Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-20
RIVERS AND HARBORS
Members Who Vote for the Old FLAG
and an Appropriation.
WORKS OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE
Unnecessary Improvements Made
in Small Streams.
THERE ARE MILLIONS IN TT

contains as much pork" as the river and
harbor bill. and yet at the same time the
money appropriated by 1t probably does
more good than any other bill that goes
through Congress. BY the way, it was q
,jovial and whole-souled Representative
from the golden gate state that invented
the word pork as applied to certain APP
preparations which distributed money In
certain localities and was supposed to help
the return of the Congressman by the peo-
pie where the money was spent 1t was
over the consideration of public building
bills. Several had been passed and a fili-
clustering movement was started against
Clunie's. He got up on the floor and wild
ly declared that he was not getting a fair
deal; that he had helped to get the other
bills through the committee and the House
and that he wanted his share Of the pork"
He got his bill, but failed of reelection,
the only democrat who was not re -elected
In the awful avalanche of 1890
But to return to the river and harbor hill.
1t is a weli-known fact that every man
who has the slightest excuse for a stream
in his district gets his share of the .pork..'
II ne has no stream he tries and often sue
ceeds. in finding one. But sometimes there
70 failure in this The river and harbor
on, OF .ssz IKE great many others. con-
tanned provisions for the surveys of GER
tain streams. with q view Of their improve
ment by the general government But In
this particular bill there were three
streams to he surveyed which the engt-
Eeers have never been able to find Two
OF them are in Louisiana and one is in
New York, or at least those are the states
designated. After searching faithfully for
the supposed rivers" the engineers wrote
to the Congressman representing the dis
tricts who had secured the order for the
surveys. but the Congressman could not
erlighten them.
Important to Commerce.
But there are many vast works that are
greatly improved and which are of trans
cendent Importance to commerce This IL
clearly shown in the annual reports of the
work done on rivers and harbors under the
direction Of the engineer corps Of the army.
The reports are SO bulky and contain 30
much that Is purely technical and repeti-
ton OF former reports that 1t is not likely
any one takes the trouble to read them
all through. but to those who become
familiar with the pith of them it is clear
that the money appropriated by Congress
Tor these improvements is for the most
part wei spent. This IL especially true
since the system of continuing appropria-
ions mas been adopted, and the larger
works Of the country have been put under
"
being done from year to year. This meth
Cd has been in operation for four years,
and the work accomplished under it is an
Endorsement Of the plan.
Probably one of the most important
works attempted is that of the deep water
way on the Great Lakes looking to a cham
mel deep enough for vessels Of twenty feet
from Chicago and Duluth to Buffalo. which
included a great lock and canal at Sault
Ste Marie. and the deepening of several
important points connecting the lakes. This
work Is now In fair way Of completion.
Inc appropriations have been made for It
aac, strange to say. the work has been
done within. the estimates. and there win
be money to spare in several places Balti-
more haroor and the deep water harbor at
Galveston. works about New York, and the
large expenditures on the Columbia river in
Oregon are examples OF the benefits to he
derived by the continuing appropriation
system.
Millions In the lIissix.ippf.
Then there is the appropria tons for the
Mississippi. When the continuing appro-
priatfon system was adopted the Mississippi
got in also with appropriations Of 81. 600, 600
annually for fouf years. A total of s16,0O0.-
COO will have been put into the great river
by the end Of June. 1896. and yet the Mis-
sissippi river commission, in its latest re-
port indictes that the work of Improving
the Mississippi by means Of levees, where
the bulk Of the money has been expended,
together with larger sums by the several
states. Is yet experimental, and cannot say
with positiveness that the money which has
been expended has been doing much good
IL Is yet an open question whether the
ievees or the dredging has had the efrect of
improving the channel to the little extent
that 1t has been improved. The Upper Mis-
sissippi receives a portion of this money.
and yet the commerce of the river would in
dictate that little good is being accomplish
ed. On one OF the tributaries of the Mis-
stssippi more than q million dollars have
been expended, and yet the commerce of
the stream amounted to less than 10000
tons during the past year. On many other
streams there are great sums expended
yearly. but with little real benefit to COM
merce when considered from the point OF
actual water transportation. But 1t APP
pears that wherever the general govern
ment has kept the rivers open and i'm
proved the harbors. SO that shipping Is pos
sible, the influence upon freight rates Is
most important. With everything except
PEELED to make rates as low as the water
rates. 1t is thus found in nearly every por-
ton Of the country that rail rates are in
nuenced by the water way improvements.
Small Slices Of "Pork."
While great deal Of good is accom-
plished In this way it must be admitted
that there are millions appropriated IN
each river and harbor bill that go to creeks
and streams where ultimate improvements
are entirely out OF the question, and where
nothing more than a few nat boats nova
up and down the stream. The members of
Congress In whose districts these streams
are situated insist upon the appropria-
lions for their share Of the river and har-
Dor bill pork or they win not vote for
the bill AS there is usually a large Eum-
Der Of mel in Congress who Will vote
against any kind Of a river and harbor bill,
especially II they are not benefited by It.
and others who are professional money
savers like Holman and Dockery, small
amounts are parceled out in districts
where there are some possibilities Of i'm
provements. in order to secure enough
votes to pass the measure. The number in
favor Of 1t must also be two-thirds, as It
Is sometimes necessary to pass the bill
under suspension of the rules. and also
It might be necessary to pass the bill over
a veto. President Cleveland does not sign
river and harbor bills. It is probable that
1t were not absolutely sure that
they had been SO managed as to have
strength enough to pass over his veto. So
1t Is that there is a great deal appropriated
every year. which might be omitted, In
order to have enough pork in the bill to
insure its passage.
Now that the most important works OF
river and harbor improvements are under
the continuing appropriation system and
are appropriated for in the sundry civil
bill each year, whether there is 4 river and