The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1885-12-22
HOW The MONEY GOES.
SPECIMEN CASE OF ~ M
PRovEnENT," sC-CALLED.


WASHINGTON Cry, Dec. 24--Iast year
the Inconsistencies of some SENATOR elected
.'om the engineer corp the information
inat Green river, in North Carolina, on the
Improvement OF which 1t was proposal 10
spend good many thousand collars, had
not for thirty on forty miles enough water
to float the skilf in which the engineer WAS
attempting to make n survey of the stream.
That stream has never absorbed any money,
but Broad creek, Maryland, has succeeded
in getting several thousand dollars. and it
does NOT onttiin vcry much more water
than Green river North Carolina. y few days
ago the senate adopted II resolution calling
on the secretary of war for information as
to what had Eeen Done or was proposed to
he done, in the improvement OF Broad creek,
Mary land. The portion of Broad creek which
il was proposed to improve was the seven
miles nearest To the Nanticoke river, into
which it enters. For the lower five miles
there is about seven feet Of water Very
soon after the tite-mile point is reached the
creek shoals to three feet, and part of the
way this depth only existed in channel
twenty feet vide The depth of the water
speedily drop, to two feet, and the last mile
of the reach it is proposed to improve
has an average depth of eighteen inches,
while much of the course water is only six
inches deep This Is one of the streams for
the improvenn of which river and haIhor
bills are passed Peaches. berries, and eggs
are tha Chief exports Of the town OF Laurel.
which it proposed to convert into prosper
Gus seaport. The possibilities of Laurel are
iinnicils', 1t is no wonder that congrc ',
decided to develop them. \ committee re.
presenting the /, 2ob Inhabitants Of Laurel
stated b. the engineer who made the survey
that if thera were eight or nine feet of
water in the creek in front of
their town instead If only eighteen
inches many new enterprises and
industrial pursuits would spring
up, such as the oyster trade: packing houses
would be established, phosphate factories
and lime kilus would I've erected, and ship
building, which was at one tiint carried on
extensively at this place, hat has now be-
come entirely abandoned in Consequence Of
the deficiency OF navation, tho difficulty IN
getting vessels ont after they are built, would
la a.ain revived all Of viii IL world turn.
ish nmpoy n,ent for an innnm rattle number
Of lntuiin5 tneD, wonirn, aud children, and
81 forth In 1850 congress appropriated
$1,000 10" this great nation,. improvement t"
reduce the cost Of exporting eggs and straw
beriieY from Laurel with thu, sum the
engineers attempted To make a channel four
feet deep, twenty feet wide, and mile long,
fl ON Laurel down stream. Twice bids fol-
the work We're called for, and on neither oc-
casiun did any bid come within the limits Of
the appropriation, 30 nothing was done The
fact that $3.50 wtdld not make the chan
mel four feet deep and twenty feet wide for
distance Of d mile shows how desperately
Broad creek needed Improvement Congress
recognized the fact and in lSNl appropriated
SIT, 900 for the purpose The ambitious en-
gineers then decided to wise their plans, and
begin a channel six feet deep and thirty two
feet vide In 1882 congress gave S5,ouu
Liort for thi. great national enterprise, hut
Ia 1888 the engineers found that the hfchged
channel was filing up and that II would be
of use to 20 On dredging unlea- wing
daus and retaining walls were built to pro
To the work Fifteen Thousand dollars
had Let spent making IA channel six i.'t
deep and thirty two feet wide for a mile
AMI Ii half and little additional work has
been done a little lower down At The
present time it is estimated it will take 81
62i to finish the dredging and Sl1,0n IN
S20O 900 more to build the wing dams aud
retaining walls needed to preserve the work
but Laurel must he transformed tron u
petty, obscure inland town to seaport