Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1884-02-13
THE RIVER BILL.
The Friends Of Every Greek and Mill.
Pond in the Country Clamoring
for Recognition.
Thirteen to Fifteen Millions to be Ap-
eroprlated, Of Which the Mis-
sissippi vii!
Probably Get Two and q Half NIL
liOns-The Ardu0us Werk Of
fhaifmsn willis.

WASHINGTON, February 9.-The new
River and Harbor Committee of the House
has its work well in hand and finds that
it has very serious task before it. The
absence of any river and harbor appro-
priation bill in the last session Of the
Forty-seventh Congress renders the friends
of every creek anu river in the country
absolutely ravenous.
"I declare" said Chairman Willis, as he
shook himself together last evening after a
hard days work, at is terrible. The
struggle for appropriations for rivers and
harbors is something no man appreciates
unless he has had experience with it.
Some people. may think that ! was
craftsmanship of this new and important
committee, but if they could see the
amount of work it brings me they might
change their opinion. Now, citizens and
property-owners and delegations wait
upon me day and night. l try to make
them understand that | am but one of the
committee; that they ought to present
their views to that body in session, but
they insist that the chairman himself
ought to understand their cases, so 1 am
compelled to listen to all of them. l had
no idea there were so many rivers and
harhors and navigable streams and inlets
in this country. / shall lie we'll up in
geography by the time this is ended"
"Are you going to give all the creeks
and minor streams in the country appro-
priations this year, Mr.. Willis? ?"
'No," he said with laugh; 81 should
think not, Perhaps some creeks may get
appropriations, for l find that the word
creek on the Atlantic coast does not mean
what it does With u. in the West. We in
the West call a small stream ShiCh you
rh ha =
lantic coast | find that what is termed
creek is an arm of the sea set back in the
| land which may be made navigable for
quite large vessels. Take Chesequakes
creek, of which there was so much talk
during the last Congress. find that that
| is quite large inlet capable of sup
porting considerable commerce if
properly cared for. There are many
OF these creeks (so-called) along
| the Atlantic coast, some of which are really
| worthy of attention, and probably may
| receive it. We shall, however, eliminate
as many of the small streams, the i'm
provement of which is of doubtful proprie-
| ty, as possible. Gen. Wright was before the
| committee few days since, and gave us
| some very valuable information. In the
| course OF his visit we asked him to pro-
cure us statement showing which of the
| improvements begun and recommended
were OF the least importance and which
| OF most value to commerce. When we
get this we shall be able, think, at a
! stroke to eliminate consider
| able percentage OF the work recon-
mended and to give our attention to
| that which is of the greatest value to the
| country. 1t is n curious fact, however,
that the improvement of the smaller
| streams brings, as rule, the greatest re-
| suits. Gen. Wright mentions this in his
| testimony before the committee. He said
that the expenditure of small sum upon
| small streams usually resulted in a show
| ing of very considerable increase in COM
! merce upon those streams, while much
larger sums were required to make any
| show upon the large rivers"
Chow much do you expect the river
and harbor bill to be this winter, Mr..
| Willis?'
'That is pretty hard to answer" he said.
1.-THE recommendations of the War De-
partment are about $35, 900, 600. OF course,
we cannot make bill of that size or any
| thing like it. After we get statement
| from Gen. Wright and are able to elimi-
nate some of the smaller and less impor-
tant streams, l think that we shall then
take, as basis in each case, twenty-five
| per cent. of the recommendations of the
| department. That would give as a foun-
|
| S9,000,000. Some of these we shall be
able to cut down, probably others we shall
have to increase more or less, according to
| circumstances. The bill ought to get out OF
| the committee not exceeding Sl0,0O0,0O
| perhaps it may not be any larger than
| Sl0,000,000 or $12,000,000 when it goes
through the House, then the Senate will
have its turn at it and probably add 3d.
100000 or S3,000,000."
| $50 you expect the river and harbor
bill, by the time it comes to the Presi-
dent, to be from Sl3,000,000 to $15,0OO,-
| 600, do you, Mr.. Willis?"
"Yes, | suppose So" he answered.
GLOW much of that will the Mississippi
get, do you think; $2,5OO,OO0 or s., ,OO0,.
| 000?"
Eyes, as much as that, perhaps more
though they have already had a 81 ,000, ,000
as you know"
| LAND GRANTS IN THE SENATE.
The bills making wholesale forfeiture
OF railroad land grants are not going
| through the Senate with the whoop and
hurrah with which they have been
pushed through the House. The Senate
is not that kind of a body. 1t is slow
talking, aud has Just and keen apprecia.
ton of its duties from a political stand
point. There is no doubt that the re-
| marks quoted III the correspondence as to
the rights of the courts to pass upon these
questions rather than Congress were, il
not well-founded, at least in accordance
with those of many Senators. Being out
of question fact that the Senate is a ten
der set 10 corporations, perhaps many o.
them have serious doubts of the right o.
Congress to act in some of these cases. '1
have no doubt" said Senator Cockrell, O
Missouri, as he sat at his desk, talkin.
Mississippi river to st. Louis delegate
yesterday, "that some bills passed by the
House forfeiting land grants to railroads
will pass the Senate. There are some O
those railroads that seem to have made NJ
effort to earn the land grants given, anC
in their case a forfeiture will unquestion
la?Iy be made. How far, however, tn,
Senate will follow in the footsteps of The
House it is hard to say. l presume. how
ever. that some of the forfeiture bills will
be passed by the Senate, though wha
ones, of course, / cannot venture an opin
ion. l do not imagine, however, that tn
Senate is going into a wholesale busines
OF forfeitures and it is quite possible tina
some of the bills which come to it tmay no
be passed"