The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-10
The Injustice Made Plain.

The more the river and harbor bill is
studied the stronger the impression be
/ comes that in framing it the River and
Harbor Committee was controlled by de
sire 70 favor certain members of Congress
and States rather than by the merits of the
different improvements, projected or in
progress, for which appropriations We're
asked The chairman of the
committee, Mr.. Blanchard, in his report of
the bill t. the House said that appropria-
tons were asked for l46 projects for which
! no appropriations had ever been made, and
that while appropriations were made for
/ fortythree of them, many others which
were considered worthy, were passed be
! cause it was thought better for the govern
| ment to complete soIne of the works already
begun before undertaking many new ones.
1t would be interesting to know whether
Mr. Blanchard and his committee regard
any one of the forty-three new works for
which they made appropriations of more
Importance, and as likely 10 benefit a
greater commerce, than the projected new
work in Savannah marlboro If SO, they can
relieve themselves of the suspicion of favor
if Mr.. Blanchard can name dozen of the
forty-three which, when completed, will
benefit as much commerce as the projected
Improvement in Savannah harbor. 1t is
also doubtful if a delay in beginning any
one of these projected improvements, or
any dozen Of them, would cause as much
commerce to suffer as the delay in begin
ming the projected Improvement in Savan-
nah harbor. If this view of the importance
of the projected Improvement in Savannah
harbor is true, is not the River and Harbor
Committee guilty of an injustice to Savan-
nah that is inexcusable!
Perhaps Mr. Blanchard thinks that the
projected work at Bayou Plaquemine in
his own State for which 100000 is appro-
priated, is Of more Importance than the pro
jected Savannah harbor improvement. By
that work it is proposed to open connection
through Bayou Plaquemine with Atchafa-
laya river, Grand Lake and the Teche. 1t
can be asserted, without fear of contradic-
ton, that the amount of commerce that this
work will accommodate when completed is
not one hundredth part as large as that
which the projected Savannah harbor
Improvement will accommodate, and a de-
lay in beginning it will cause very lit
tie commerce to suffer, What an instance,
therefore, of favoritism and injustice is
here presented The requirements of a
great harbor, accommodating commerce to
the amount of S1000OO,00J annually, are
passed as unworthy Of attention, while a
small bayou, that accommodates one or two
little stern wheel steamboats,. receives every
attention. But the bayou is i'll the State
which the chairman of the River and Har-
Dor Committee represents. On April the
chairman OF this committee wrote to some
of his Louisiana friends as follows: THE
bill is far more liberal in appropriations for
Louisiana streams than any previous meas
ure of the kind" No one will deny that it
is, and if the list of forty-three new works
for which appropriations are made is care
fully studied, it is not improbable that it
will be found that the most of them ale in
States represented by members of the COM
mittee or their particular friends in Con-
greSs