Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-02

been announced what action regarding it
has been decided on. Reports on the
subject are conflicting, some stating that
the bill will receive Executive approval
on condition that the President be granted
special authority to use his discretion in
expendIng the sums appropriated, while
others assert that it is the intention of
the President TO veto the measure, and
recommend that Congress do not take
time TO formulate new bill, but permit
the present one TO stand, accompanied
with the simple prOviso that the various
provisions therein contained shall be cut
down 90 per cent. Thus, if either of these
reports are true. II will be seen that it is
conceded by the President and his Cabi.
net that the river and harbor bill in
its entirety is but little more than huge
Congressional scheme to rob the Treas
ury of large portion of its surplus for
personal and political ends. 1t must
indeed be a most fisgitiOus swindle
when a stalwsrt administration of the
Grant stripe, and which swallowed at a
gulp the pension fraud, has too much
conscience to consent to its becoming a
law.
The failure of this bill will saddle q
tremendous responsibility upon the ma
iority In Congress, whose greediness for
public plumber led them to load it down
with schemes and jobs inserted under
the pretext of improving imaginary and
most unimp Tovable branches and creeks
scattered broadcast throughout the land.
The improvement of that great natural
highway of interstate commerce, the
Mississippi river, is an imperative neces-
sity; so it is in the case of rivers and
harbOrs like our own, the improvement
of which are essential to the growth of
the commerce of the country, and the
reclamation of the Potomac flats may
also be regarded as national
measure, since the health of the
capital is a matter of undoubted
importance. Now, all these really
useful measures are jeopardized, and for
what2 That grasping Congressman may
make themselves fsolid" with their con-
stituents by scattering among them lib
eral supplies of public money by means
of fraudulent appropriations for mud
streams, many of which probably have
no existence save IN the vivid magma
ton of the M c. s in whose district they
are alleged to flow.
While it is a source of sincere regret
that the appropriations for the improve
ment of the real rivers and harbOrs of the
country may be somewhat delayed by
the refusal of the President to sign the
bill, still he cannot be blamed for re
fusiug-if he should refuse-to give his
sanction to so flagrantly outrageous a
piece of Radical legislation. The respon-
sibility must rest on. the Congress which
passed it. We greatly doubt, however,
the wisdom of either of the recOmmen-
dations which rumOr says he will make
to Congress concerning the measure. To
give the Executive authority to use
his discretion as to whether
OF not he will expend public money
on the objects for which it was apprO
priated would be granting too great a
power TO the President, and is unrepub-
lican in its character, while simply to
scale the whole bill down so per cent
would not only be exceedingly slovenly
legislation, but it would infict injury
upon many truly meritorious public
works. To our mind it would be better
for the President to take the time and
trouble to state to Congress exactly what
items he thinks should stand and what
should be rejected, and then he should
call an extra session of that body if
necessary, in case it does not again con-
slider the bill before adjournment. If
the members do have to stay in Washing
ton during the dog days, it will be very
slight punishment for them, for the
shameless effort they have made to
swindle the people.
Since the above was in type we have
received telegraphic announcement of
the veto of this bill, and the reasons
which the President gives therefor. On
account of the beneficent character Of
some of the items of the measure he re
luctantly takes this course, but he states
that he is impelled to withhold his sigma
ture because the bill contains apprOpria
tiQns for purposes not for the common
defense or general welfare, and is there
fore an infrsctiOn of the Constitution.
On these grounds Mr.. Arthur's course
is justifiable 1t will be seen, however,
that he combines the two recommends
lions to which we have alluded, viz
that Congress both cut down the grand
total of the appropriation fifty per cent.
and that it also give him absolute discre-
ton as to how the money shall be ex
pended. For the reasons stated above
we think these recommendations unwise.
Congress should pass a new bill in toto,
including therein all the meritorlous
items of the present measure, and reject
ing all its unconstitutional and OBJ
jectiOnable provisions.