Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-27

The practice until within the last
fifteen or twenty years was not only for
members to urge frivolous appropria-
tions, but they were doled out In drib-
lets, little at a time, and when one
or fresh
Since | was a member of the house
the committee on rivers and harbOrS
has been created which has jurisdiction
over appropriations for. improvements
of the water channels, which formerly
belonged to the commerce committee.
appropriation had been expended the
work done was generally so deteriorat-
ed before another was made that the
money expended was practically
thrown away. During period of four
years in which l was member of a
subcommittee of the commerce COM
mittee of congress to prepare the river
and harbor bills, L aver that it would
have been quite impossible to pass any
bill for the Improvement of rivers and
harbors unless there was put in it
items of expenditure that were of no
public benefit Members would not
vote for it, and they were more num-
erous than would be supposed who
would vote against any bill that did not
| do something for their districts
More rational ideals have since
gained ascendency. The construction
of railroads has concentrated COM
merce at few points and has drawn
attention to the Importance of inn
proving harborS and of making con-
tinuous appropriations that the work
may go on uninterruptedly to compile
tion, thereby avoiding deterioration
from waiting till another appropriation
is made.
Millions were spent on He'll Gate to
facilitate commerce between New
York and the New England coast. The
same was done at the Des MoineS
rapids on the upper Mississippi, and
on the Portland canal at Louisville in
planking the rapids in the Ohio. 1t
was the same at the st. Clair Flats
above Detroit also in jetteeing the
South Pass at the mouth of the Mis-
sissippi river and in constructing har-
bors at Galveston and Savannah. There
are other works of less magnitude In
a number of localities of the same
character.
Harbor for Los Angeles
A woman who had Travelled much
said she had observed that wherever a
city was built the people put river
by the side of it. That is true in re-
spect to Improvement or building a
harbor. Wherever there is large city
and conditions are such that the con-
struction of a harbor is practicable, 1T
| is done because the contigulty of the
| city means commerce. the extent of
which is determined by the resources
and population naturally tributary to
it, This leads one to consider the
question of a harbor for Los Angeles.
That harbor must be at San Pedro
| if this great city is to have an adequate
outlet to the Pacific sea, for that is
| the most feasible place at which a
harbor of sufficient commodiousness
can be provided and at the least ex-
penditure of money.
| 1t is not necessary to enter upon an
elaborate description of the immense
region whose natural outlet to the sea
and orient is through this city.
Physical geography makes It SO. 1t
| is a region of large and rapidly IN
creasing population and production,
whose resources in many important
lines are immeasurable. IT is almost
! as impossible to stop the flow hither-
ward as 1t would be to dam river
with a pitchfork. Any hindrance to the
volume must be removed to the utmost
practicable extent The only serious
obstruction that can exist will be the
lack of adequate harbor facilities at
San Pedro.
The question is, what should be done
there? General talk is of no avail un-
less directed tosthe accomplishment OF
a specific plan. When that is done talk
may help some, but work is better.
1t so happened that the first ma
tional appropriation for Wilmington
as the location was then designated
came from the subcommittee of con-
gress, OF which 1 was member. The
subject was laid before me by Aaron
A. Sargent, then a member OF the house
from the middle part of the state, at the
instance of General Banning. The sub
committee put into the general bills