Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-02-02
.55th CONGRESS-.
House Makes Rapid Progress
With River and Harbor Bill.
Carries Sl2,500, 900 With Contracts
Amounting to $l8,000,0 900.
Senate will Vote. al 1890 Today on the
Bacon Resolutions.


tered upon the consideration Of the
river and harbor bill, today. and made
rapid. progress. Fifty of the So pages
of the bill had been completed when
the House adjourned. The bill appro-
PIRATES directly about $12,500,000 and
authorizes contracts to the extent of
$4,000, 900 additional.
The general debate was unusually
brief. Its features was a speech in OPP
position TO the bill by Mr. Hepburn of
Iowa, who has fought every river and
harbor bill for the last six years. He
said he knew his opposition would avail
nothing as the votes for its passage
had been arranged for by the appro-
priations in the bill. He attacked par
ticularly the Mississippi river improve
meEt which was ably defended by Mr..
Catchings of Mississippi.
Practically the only amendment
adopted, today, was one striking out
an appropriation of $3.50, 900 for a chan
mel from Galveston to Texas City.
Texas. which was opposed by Mr.
Hawley of Texas. because the war de-
partment had made no report upon the
feasibility Of the project.
The House went into the committee
Of the whole and entered upon the con
sideration Of the river and harbOr bill
Burton, Rep. Ohio, chairman of the
river and harbor committee, opened
the debate with general statement %
the necessity Of continuing the river
and harbor work. The country, ne
said. was now entering upon the era Of
(lJnInppnIll y1Si inn Nhl al.t
amount of our exports. as well as sheir
excess over imports was the marvel OF
the commercial world The greatest
factor in this expansion was the i'm
provement of our rivers and harbors in
order to cheaper abe cnst of transpor-
tation.
We have expended in all see 600. 900
in river and harbor work The esti-
mates upon which this bill was based
aggregated 100000, 900. The committee
recommended a little over $50 900, 900
The argument advanced for the chan
mel from the Narows to the sea. New
York harbor. he said. had been unan-
swerable and the committee had made
provision for it. The bill. he said. was
symmetrical as far as it went. and ha
begged members not to press amend
mentS.
Perkins. Rep. Iowa. protested
against the refusal of the committee to
recommend an appropriation for the i'm
provement of the upper Missouri river.
except $4,000 for snagging> Moon. Dem.
Tenn. made a plea for an appropria-
ton for the Tennessee river between
Chattanooga and Riverton.
Hepburn. Rep, Iowa, who has sever
al times vigorously opposed river and
harbor bills, severely denounced the
development of river and harbor appro-
priation bills. He called attention 10
the fact that Ohio, the state of the
chairman of the committee got 1900, 900
in this bill. He spoke of some Ohio
gentlemen who had gone down to
Texas City. Texas. and after locating
cotton compress there had demanded
for improvements S25O.O0O. an amount
several times in excess of the aggre-
gate assessed value of the whole city.
He gave some amusing incidents of
money expended for improving insig-
nificant places. He said he knew it
was useless for HIM to oppose the bill.
The votes to pass it had been arranged
and the symmetry the gentleman
from Ohio had spoken of was the dis
tribution which brought to this measure
the support necessary to make it sue
cess.
Were you left out?" queried Shat |
tuck. Rep, Ohio. There is not a navi-
gable river in my state replied Hep |
burn. But there are rivers in my dis |
trict. magnificent in length, breadth |
and depth compared with some rivers |
improved by this bill Catchings. |
Dem. Miss, defended the levee system !
of the Mississippi river. Ball. Dem, |
Texas. warmly defended the appropri-
alton for the Buffalo Bayou ship chan
mel criticized by Hepburn.
The general debate closed and the
bill was read for amendment under the
s. minute rule.
Cummings, DEM, n. Y, spoke in favor
Of the improvement of New York har-
Dor. He dwelt on the necessity of af-
fording the greatest facilities for the
that as soon as the proposed foot
channel was completed he would urge
an increase of the depth to 40 feet
Hawley. Rep. Texas. offered as a
substitute for the paragraph appropri-
lung SS3U,uuu IpT tue -cHdllnel iToIf NIdt-
weston to Texas City. a provision for 4
survey and estimate of the cost of the
proposed project. He complained that
le had been ignored in the preparation
If the bill. In view of Hawley's state
nent. Burton moved to strike out the
whole paragraph. which motion pre-
vailed and the whole paragraph went
tut of the bill.
Bingham Rep, Pa, moved to in
,rease the appropriation for the Della
ware river from 100000 to 100000 in
,rder that the improvement might be
The appropriation OF $780,
100 in the bill was to complete the
project. Burton opposed the amend
nent because it might commit the gov
to a further project for the
of $5,000,000. The amend
nent was lost but the one word COM
,lete was changed to Continuing
After completing so of the IS pages OF
CONTINUED ON page ~