The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-20
A Reform That il Needed.

TIE engineers in charge Of the river and
harbor improvements have submitted their
estimates for next years work. In ccnnec-
ton With their estimates they made the
statement that for the want of available
appropriations great deal OF time and
much money during the last year had been
devoted to keel ing in repair, as far as pos
sible, unfinishel improvement
1t is remar xable that congress will not
carry on river and harbor improvements on
business principles. A very lnsiderable
portion Of the money appropriated for river
aud harbor Improvements is virtually
thrown away, because Of the way appro-
priatIons for the improvements are
made Instead OF appropTiating enough
money TO carry on an Improvement
until it is finished, only enough is appro-
prlated to carry it on for few months.
The result is that the Improvement in an
unfinished condition is left for long time
TO the mercy of storms and currents, and
by the time another appropriation is OBJ
tanned for it a great deal Of work has to DO
done 10 put it in as good repair as 1t was
when work upon it cea ed
Appropriations made at one session of
congress are expected to last until the next
session, but it not unfrequently happens
that at the next session no appropriation Is
made. Unfaishe1 improvements, there-
fore, are often abandoned for year or
more. OF course they suffer great damage,
and before they are finally completed they
cost twice as much as they ought to, or
would if work on them could be continued
without interruption until they were fin
ished
1t is high time that congress had the
moral courage to disregard the criticisms
of that portion of the press tn t knows
nothing of river and har or improvements,
and TO make sucI appropriations for rivers
and harbors as sound business sense dictates.
II is very easy to demonstrate that if an
engineer has at AIS command all the money
that is necessary to make an Improvement
he can do the work in half the time d for
about half the money tnat he can If he
has only enough money for two or three
months work in a year.
There Is another thing, also, that ought
to be considered in making river and har
commerce. These interests suffer to the
entent Of millions of dollars annually,
owing to the delay of making improve
ments that have b5en begun aAd are partly
completed in rivers and harbors. 1t is safe
to say that if the cost Of repairs on dea ed
improvements were added to losses suffered
by commerce on accou 1t of unnecessary
delays in improveme4 ITS slice the WORK of
improving rivers and harbors was begun, the
sum would be sufficient to put all the rivers
a, harbors of the country in flrst-class
condition.
No greater reform could be inaugurated
than one providing a business-like method
of making approp iations for rivers and har-
bors. If, when the improvement of river or
harbor were begun, money sufficient to COM
plete it in the quickest possible time, CO l.
sistent with good engineering and economi-
cal expenditure, we're appropriated, mill
ions of dollars would be saved to the gov
ernment, and the commercial interests of
tue )untry would be benefited to an meal
culable extent.