The advocate., 1896-12-23

the engineering records are kept, ask
ing for statement showing specific
ally what it was that the President
objected to, no attention was psiC
there to the request, except to refer Il
to the Secretary OF War. The Senate
received no answer at all to the ques
tion and the veto had to be taken as q
general objection on account of the
large amount involved In the bill, and
not to any particular item of sp
preparation. The letter asking for the
items objected to was dated May 30
1895, and is printed in the Congress
SionaI Record Of June 3, 1896, on page
6O28.
Senator Vest, who, at the time, had
charge of the bill, after referring to
his effort and failure to procure q de
tailed statement of the Presidents oh
jections, said:
1 have up to this date received no 1nforms
ton, and take 1t, therefore, that for reasons
best known to the administration it is no
considered necessary to enter into details II
regard to this bill, but to indulge in genera
and rhetorical defamation against the ex
trsvagancs and favoritism that Is charged tt
exist in 1t.
Mr.. President, we are now confronted with
one proposition overwhelming in its charac
IL 4
the bill to which l did not assent except il
order to procure the larger advantages which
thought would come to the whole country
from these Improvements. AS a committee
man was confronted with the proposition L
whether there should be no river and harbol
bill or one with all the details Of which coulC
not agree. We are now individually and col
lectively confroAted with the same PROPOSE
tlon. Are we to stop all the improvements
that are so necessary to the internal commerce
OF this country because q creek here and {
branch there have received appropriation
which we think should not be made?
II this bill be vetoed the probability Is there
will be no other enactment in this direction
during the present session OF Congress. Wha
will be the result? The millions Of dollars
that we have appropriated heretofore upol
continuing improvements will possibly x
for nothing. The action Of the elements, thu
wear and tear and decay will Obliterate al
that has been done heretofore by the wstchfu
care OF Congress. Because of the twenty-five
or thirty or forty thousand dollars which, fO
the sake Of the argument, / grant Is thrown
away, we are to waste millions. The great
works Of the country which are absolutely
necessary to its internal commerce,th Missis
sippi river, the Baltimore harbor-all these
large improvements are to be stopped now be
cause there are details in the bill which the
Executive does not think proper to lay be-
fore Congress, but upon which he bases veto
FOuTth-Because the President did
not show that the bill as a whole was
unusually or unreasOnsbly extravsgsnt
or Wastetul.
In 1889 we appropriated for rivers
and hsrbors 1922, ,397, ,616. So for the two
years 1889 and 1890. In 1891 we sp
propristed 1875, 5,1S6, 1896 for 1891 snd
1892, and In sdditlOn'to this there was
81, 1851, 200 in the sundry civil bill, which
must be added. These appropriations
are made for taOO years each, and moi
for one-s fact overlooked by the Pres
ident. In 1894 we appropriated $l4,
1865, ,l53. The direct appropriation
made in this bill 1885, of Sl2, 2,6O8, SOC