Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-07-26
BURTON DEFENDING
SAYS NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. ARE
LODGED IN THE MIND OF
THE p BLIc
Discusses Belief That River and Har.
Dor Bill is Division Of the Congress
sionaI Spells, Preliminary Examina.
tions and Surveys.

Washington, D. c., July 24.-Chair.
man Theodore E. Burton of the rivers
and harbors committee has come to
the defense of congress and particu.
larly Of his committee against the
charge that river and harbor appropri-
atiQns are in the nature of pork bar
rels." In statement on. the eve of
his departure for Europe, which was
made public here today, Mr.. Burton
says that appropriations for this pur-
pose are guarded more carefully than
any others made by congress and that
they should be much larger than they
lave been in the past, and he endorses
the work Of the National Rivers and
Harbors Congress, which is striving
for annual congressional appropria-
lions of $50,O000O0 for river and har-
Dor improvements.
Zone of the least gratifying features
having to do with river and harbor
legislation" said Mr. Burton, is the
prevalence of numerous misapprehen-
sions firmly seated in the popular
mind and which it seems are almost
impossible to dislodge. One is that a
division of spoils is made among the
members. In brief, the bill is known
as pork barrel On the contrary, no
appropriation bill is quite so carefully
scrutinized and the merits of the diff
ferent projects or objects of appropria,
ton quite so carefully scanned For
Instance, public building bill is in
troduced containing appropriations for
numerous public buildings. These
buildings, most OF which are no doubt
very necessary are provided for with
or without requests for information
from the executive departments of the
government and without any prior de-
mand from congress for an examina
ton of the magnitude of the interests
to be subserved or the desirability of
the building.
| ION the contrary before an appro
priation is made for river or harbor
improvement there must be a prelim
mary examination and survey Of the
locality, and that, too, in pursuance Of
an express act of congress. AS a re-
suit, there is a delay usually amount
ing to not less than two years after
the project is reported to congress for
its consideration before an appropria
ton can be made. In the meantime
an engineer makes a preliminary ex
animation, going over the locality, and
reports in general way whether OF
not it is worthy of improvement. Il
his report is in the afirmative-that il
is worthy of improvements goes tt
a reviewing board of five engineers
selected under the act of 1902 This
board, If it approves the favorable find
4 ing OF the engineer in the preliminary
examination, reports its findings to the
chief Of engineers who passes upon the
subject. The latter then orders a de
tailed survey with view to determin
ing the cost of the projected improve
ment. The engineer who makes this
detailed survey also reports, after hav
ing information of the cost, whether
the benefits to be derived from the
i Improvement are commensurate will
the cost. His report again goes to thu
board of review and not until they ap
prove or disapprove the project is i
In position to be considered by con
gress.
TT will be noticed that the engi
neers in the United States army con
stitute permanent body of men, dc
pendent upon the government TO
their salaries, and, with the esprit d
corps which belongs to such a body
they are less Influenced by or depend
ent upon local favor than civil officers
Hence it is probable, by the time sue
a report is presented to congress, tina
unworthy projects will be eliminated
Zone chief defect of the system i
the past has been the unlimited mu
DUPLICATION Of surveys. Before tn
Board of Review was created in 100:
it was very much easier to secure fl
: vorable recommendations on both pre-
: liminary examinations and surveys
: This was not due so much to any care
lessness on the part of the engineer
5 as to the different standards of meri
7 which they observed. The objec
, sought in the creation of the boar
| was most o fall to secure uniformit,
t I Its members have also been very care
> full in recommending projects. Unde
t the bill of 1902, in list of SO order
| for examination and survey of river
| and harbors projects only two wer
recommended. Under the later bill {
1905, in LIST Of 81 surveys, only on
was recommended. and that in qua
flied manner
Before this board was created. O
ders for surveys and favorable report
were very numerous, and as resu
a special feature of the present stu,
ton was created, namely, total {
t projects under consideration we'll |
excess of S900,0O0,0OO and that, to,
with an average expenditure of onl
, $20,000,000 a year..
THE statement is often made, wei
we only desire survey but in tn
management Of the system gres
deal of firmness is required in resis
I ing demands for these surveys, b.
cause when once upon the list they al