The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-09-07
THE PuBLlC'S BEST INTEREST.
Il'rom the We-tarh llnral.

tiun M tlir "Hhri,of bill strnl, and
nothing Inns come uf IL. Congress mp
propriated large amount Of money for
the Improvement Of waterways. many of
which, II Ii sail. nlc vi obscure IN not
~ he known outside uf their own inn
mediate neighhorhoo,l. md the appro-
piiation TOR such improvements ARE al-
legged to hnse been In the personal po-
litical interests of congressman The
President deemed IL to hr his duty to
veto the bill. and Congress Immediately
passed II over the veto Until now we
have said nothing upon the subject. for
the very good reason We did not know
what to say. AMI w ,lo not think We
differ very much IN Tint respect from
almost NIL the other editors tint have
had their say upon il. We do not for
got. IN the first place. TINT the powerful
influence Of the railroad monopoly il
always adverse to the Improvement Of
our waterways, and that hundreds Of
newspapers are paid, directly or indi-
fcrtlv. To wage relentless warfare upon
nny movement in that direction. We
IT, not forget. III the second place, that
many streams which are unknown to
fame are OF general usefulness. and
need improving. It il next to
impossihle in II country rs
large a. this. for the different seq
tlons to know precisely what the needs
Of other sections are in respect to such
improvements. This is illustrated bv
the Eastern opposition to our own con-
t,mplatel Hcnnepin canal. I'll, East
alleges TINT this is not Of national inn
| portancc. ami that il il not needed. In
answer to the first, We think that there
es,n he no question of the soundness of
the position that any waterway that
| furnishes the means If transporting amy
considerable amount Of products from
one ettsinn III the country to other seq
tiens is Ut national Importance: and we
conceive il to I've an equally sound posi-
tlon that the people IN the immediate
vicinity Ut such contemplated improve
mcnts know better what il wanted than
II Is possible for people who live hun
dre,ls Of miles away. and know ahso-
lntelv nothing about the matter Mt all,
know. We know TINT the Hennepin
canal is needed. and We know that the
Mississippi river should he placed in til,
hest possible condition. But how many
ni us IN the West know Ihat is needed
j upon Colmnscy creek ar Salem creek il,
New Jersey, II is doubtful ii one il,
| lO.OOO IN the West ever heard Of thcs,
streams before. Yet they connect Phil
adelphia with n very productive section
af country. and until the advent OF
railroads were the only means al
transporting the farm products 81
I those sections u market. II these tn,
streams need improving. in order tina,
the producer and consumer shall
not hc wholly ut the mercy of tn,
railroads. which now exist. is there an,
valid objection to improving them. Ii
tact, as honest opponents of railroad
monopoly. ought We not to urge the inn
Tovement of such streams-the people,
| highwavss The railroads have sue
cecdcd in getting pretty nearly all til,
money AMI land they wanted. and hay,
not the slightest hesitanrv in asking TO,
more. hut the moment that any none,
i demanded for the Improvement or es
'ahiishnent ut other means of transpor
h,tion there j. a great howl among tn,
newspapers about eNtrayapancc Per
TAPS some OF the money appropriate,
lty the Harhor hill is thrown away. an,
y may he that some Of the Congres>mei
arted from corrupt motives. III So le
~ KNOW all about it, LIT us have som,
specifications. These wholesale charge,
arr worse than useless. In the West ",
are dcnaneing the appropriation. :,
tar as II applies to obscure streams II
the Fast, ~ the East they are de
n.nncin. II iscauSe Il part Of il is tn Il,
wasted upon such things as snrvc,
III the Hennepin canal Really this scr,
al thing Is not consistent with reason
Give the ll,fsirfn Rural any grounds /,
stand upon, and il will oppos,
the election Of every man wht
voted for the hill. Tell i. wher,
il may ~ Ia discover corruption. an,
IT will very quickly uncover the rotten
MESS, On general principles W. suppos,
that Congress fooled away the peoples
money as il usually does: hut we 10 mo-
Know /; tahe the fact. Other newspapers
say 1t did and that the vote of Congress
men IN favor of the hill was an out
rage and steal. But these same news
papers arr advocating the recollection o
the very men Who voted for the steal
II Is pretty plain to our mind that sucl
journals either do not believe what the,
S..r, or arr n ,hshnn,s, as the candi
dates they thus support, II il righ
acre that the elaven foot of the partisa,
rs \ : L.. 4
supported il the heavens fall. and Tia,
poor. tas-anrlened people are still
further crushed down. II these canii
dates WHO are asking recollection I,
Congress have voted Ia eNpend the peo
pies money i'm as reckless and ,lishones
Way rs the Very newspapers that ar,
supporting. them say they have. tic,
atc more deserving III a cell in the zen
it.ntiary tlan they are of seats i'm Con
grcSs, AMI Il we cannot give them thei
tnll deserts, let us have sclf-respec
enough IT, oppose their election, Blu
seit>respect il not in the vocabulary 4
the partisan press. Ii can call u man ,
thief and prove he is thief. In, We
advocate his election simply because Ii,
IL the Nominee of the party.
Now W. do not know whether thi
Harhnr Till was steal or not. Ii i
was let Us know just where and how i
Mas steal The fellows who say il wa.
ought Ia he able to give the desired in
formation. or shut M. We desire tina,
public interests shall he served To til,
fullest extent, and t. this end. Mhere,el
there Is waterway IT Importance that
needs improving, We desire to have i
Improved, Bat IL tie sam. en,i. also
w demand that the expenditure of til,
public money shall he made in a,
honest ami economical way, What W,
want Ia know iii this particular instance
is whether en- not the Harhor bill WA,
conceived aud voted into law in thi,
spirit TAR na, We are not satisfied viii
any such indefinite charges AS hav,