv ing vigorously to secure machinists especially men who know how to rux stationary engines. These men cax