Condon globe. (Condon, Gilliam Co., Or.) 189?-1919, 1896-08-28
THE TREASURY Shortage
Delays Caused to River and
Harbor Work.
RED-TAPE GREATLY LEncTHENED

Work on the Lower CoIumbfs will
Soon Be In Progress-Other North
west improvements Were Approved.
Washington, Aug. l9.--It is q well.
known fact that the shortage in the
treasury delays not only river and har.
Dor works. but all other public works.
The various objects for which appro-
priations have been made in the Pacific
Northwest are no exception to the rule.
This is the case especially II the i'm.
provement contemplates spending
large amount Of public money or con.
tracting for the expenditure Of a very
large amount Of money in the future.
The different government officials
will not admit that 1t is because the
expenditures are exceeding the receipts
from five to fifteen millions every
month that they do not push along gov.
ernment works faster. They will al.
ways point ont that there are delays
that cannot be avoided, and the red
tape which surrounds every government
enterprise can be very greatly length.
ened when there ID tip from the
heads Of the different departments that
the refusal to spend money, even when
appropriated, will be appreciated by
the administration.
The appropriations made in the Last
river and harbor bill were very large,
especially those which carried provi.
sions for contracts and involved the fu-
ture expenditure Of large sums Of
money. 1t is learned at the war de.
partment that the secretary is proceed
ing very cautiously with the matter Of
continuous contracts. Very few pro-
jects for snch improvements have been
approved by Secretary Lamont, and in
many cases the engineers have not yet
submitted the projects to him, and in
several cases the local engineers have
not yet forwarded the papers for the
proposed projects to the chief of en-
gineers at Washington.
For Yaquina, bay. provision was
made for million-dollar contract
Nothing has been done about it.
The project for the improvement of
Coos bay is now before the secretary,
having been approved by all the en-
gineers through whose hands it has
passed. The secretary has approved
the project for the improvement of
Tillamook bay. where $4,000 are TO
be expended. In fact, all the smaller
projects, in both Oregon and Washing
ton, have been submitted and ap-
proved, and it is expected that the en-
gineers in charge will direct work to
be done at once.
The boat railway matter still rests
whele it has been for long time. AL
though more money was appropriated
for it in the last bill, nothing has been
done, because the right Of way has
not yet been obtained.
Some progress has been made in the
matter Of expending the appropriation
of 5000, 600 for the improvement of the
upper Willamette and Yamhill rivers,
more particularly the Willamette. The
improvement of the Yamhill calls for q
lock and dams, and the project has
not yet been submitted by the local en-
gineer. A snagboat has been secured
for the Willamette, and the engineer
officers here say that work Of clearing
the river will begin at once.
There is no probability of anything
being done at Port Oxford at present.
The matter Of transferring the old ap-
preparation for harbor Of refuge to
harbor to be built at that point is left
with the secretary of war. It is not
likely that the secretary Of war will
approve it.
The money appropriated in the SUM-
dry civil bill and the $50, 900 addition
al in the river and hartor bill, for
completing the work at the Cascades,
will be expended at once, as the secre-
tary Of war has approved the project
submitted. The secretary has also ap-
proved the project for the expenditure
of 500, 600 on the mouth of the CO.
lumbia from the mouth of the william
ette to Astoria, and also the project for
expending $4,000 Of the money NOT
used for the deep channel at the mouth
Of the Columbia to be used on the river
opposite Astoria. Unless the engineers
have found cause for delay, these works
ought to be progressing.
The project for expending s67, 900
on the Columbia river to improve it
from the mouth Of the Willamette to
Vancouver has not yet been submitted
by the local engineer. The project for
expending $4,000 on the Upper Column
bia and $25, 200 on the Clearwater
river have been approved.