Evening star., 1899-02-01
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,.
The House today immediately after the
reading of the journal went into committee
of the whole (Mr Hopkins of Illinois in the
chair and entered upon the consideration
of the river and harbor bill.
Mr.. Burton (Oho,. chairman of the river
and harbor committee opened the debate
with a general statement of the necessity
of continuing the river and harbor work.
This country. he said. was now entering
upon an era of commercial expansion. The
vast amount of our exports a well as their
excess over imports was the marvel of the
commercial world. The greatest factor in
this expansion was the improvement of our
rivers and harbors in order to cheaper the
cost of transportation. We had expended in
all S}20,0UO,U00 in river and harbor work.
The estimates upon which this bill was
based aggregated 5000. 001 coo. The commit
tee recommended little over 100000, 900.
The argument advanced for the channel
from the NarroWs to the sea, New York
harbor, he said, had been unanswerah!c.
and the committee had made provision
fer it.
The bill, he said was symmetrical as far
as 1t went and he begged members not to
press amendments.
Mr.. Perkins Uowa) protested against the
refusal OF the committee 10 recommend an
appropriation for the Improvement for the
upper Missouri river, except $4,000 for
snagging. The reason given was that it
was without commerce. He adraitted that
the commerce of the river had been greatly
reduced, owing to railroad competition but
the existence of the river served as a con-
stant check on railroad rates lie insisted
that the river should be protected at crit-
cal points.
Mr.. Moon CTenn) made plea for an
appropriation for the Tennessee river be
tween Chattanooga and Rivcrton.
Mr.. Hepburn Attacks the Bill.
Mr.. Hepburn Qowa), who has several
times vigorously opposed river and harbor
bills. severely denounced the development
of river and harbor appropriation bills.
Seventeen years ago, said he, before the
days of combinations" in support of the
river and harbor bill, the bill carried ST.
100000. This year there would be an au-
thorized expenditure of Si2. $50. .0oO 81, ,0O0-
600 was not to be in the bill. 1t had been
the developed practice to conceal the grand
aggregate of the appropriations. He made
no opposition, he said, to legitimate and
proper expenditures for facilitating COM
merce, but he was opposed to useless eX-
pendtur9s. He recalled Mr. CleyeiS mas
statement IN veto message Til S2f Oo-
TO had been expended OIL The Mississippi.
with a total result Of increasing the depth
On TWO reaches OF the river in five years
The commerce of the river was decreasing
annually Although millions had been ex-
pended the elaborate system for the i'm
proVement of the Mississippi had been
abandoned and the engineers had gone back
TO the old primitive methods Of dredging
notWltnstanding all the Improvements In
hydraulic engineering.
He called attention TO the fact that Ohio
The state of the chairman of the commit
tee, gets S3,opO,O00 in this bill He spoke OF
some Ohio gentlemen who had gone down
to Texas City, Texas, and after locating a
hn1 n I'D 20,
improvements S25D, 900 an amount several
uhleS IN excess of the aggregate assessed
value of the whole city. He gave some
amusing incidents of money expended in
improving Insignificant places
In conclusion, he said be knew II was
useless for him to oppose the bill. The
votes to pass 1t had been arranged, and the
symmetry which the gentleman from
which brought to this measure the support
necessary to make it a success.
Ohio.
There is not a navigable river in my
state" replied Mr.. Hepburn amid laughter
But there are rivers in my district mag
mHcent in length. breadth and depth COM
pared with some rivers improved by this
bill"
Mr.. Catchings CAIiss) replied to Mr. Hep
burn The latter's plant he said, was an
old story.
He defended the levee system of the Mis-
sissippi river. There could be 40 important
improvement of g permanent character
which did not take into consideration pro-
tectiOn from the vast and devastating
floods. The small pittance of $4,000 900
said he, employed on the lower Mississippi
had raised more high hopes in American
hearts and had conferred more benefit than
any other similar sum expended by the
government for any purpose.
Mr.. Ball Texas> warmly defended the ap-
preparation for the Buffalo bayou ship chan
mel criticised by Mr.. Hepburn.
IaI,., 1lA chr h1FD
2, when the bill was read for amendment
under the five-minute rule.