OCR Text |
Show GOVERNMENT'S ARMOR PLATE Republicans Oppose the Measure Meas-ure as a Menace to Nation's Safety. Washington, March 20. 'Debate in the sonato over the Tillman bill for a $11,000,000 govornment armor plato factor' n eared a closo tonight, with Republicans ossallng the project as a menace to the nation's Baiety and tho Democrats defending It as an anti-reactionary anti-reactionary step worth all it would cost even though tho plant never was operated. The discussion will continue tomorrow tomor-row under an agreement to begin voting vot-ing on amendments at 4 o'clook in the afternoon. Tho Democratic leaders oxo confident the bill will pass by a large majority substantially as reported, re-ported, by the naval committee. Senators Lodge and Lippltt opened the attack today, declaring the bill would drive private armor plato manufacturers man-ufacturers out of business and inevitably in-evitably delay the naval construction Senator Lodge said the government could not produce armor plate at the iprfco Its experts had estimated, and that It would bo almost criminal for the nation to cripple its armor plato capacity when a five-year navy building build-ing program was just being undertaken. under-taken. Senator Pittman said that the government gov-ernment had no thought of driving private manufacturers out of business and Insisted that If war should come the government would need an armor plate plant of its own to supplement the monopoly of prlvato concerns. Senator Hitchcock said government manufacture of armor plate would tend to give a suspicion that national disputes were aggravated into wars by manufacturers who would profit by the sale of war materials. Senators Penrose and Oliver plan to closo the debate for the opposition tomorrow. to-morrow. Senators Tillman and Swan-son Swan-son will speak for the bill. |