The times., 1901-04-08
REFORM IN IMPROVEMENTS.
The Sentiment ns tn River and Hnr-
bOr Work Gains Ground.

the adjournment of Congress Regard
less of what Senator Carter's motives
may have been in defeating the appro-
priation bill he is said 10 have voiced
the opinion of many eminent engineers
who are thoroughly familiar with the
present system of public works ana the
manner in which money is secured Tor
carrying them on.
In speaking of Senator Carter's argu-
ment. an engineer of standing, who IS III
the Army Engineer Corps. but who favors
restricting the operations of that corps
to purely military work. said;
Il have just finished reading carefully
Senator Carters speech, and there IS
enough of good in it to make honest men
think. Carter diates on the TRINITY
River scheme particularly, where, start
ing with few thousand dollars, the APP
preparation rolls on with each year until
it amounts to about S4.000.000 all this TO
be expended to secure nayigabie chah-
mel four feet in depth which must depend
on artesian wells TO supply the water.
The Senator suggests, what is evident TO
anyone, that If an engineer was to make
such a recommendation for the invest
ment of private capital he would iorielt
his reputation as an expert The army
engineers, to retain the good Fellowship
and friendship of Congressman make
recommendations of pernicious projects 10
dispense public moneys. and thus ana III
securing the reelection of these Con-
gressmen. Carter might have added also
that if the Congressman does not do
what the engineers want. the congress
man is also In danger of losing the pros
pective patronage and then being de-
feated at the subsequent election
Nv suggests
to eliminate this patronage business by
returning to the conditions which pre-
vailed before the war. Let the United
States surrender it's claim of absolute
Jurisdiction over any stream that is or
can be made navigable and contine this
| Jurisdiction to harbors and trunk line i'm
provements. the purpose to be kept IN
view at all times being to create contihu-
Gus and deep channels and not pools OF
deep water inaccessible from outside Let
| the Government turn all other works over
| to private or local interests to develop
| by any plan that may give the best re-
suits, as was the custom years ago. Thus
was started our original system of water
ways Some of these early works are
still in existence, and some have been
turned over to the Government with
| business and commerce already developed.
| Many of our highways upon land and
| railroads were built in this fashion, and
| it has proved the most economical method
because it requires no distribution of pub
| lie patronage and no payments of money
until there was business enough in sight
10 Justify private capital taking hold of
it, 1t was in this manner that the Sault
! Ste Marie, the Illinois and Michigan. the
Delaware and Raritan, the Erie, the
Chesapeake and Delaware, the Albemarle
| and Chesapeake. the Dismal Swamp, the
Delaware and Hudson, the Union, the
Juniata, the Lake Erie and Ohio River,
| the Louisville the Chicago Drainage
| Canal. the Monongahela River, and many
| other improvements were put upon their
| feet and permanently established before
| the Government expended cent. Many
| of these have continued to grow and are
now free waterways.
| Another instance of bIundering on the
part of engineers was illustrated in
| incident which occurred at Pensacola re-
| Gently. The Government has been dredg
] ing the harbor channel at this point for
| many years. and yet on the date ] men
| toned vessel stuck on the bar. Senator
Tlimans remark to the effect that the OBJ
| ject of the River and Harbor bill seemed
to be to keep the United States engineers
way when they recommend s300, 600 900
worth of public Improvements TO be done
| under their direction. when ever half of
| these improvements would be ridiculed as
| an inv yestment for private capital 1t
| seems TO be rather an expensive way of
| employing the engineers to buy big plants
and let them experiment at damming up
our harbOr entrances. II was hardly
| necessary to increase the corps from 129
| to l60 officers If they hadn't enough to do
| before this increase was made by the
| terms of the new Army bill.
| This subject Is not by any means new
either with the Army Engineer Corps or
| with civil engineers, who have had much
! to do with Government Work. great
| many business organizations throughout
| the country have made protests for years
past against the manner in which the
! Government carried on it's river and har-
| Dor Improvement work, and the National
| Board of Trade, as well as many other
| organizations of a similar character, have
| memorialized the Government TO the eff
| feet that mixed commission OF civil, army:
| and navy engineers should be appointed
| TO supervise all Government conStruc-
| tions The Government has also been
! urged to encourage the policy OF grant
| ing rights and franchises to private cor
| porations for the purpose of improving
| tributary channels to more important
| works and of granting the power to col
| leCt tolls thereon Tor lImIeed period
| These recommendations are made as they
| are believed To express the most eXpedi-
! tious and economical method Of improV-
| ing lateral or connecting waterway
| which are tributary to the works of great
| maEnftude in the large harDOrS and princl-
pal rivers improved by the Government.
| 1t has been suggested that the manner
| of administering public works such as are
| here discussed should be the same as in
| the private administration of railroads.
| At present the harbor works are concen-
! trated in the hands of a few men, who
| have received a military education and
| who are placed in charge of the numerous
| localities where works are in progress at
! the option of their chief. The superin-
| tendencc thus becomes Kaleidoscope
| affair wherein the scheme of important
| caprice. This system also depends for
| the means To carry on the works contin-
| uously on the moods OF Congress, which.
| as shown by the experience of the past,
| are varied. Large. appropriations have
| been made for unworthy purposes, and
| money has otter been refused for the in
ception of great enterprises. In a num-
| Der of instances large sums have been
! spent on public works which could not
| be used because they We're not connected
| with some accessible waterway.
| 1t now remains for some prominent and
| influential member OF Congress. aided by
| engineers of distinction and unquestiOned
! Observation-Disclosures to propose "A satisfac-
| tory scheme for carrying on river and
| harbOr work in an economical and com
mon sense manner and to force the
| adoption of such plan on Congress,
| despite the opposition of the lobby of
army engineers and the greediness of
| such members Of Congress as use the
| River and HarhOr bill to secure patronage
| and Congressional taVOrs.
| 4 Gloomy Prediction.