The Aberdeen examiner. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1866-current, 1884-03-27
EDITORIAL MATTER,
Arthur Versus Logan.

didate for the Republican nomination
for President. He is a staunch frien'
of Mississippi river improvement
Vicksburg Post.
He may be "a staunch friend 0
Mississippi river Improvement" tt
the extent of favoring a measure witt
"chin music" that involves the vote
in nominating convention Of four o
FIVE States, but when it comes tt
practical work, he is among the miss
ing. In 1882 when the Mississippi
river for the first time obtained fail
recognition in the River and Harbo
bill, and the fate of the people of thu
lower valley-Mississippi, Louisian'
and Arkansas-depended upon it
passage, and the friends and benef
ciaries of most of the other waite
ways in the country had agreed tt
its monopolizing the lions share o
the appropriation; and further agreed
to waive their own prejudices in re
sponse to the wall that came up from
the "overhowed district" and allow
a fair proportion of the money to be
expended in the repair of levees
Chester A. Arthur closed his ears to
the entreaty of the people of the
valley, and taking counsel from the
New York Sun, Cincinnati CONNER
cial, Chicago Times and other ene-
mics of Mississippi river Improvement.
and the great trans-continental rail
road companies, put himself in op-
position to two-thirds of the members
of each House of Congress by Veto
ing the bill, thus making himself for
the time, solid with the element in
Congress and out Of it who have
fought against Mississippi river i'm
provement at every stage of its pro-
gress for the last thirty years.
1t is all very we'll for the defend
ers of Mr.. Arthur to say that he
would have favored the appropriation
for the river-free and simple-if it
had appealed to him as a distinct
proposition, but we can have no
proof of this, and we only know that
the river appealed to him in the
closing hours of the session in the
only way that it was permitted tc
approach him, and that he "hardened
his heart" against the appeal. That
it was sent to him by the votes
among others, of many men as much
opposed to the general plan of river
and harbor appropriation as he was
but who in view of the terrible need.
of the valley were willing to yielc
their prejudices in the cause of hu
manity if not of progress, he wei
knew. That if this bill did not pas
the travel of the river must be i'm
perilled to a greater extent ever,
day, was patent to him. That ther'
was no time to frame a bill tina
would separate it from other aid-ask
ing streams, and no inclination il
Congress to do it if ample time wa
given, was evident to every schoo
boy. That its success meant hope
JOY, encouragement, resurrection an'
salvation to our people; and that it
failure would carry gloom, despai
and ruin to the lower valley was a
well impressed upon his mind as al
Of the eloquent tongues and pens o
the many valley-men who sough
audience of him, could impress ii
and yet he vetoed the bill and lef
the valley to its fate, in the belief
shared by many-that the veto woulc
be sustained. That our people wer'
saved was due to the relenting, 70
their sake, of enough opponents o
the bill to give the friends of tht
measure the strength in each Cham
Der to override the damning blow
from the White House.
But when the work progressed
despite executive obstruction ant
monopolist protest, and hope spread
her white wings over the valley
again, Arthur, who had silenced the
clamor of our enemies by an &C.
quiescent veto that was apparently
our death warrant, again comes te
the South west cooling and smiling
and speaking honied words, and in a
hundred other sweet ways inviting
the flies of the valley into his web al
Chicago.
John A. Logan is also asking votes
from our Republican delegates, and
this much can be said in his favor
The Senate last spring in the ap-
pointment of committee to investi.
gate and report upon the plans. anc
working of the River Commission
and the needs of the great river and
its coasts, gave him the control of ii
virtually placed the fortunes of the
lower valley in his keeping though
aware OF his general antagonism to
River and Harbor bills. Logan made
the most searching and laborious in
vestigation ever carried out by any