Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-07-22

KlYer and HafDOr Blil IroSpectS'
very determined effort Is being made
to defeat the river and harbOr bill. W ME
it is not probable that it Will be success
ful there is a chance that it will. The
vote on the bill in the House and senate
shows that its friends are largely IN the
majority, and if It fails it viii be chlehy
through bad management.
The people or by far the largest portion
of the country favor this bill. They
want their rivers and harbors improved.
They have said so in a half dozen or
more conventions within the last twelve
months. These conventions were not
confined to one section of the country.
They represented ithe South, southwest,
West and Northwest. The resolutions
they adopted had no uncertain sound.
They meant that Congress should near
and heed them. If river and trarbOr bill
is not passed there will be a good many
Congressman who will ask for renoml-
nation in vain. They may point out that
they did all they could for the bill, and
may call attention to the amounts In the
bill which they secured from the COM
mittee, but they will not satisfy their
constituents in that way. The passage
Of the bill is what Is wanted, and nothing
less than that will be satisfactory. If
the present Congressman from the West
and South, with their large majority, can
not get reasonable appropriations for
rivers and harbors the people will try TO
find others who can.
Almost 500, 900, 900 is paid out in
pensions annually, and yet it is about
imposslble to get bill carrying $751;
0O0,0 900 or $18, 1000 tor rivers and
harbors, the Improvement OF which
10 imperatlyely demanded by the COM
merce of the country. 1t is doubtful
if the money paid to pensioners benefits as
many people as that spent on rivers and
harbOrs.
The cutlery made against the river and
harbor bill is senseless. 1t has never yet
been shown that the money itappropriates
is squandered or wasted. The amount of
money spent by this country on rivers and
harbors is insignificant in comparison to
that spent by some European countries.
L Il NOhGI CSSuldu WAO w Ill uOl
admit the necessity for improving our
most important rivers and harbors, and
yet there are many Congressman who do
all they can to prevent these rivers and
harbors from being improved on the plea
that money is wasted on streams which
cannot be made nayigable. What weak
and wholly untenabie position is this for
legislators to occupy If there are items
in the bill which ought not to be there
strike them out, but if there are none it
isn't honest to pretend there are. Let
those who claim that there are steals in
the bill make good their claim, and there
will be no difficulty in Kidding the bill of
them.
The truth is that those who are loudest
in talking of Jobs and steals are not well
informed, and could not substantiate
their charges il required to do so. They
play the part of demagOgue with the
hope of getting little notOriety in their
respective localities, or of gaining the
favor of railroads which are VIGOROUSLY
opposed to the Improvement of rivers.
The fact that the present river and
harbor bill carries appropriations for two
years appears to be kept in the back
ground. Why not keep it before the
publicY If the bill, as the Senate left it,
is passed, the rivers and harbOrs will
only get SO, 100000 year. Surely that is
not an eXOrbitant amount.
The management of the river and har-
Dor bill has been weak. The bill was de.
layed too long in the House and the
friends of it in the Senate permitted it tc
be loaded with amendments, for which
there was no good reason. a $l,000,00C
amendment was put in for Sandy Hook
which the leading representative Of
the city Of New York has asked to have
stricken ont because no plan has beer
settled upon for improving that bar. The
Hennepin canal scheme also found lodg,
ment in the bill while it was in the Sen
ate.
If the bill fails Congressman will hear
criticisms that will not make them happy