The record-union., 1894-11-30
RIVER IMPROVEMENT IN CALL
EORNIA.
The Stockton Nal saws:

The Stockton Mdu says:
One of the most important things that
should receive the closest attention of our
Representatives Is the matter OF river i'm
proVement. The extension OF the navigabil-
lty OF the san Joaquin and Sacramento
Rivers would wonderfully increase the pros
perity OF the people OF the san joaquin and
sacramento Valleys IN particular and OF the
State generally These rivers are now un-
naVlgaOe for the greater part of their re-
specJlVe courses, and for a considerable dis
tance navigable only by boats OF the lightest
draft. Win liberal expenditure OF money
their navIgability could be extended many
miles ana they could be kept in good condi-
ton.
All of which is undenable. Considered
in the light of their commercial import
| ance, the Government had done very,
very little for the navigable rivers of CAL
ifornia. Considered as a trust in the
hands of a trustee. the Government has
shamefully neglected it's duty in the mat
ter of conserving the navigability of our
| rivers. Considered in the light of free
highways, the heritage of all the people,
| the Federal Government has not done
enough for our navigable streams in CAL
ifornia to entitle the credit to entry.
We are far away from the seat of gov
ernment; our place in the affairs of the
Nation is a small and retired one in East
ern estimation; with but little political
strength in the National Legislature, we
have not been able to make deep and
| permanent impression in that matter
| upon the National conscience: with dele
cations in the lower house that, as repre-
sentative bodies, have, in the main, not
themselves been thoroughly informed
and profoundly interested and vigorously
| energized in behalf of our navigable
streams, we have been unable to COM
mand the attention for these highways
that is their due.
That is to say, in the main, our delega-
tions in Congress have left to the repre-
sentatives from the river districts the
| burden of the task Of securing Federal
action concerning them. 1t was only
five years ago, or less, that we made the
discovery that Congress will not act con-
| cerning river improvement until the
proper governmental department reports
that action is necessary, and that such
department cannot actuntil the engineers
in charge advise action, and the engineers
tanning what is necessary to be done until
directed by that department, and the
latter does not act until Congress pro-
vides means for examination.
And so we had been going on, swing
ing in a circle of non-action for quarter
of a century. At last we did secure au-
department issued orders to that end, the
engineers examined and reported, anj
Congress then committed itself, confess
ing its responsibility by making a few
tentative appropriations.
What is needed now is to hold Con-
gress up to the level of its confession. 1t
is fairly committed to policy calling for
| Improvement of the navigability of our
rivers. All that is needed now is a union
of effort on the part of all our Congress-
men and Senators to secure speedy action;
energetic. determined and united push
ing by all Californians in Congress until
the end in view is accomplished, namely,
to put our navigable streams into the
category of the river contract system,
under which comprehensive scheme of
| improvement is mapped out and the
work is ordered to begin and to proceed
year after year so long as may be neces-
sary.
! Heretofore the Congressman from this
! patted their colleagues on the back with
| a go on, friends, you have our SYM
pathy," but beyond that our delegations
| have not been distinguished by notable
energetic unity and enthusiastic deter
mination to accomplish something in the
way Of river improvement beyond snag-
pulling aud the construction of here and
| there some bank and training works.
If the seven Congressman and two
| Senators from California would unitedly
work for river improvement, and each
one as energetically as the other, and
1.-The other" as sincerely and earnestly as
if his whole duty and ambition lay in
that direction, we would have some COM
prehensive, adequate and positive scheme
| devised by the Government for treat
ment of the rivers from upper navigation
to the deltas of the streams, and with ac-