New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-19
DRlW THE LINE SOyEWHERE.

RIVER and Harbor Appropriation bills IS ever
to be stopped. line must be dra"h ny a
general law defining the class OF strealnS an"
bnrbors which are proper objects OF eApen",
tire from the N I'll nll Treasury. sehS'D'0
sugppst1On in this direction was mace III 'ho
Uorse the other day to the effect that tne
limo should be drawn SO as to 1ncluue Only
,,,rortant barbors, tide-water streams ana
rivers running through or past more than one
State. Even this principle would he ii'''o
roo liberal. for many Of the tide -water streams
far which appropriations are regularly oo-
tam ii are mere local creeks, OF no Vaiu0
wbatcyrr to the general commerce OF 70
country. The amendment offered by ME-
Updccraf would prrh pa meet '"e
case better. 1t proposed that no mon
should be expended OH any stream winch
dors not come within tie definition ot naVi-
cohl,ty rs IaId down in the laws OF the
L tied States. TIis, however, would nOC
cover a multitude of little cOves ana ports Oh
orr lake and ocean coasts where congress
snends thousands of do lp's for the benefit OF
n saw-nn or n stone quarry or OF MN "
d, zem farmers who want to load sOop WIFI
Y. \ broad thorough, Intelligent stature
is needed defining and limiting the score o.
G. Governmental expenditure for the OenchC 81
commcrce-One 10 plain in itS provisions
that congressman cannot Try to get around u
w,tbout a mani est intent to violate law.
The evils of the rrest 1T SYSTEM OF loose anu
lavish expenditure have been so often pointed
ont that the subject is worn threadbnrC, and yet
il is the duty Of the journalist to discuss 1t
anew once year when the annual n1rro-
4. -,
in fine River and lIarbor hill grows more gross
and sh mclc>s with ea"h succeeding session OF
Congress. Tho present bill Is m"nS'l"liS
scheme Of ublic plundrr. It apII1pIlatcS
almost n. much money n was required Tor the
total annual expenditures 0G tn" Government
in the early days Of the Republic. No hI"g but
an indIrnnnt public sentiment Will stop
the pIogrcss Of this wa-triul and corrupt
method OF draining the Treasury, and such a
sentiment can only he arouse by vigorous
! honest newspaper dIscu~s'cn. As IN II usir'-
non cF how the prea.ut system works take Tie
| case OF K River III We Virginia. This II
a l.. pid mountain stream. rising In the Alc-
| charles aud flowing INTO III" Great hlna-
wit. The country il tIHycr$rS Is rough and
| :ninly settled. l. ~ useless for steamboat
.!nvigatOn, but bv the and Of dIm~ and sjutrs
mall I'm ser rats are run down To TIE
| Charlrst, II mills, and e farmers are enabled
| I , 10 TO market in ,tug-outs and sell their
| .orp aud coon-sk,ns Probably the whole
| ,,,nmrrrc of the river does not amount IN
wear TO as much ~ thr House h. \ vO'rd 20
| spcnd in improving it's navigation. Even more
n grant is the case Oi number of pet. creeks IN
| Michigan, which have been improved or the
! snic benefit of II few 0w"cIS OF SIM -mI!is and
! ii nhpr-lamds. 4 company bny' Tract OF
! piur-lih on u creek put;ng INTO The lake.
| lhp unit"r IL valuable il they can fnn u Way
of transporting It 30 market they readily
prevail upun the member from the dis ret
| to log-lnll for an item IL the River and llir-
! hor hll apprupIiatlng 800 600 10 scoop ont
| ti, sand ,m tao mou h ol their creek and
d.rprn its channel 80 they Cah bring 4
srhcour, I'D to their nlll-.iie. Hoh0dy III
Congress; knows anything ABOUT the creek but
! th.. m, .nb,f from that distIct; and on his
assurance - the Committee ana the House
that il is an important ,llcdh. and ills promise
to Other members to vote Tor their little jobs,
! the apprOi ration goes through, and the
owners of the rinc-Lnds make fortune.
| EuuliIv outrageous instances of the use at
r,Ihic money for personal and local prof
might ea,I'y br found along the Southern sep
hoard. where harUors have been made tor the
b,n,Iit of a saw-mh and Il guano- whalf, and
rivers drcpencd To give score OF planters an
oprortuni'y to put their cotton on Il scow.
I'm former times tho report of the Chief of
Engineers served as a slight check upon the
wa,trlulnrss OF Congress. An adverse report
from a skilEul engineer officer on Il proposed
imDr,ycmcnt" was difficult to get around,
brcauSe 1t was Known tn t IL" members of
the engineer corps were de sirous of obiging
| Conrressmcn, AM we're always in favor o.
liberal appropriations. 1t WAS only III cas- \
whcra an officer could not stretch his con-
science to tho p0ut of ShytaG that hdrb0r
should he made or a stream imp owed That an
adverse report came IN. Nowadays, under u
Democratic regime Ia Congress, an expeditions
way has been found OF getting rid OF he
! effect of such reports. The entire volume
containing them is suppressed. Congress 'men
wishing to see the accounts OF the surveys on
which the appropriations in the bill are pro-
tcsscdy based cannot procure copy OF the
volume made up by the Chief of Engineers.
Weentrrtain but faint hope that the cxtrava-
cant lust passed by the House will be- amended
by the Senate in the interest of economy. The
practIce of the S nate has been to accept the
| hin of the House en- nasSe and add to it u NIL
hon or 30 of dOaIs for Improvements III
winch ne Senators feel an interest, but which
failcd to getupOn the measure In the general
scramble at the other end OF the Capitol We
shall room zoe, however, whether here IS dis
posiu 4 in the Senate 10 prune tho bill AMI
apply TO its items some reasonable test that
will discriminate between those tnat are fol
the benefit of the general commerce OF the
country and those that are plainly loral in then
character and carry with them an Odor o.
| iOhbprV,