The Southern herald., 1885-04-11

sfEeLAI. CeRREs EsF0NnEEcE or SOUTH
EA HERALD

much excitement and worry about the
Federal appointments since the inaugu-
ration, that it was almost impossible to
get reliable information on matters Of
particular interest to the people Of your
section Of the country. The choice Of
Mr.. Lamar as Secretary of the Interior,
aud Mr.. Muldrow as Assistant Secretary,
has met with the most cordial endorse
ment and approval by the press and the
people all over the country.
One Of-the most important bills Of
interest to your people, the
RIVER AND HARBoR BILL,
which was debated for some considerable
time in the House, failed simply because
there was too much of it. 1t was liter
ally weighted down with jobs. The
discussion Of it in the House showed
plainly enough that theMississippi river
commission is a thing of the past; they
are never likely to get another appro-
priation. The committee refused abso-
lutely and point blank to recommend the
appropriation of one dollar for any port
or harbOr on the Mississippi river; in
fact, they took the ground that there
were no harbors on the river ,only steam
boat landingsl Gibson, of WestYirginia,
openly took this ground in the debate
He is one of the committee, or rather
was. He declared positively he would
never vote dollar for any such landings!
and the people would call Congress to
strict account if money was so appropri-
ated. The day following this avowal,
Judge Van Eaton got the floor, and as
sailed this position, and made one of the
happiest and most fOrcible ten minute
eeches ever made in theHouse. Some
of the old leading members declared it
one Of the happiest and best hits they
ever heard. The Judge took, as an IL
lustration, one river, the Buchanan, in
West Virginia, for which the committee
had recommended an appropriation of
$500 this session and $500 last session,
and showed by the official engineers
report that this stream was nothing but
amountain stream and utterly incapable
of being made navigable, and fit only to
float down sawlogs; in fact, the whole
$1,000 appropriation was entirely for the
exclusive benefit of some mill men,
The Judge then contrasted the action Of
the committee that could make such a
Recommendation as that, with their re-
fusal to allow a dollar for such ports as
Memphis, Greenville, Vicksburg, Match
ez, &C., and scornfully asked which of
the propositions the people were most
likely to condemn? The House listened
and laughed andapplauded. TheHouse
likes laugh hugely, and after dreary
debate of days and nights, such as has
been had the last part of the session
that has just closed, chance to have a
good square laugh is quite refreshing.
The Judge was invariably in his place,
and always wide awake for seeking and
pressing matters of interest to his State
and District. His persistent endeavors
and labors to have appropriations made
for rivers and harbors in hisDistrict were
incessant, but of course with the failure
Of the river and harbor bill all went fol
nought. viii here state, that the i'm.
pressien under which some of your co.
temporaries labor, that there was very
considerable hostility to appropriation:
for the Mississippi river shown byNorth.
ern and Western members, is mistake
the hostility was to the river commission
and not to the improvements of the
i river itself. In fact, the committee
through Mr.. Breckenridge, one Of it
members, took the ground openly in the
House that the commission was com.
plete failure, because it had failed te
follow out the plans Of Mr.. Eads. Il
would seem that there is little hope o
another appropriation being made fol
any sort of improvement by the commits
sion, and less for one to assist in build
i ing levees. Those who have fondly
dreamed that the General Government
would build their leyees may as vel
'Iwake up from that dream, as such I
| thing will never be done; at least, no
in this generation. l find the above ar,
the viows of Judge Van Eaton, who il
strenuously opposed to using the publ,
money of the treasury to improve pri
yate property; and in this think he il
quite correct.
FEDERAL OFFICES FOR MISSISSIPPI.
/ find that Judge Van Eaton is still ii
the city, looking carefully after the pat
ronage in his District. He is, in com
mon with almost all the Southern mem
bers, growing impatient for the exodu
of the nresent goufhern Federal ofFic;ols