The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-12
ONLY A PlTTANCE
is GIVEN HARBORS
BILL ALLOWING 100000
WAS PASSED AS REPORTED By
THE COMMITTEE.

Chairman Burton of the Committee
Says the One Great Defect i'm the
System of River and HarbOr Work
is the Insufticiency of the EnGin-
eering Corps of the Army-Chair-
man Opposes Inland Routes BE-
cRuse of Expense.
Washington, April 1.-THE House
to-day passed the bill reported by the
Committee on Rivers and Harbors. APP
propriating $S,00O,OO0 for the restora-
ton or maintenance of channels or
for other river and harbor improve
ments.
Mr.. Burton, chairman of the com
mittee, explained it's provisions and
urged the adoption of settled principles
with regard to river and harbor work
with the view to considering each pro-
ject according to it's merits. Mr.
Burton said the amounts expended for
rivers and harbors, when the vast eX-
tent of our waterways was considered,
was very small. He favored the
adoption of a policy of pushing mat
ters to completion as rapidly as pos
sible and declared that Congress
should not undertake anything which
could not be completed within rea-
sonably short time.
The system pursued in the United
States, he thought, contrasted most
unfaVorably with those of foreign coun-
tries. The one great defect in our sys-
tenn was the insufficiency of the en-
cheering corps of the army. He fav-
ored the policy of requiring communi-
ties interested in river or harbor inn
provements to participate in the ex-
pense and said that preference should
be given to channels and harbors which
benefit great area.
Against Inland Waterways.
Discussing the question of inland
waterways, Mr.. Burton called atten-
ton to the vast sums, amounting to
many millions of dollars, which would
be required to construct them, and de-
clared that the adoption OF any one
of them would furnish a precedent
for the adoption of all.
In faVoring broad and liberal treat
ment of rivers and harbors, Mr.. Rams
dell of Louisiana, a member of the
committee, said he would support a
bill carrying $100,000,000 because the
people now are ready for 1t, and would
applaud its passage. He regretted the
present measure was simply an emerg-
ency one. The American people, he
said, are not afraid of large sums,
but rather like them. He charged that
the Republicans had been lavish, and
even reckless, of expense in all mat
tiers except rivers and harbors inn
provement and called attention to the
hundreds of millions which he said
had been spent in connection with the
war with Spain and on criminal ag-
gression and passive warfare"
Mr.. Humphreys of Mississippi also
member of the committee, spoke of
the fallacy of the levee system of inn
proving the Mississippi river, and said
it was not possible for a levee or q
system of levees to Withstand floods
such as occurred in 1897 and 1903.
Small Makes "a Plea,
General debate was closed by Mr..
Small of North Carolina, who spoke
/ Of the necessity for an inland water
way between Chesapeake bay and
Beaufort inlet, North Carolina.
| Mr.. Clark of Missouri called atten-
| ton to the fact that the River and
Harbor Committee was made up en-
tirely of members living on the Gulf
| coast, the Great Lakes or the ocean.
Seven great states, through which the
Missouri river flows or passes are with
out a single representative. He re-
ferred to the acquisition by the Unit
ed States of the Sandwich Islands, the
Philippines, Guam and Porto Rico ION
the pretext that homes are wanted for
our children" and yet, he said, there
is more farming land out of which
to make such homes that is overlooked
and destroyed and made barren by
the floods of the Missouri river than
could be found in all those islands.
Instead" he vigorously declared,
amid applause, "of squandering money
to hold the Filipinos in subsection. to
educate the Hawaiians and to carry
the mail at an exorbitant price to the
cannibals of the Fiji Islands, you bet
ter be taking care of this land you
have got at home"
After passing a number of minor
bills the House adjourned.