The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-01

original contract was at an end, but if we wanted to stay under the new terms we could. They sent us new papers, which simply stated that we were employed in . certain position at a certain salary. and that was all.
 "A rodman's salary is $75 month. and he must pay his expenses out of 1t. We have to buy our own provisions and hire our own cook and helpers around the camp.
 we are living in some of the old canal buildings near a little darkey set clement of 300 or 400 people. This is mean country to work over. It had all been cleared number of miles back of the river. and 1t has all grown up again with thick second growth of brush and vines.
 We have quite q little sickness among the men. but nothing serious yet. I think the commission will have to do the right thing by us before there is . canal built down here"
 General Appropriations.
 The Appropriations Committee of the House began its work Tuesday morning on the general legislative, ex- ecutive and Judicial appropriation bill. Most of the members seem to under stand that there will be little or no pairing of the sums usually allotted. Every member Of the committee Is pro- verbally industrious to get. good slice of Treasury pie for his own con- stituents and. in doing so. he Is not infequently impelled to display a leg islative bargain counter for the sake of his own parliamentary advancement. That Is the irrepressible human nature of the average member of an Appro- pfation Committee. and 1t is the con- stantly wistful inclination of tho av- craze of the great majority of mem- bers to harken unto chances for bar gains laid before him by the members of the Appropriation Committee.
 It is said that the Republican ma jority of the Appropriations Committee will in framing the legislative. execu- tive and judicial appropriation bill. be in favor of cutting down river and harbor appropriations. except for the largest continuing contracts.
 But" said an astute member of the Committee. don't you know that there are ten members who want appropria- tions for small projects where there Is one for a big improvement, especially if 1t is continuing contactg'
 The member knew whereof he spoke. With every new Congress. especially. is there the greatest demand for riv-
 
 embrace every stream and harbor sus- ceptible of improvement. The first step of member whose district has any navigable or possible navigab1e water is to have the Government spend money for a survey If the engineer report is the least favorable, the mem- Der will work In season and out of sea- son for an appropriation.
 Must Make q Showing.
 He is somehow bound to do 1t. He works up sentiment in his district which sets the pace for him. His pro- gressive fellow citizens hold rivers and harbors conventions. memoria1ize Con- gress with eloquent appeals and abun- dant statistics, and the result is the poor representative is bound to get busy and make. palpable showing. This Is peculiarly characteristic of the numerous smaller appropriations asked for, while the large harbors and the greater river highways of corameree are oftentimes sorely stinted in im- provements that are most obviously necessary and which the highest en- gineer authority In and out of the Government has endorsed and earnest ly recommended.
 What Chairman Burton, of the Riv- CTS and Harbors Committee. will have to say as to any continued course of liberal expenditures to satisfy the clamor of Congressman who want to keep solid with their constituents, at the expense of really important and needful river and harbor legislation. should be interesting. He was the sole Republican who, at the last session, spoke out bravely against the enorm- ous expenditures proposed to put this country on a war footing. through ap- propriations for the army and navy. He especially inveighed against the appropriation of $s6,oo0.0oo for the navy. Hence what he may have to say of Secretary Morton's estimate of $f2S,- 900, ,000 for the next fiscal years ap- propriation ought to possess some per- tinent interest. c
 Shaw for Retrenchment.
 Secretary of the Treasury Shaw. about whose obliged retirement from the finance department there has been some gossip, In a conference just had with Representative Dalzell, in which the two took stock of the governments resources, agreed that there ought to be an immediate brake put upon the wheels running in the heads of ambi- tious congressman to tickle their con- stituents and glorify the flag with generous appropriations.
 So 1t is understood that the Secre- tary, in his forthcoming report which Is to go to Congress with the Pres ident's message, will be quite plainly for decided retrenchment. It will be urged that in the present condition of federal finances 1t is idle to talk of erecting new public buildings. or wid- ening and deepening the channels of rivers and harbors and other contem- plated improvements that would take money from the treasury.
 There will be lot of members. in view of this new position of Mir. Shaw, who will be glad to see him make place for some other Secretary of the Treasury after the fourth of March.