The Evening critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1881-1885, 1885-02-02
THE NORTHWEST,
How 7 hat Section of thC Country
Has Been Neglected By
THE RIVER AND HARBOR BILL
The Claims OF the Country Drained
BY the Missouri River Urged
Improvement of Navi-
gable Waters.

The River and Hafhor Dill now peuulnB
in tho House docs not exactly suit all con-
cerned. la fact there are people in tho
Great Northwest who believe that they
have been badly dealt with, and will an-
tagonize the bin as whole rather than ac-
cept the few dry bones thrown them. Colo
mel Platt w. Walker, one of the State Com
missioners for tho improvement Of the
Mississippi and other public works for the
State of Minnesota is in the city and was
this morning interviewed by THE CRITIC
regarding the River and HarbOr bill. said
he:
THE River aud Harbor bill, as made up
now, is not made up with any apparent
intent TO relieve the producers OF the
country, but rather to servo the interest
of contractors aud obbers. The distribn-
ton of thesnearly Sl3,0O00JO in tho bill
is one of the curiosities of American legis.
lation. II gives to the whole Pacific coast
S534,000. 1t gives to the Gulf OF Mexico
and the rivers emptying into II Sl,39hOOO.
To the Mississippi River and its tributaries,
$500 miles of nsvigablo water, S6,323O0O.
1t gives the Atlantic coast, from New
Brunswick TO Southern Florida, S2,29O,O 900
Of this sum $607,000 are put on the rivers
aud harbors north of the Delaware River;
south of that, the sum of 81, $4,000 Is appro-
priate6. The Southern States altogether
receive some 100000, whilo tho Northern
and Pacific States get S3,i23000.
1--WE of the Northwest feel that we are
entitled to immediate relief, as being not
only the great producing section Of the
country, but farther removed from the
seashores and markets of the world than
any other portion of the United States
North and west of tho mouth of the Mis-
souri, River we produced over lOOOOO,OOO
bpah.lc nf Grain this x.pnr. and furnish a
large part of all the meat used in this
country, which is worth ia the hands Of the
producer about one half its New York
value. All the grain, meats and other pro-
duce of the Northwest is doubled in price
to'the Eastern consumers and made unproht-
able TO the producer, and all because we can
not get our water ways opened out so as to
regulate railway tariffs and secure trans
! portation at reasonable rates. Tho South
| and East seem to have combined to keep
us always at the mercy df railroad combi-
| nations, who take all the profit there is and
render everything that We can raise un-
| profitable to us aud at the same time very
expensive to the consumer. We propose to
beat this River and Harbor BILL If such a
thing is possible. We regard 1t as the
most nmitigated' and unjust steal ever at
tempted. The Upper Mississippi, above
the Des Moines Rapids, With its ten hun
|
souri, River, with nearly 5000 miles Of nav
igable branches, penetrating as they do the
great producing section of the continent
receive less than 81 100000, while half q
dozen insignificant rivers and harbors in
the lower country receive two or three
times that sum, to say nothing Of the ST.
100000 to be thrown into the river below
Cairo.
"Now," continued Colonel Walker, "tho
e 81, IL. s.nr nd IlaN I.il
instead OF relieving the producers of the
country, seemed to have been devised II
the special interest of the middle mem
grain, railroad, stock gamblers. Tlree
foultbs Of the foreign aud external and in
telpal commerce Of the country receive
by the provisions Of this bill, less thar
one.thrd.'
"Well, Colonel" asked tho reporter
"why is IL that your section Of countr!
has not been given better show in tn
distribution Of this River and Harbo
fund.-"
Eve attribute the ignoring of the Mis-
souri, and upper Mississippi rivers TO tn
influence and power of the Mississippi
River Commission, which seems to hay
been specially devised to divert from tn
Northwest all appropriations aud put then
on the southern reaches Of the Mississippi
River"
GLOW does this trouble originate "
sit originates in the fact that the En-
/ gineer Corps of the United States special
I selected aud educated as engineers, afte
? having charge of all our rivers and hai
bors from the foundation of tho Govern
, ment TO 1873, were then pronounced incon
petent to improve the Mississippi, althoug
they never had any orders or money to
= this work with, and one James Il. Fad
was selected to take this branch out of tt
hands of the engineers and furnished wit
means ad libitum. Since then there hs
: not only been nothing accomplished by th
t commission, but it has drawn from tn
d Treasury money enough TO have improve
9 the upper Mississippi, the Missouri, Kan
+ wha and Ohio, which regard as the feet
i ers, SO that the producers of iron, Goa
= wheat, lumber, corn, pork and beef woul
,, find their occupations profitable.
- "When we can send wheat and -four fro
/, Minnesota to the Belize for six cents
y hundred, as we are confident We can when Y
q have an improved river between Minneap
= lis and ST. Louis, we will rest satisfied, aI
a We intend to struggle to secure this IL
If provement until we have secured it, and
y it becomes necessary, as 1t is now, to a
l. tagonize the River and Harbor bills, al
70 the floats plans and schemes Of the Rig
10 Commission and Others, we shall not ne!
10 tate to use all the might of the Northwe;
r ern Empire to accomplish these common
10 able purposes and emancipate ourselv
4. from our present slavery TO railroad ca
T. pOTations."
SALVATION OIL, tho pain eradicator al
family medicine, is only % cents a bottle
IL CommigsIOner Reno