Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-27
BY ex-Gov. Lionel A. Sheldon

TN THE first thirty-six years of the
government under the constitution
no money was appropriated by con-
gress for public Improvements.
During that time the country was
poor. One important work was that
of the organization of the machinery
of the government, and another was to
prepare the regions westwa | for set
tlement. There were wars .th the In
! dian tribes, controversy with France
that involved an incipient war, intense
feeling aroused over the alien and sedi-
ton laws, and much discussion and
feeling over differences of views on
economic questions. In the meantime
there was war with England. The
country he'd no time TO give profound
consideration to civic Improvements.
The south did not care for improve
ments of rivers and harbors as it was
neither an Industrial nor commercial
section
Besides all this, there was conflict
of opinion on the subject of the con-
stitutional authority to appropriate the
money for public improvements be-
yond what was necessary to the bust
| ness of the government. Many were
decided in the view that the funda- =
mental law contained no such war
rant. But the pressure for doing that
which would facilitate trade and es-
! pecially the settlement of the vast
westward domain brought the subject
prominently before the country and
| forced the government to adopt and
announce an Interpretation of the con-
| stitution and the formulation of a
policy on the subject of internal i'm
provements.
In 1924 President Monroe sent to con-
gress a special message in which was
elaborately discussed the power of
congress to help in the field of public
| improvements. He affirmed the power
! to do so, and based his conclusion on
| that clause of the constitution which
! confers power on congress "to lay and
! collect taxes, duties, imposts and eX-
| cises; to pay the debts and provide for
| the common defense and general well
! fare" His only limitation was that
the work should be of material char
acter, Under this Interpretation the
national road was constructed from
! tulHDclldIt, MAI ldlu, W lHuldlidlO-
| lis. President Jackson recognized the
Monroe interpretation, though he
vetoed the Maysville road bill on the
ground that it was local and not ma
tional
When the door was once thrown
open there was movement in favor OF
improving harbors and rivers, but
there was not discrimination between
what was trivial and useless and what
was important and useful. Every
member of congress In whose district
was a stream that emptied into sea
lake or bay sought an appropriation
to aid him in retaining his seat The
question of the value or necessity oi
| the appropriation entered not into con
sideration What the member sought
was the support of his constituents. L
he could not get an appropriation fol
| improvement he had resolution
passed that a survey should be made
by the engineers with a view to deter
mining whether a stream or an outle
should be the recipient Of an appro
priaton to improve It in the interest o
commerce and navigation Under thii
kind of ideal appropriations for rivers
and harbors became farce of eXtraVa
gance and profiigacy though In the ag
gregate on small scale.
Polk's interpretation
In 1886 President Polk vetoed a rive
and harbor bill because II containe'
appropriations for the great lakes
! which he thought were unconstitution
} al while those on the seaeoast wer
not. Mr.. Corwin said that according
} to Folks theory II was not necessar,
to consult a profound lawyer I'm respec
to the constitutionality of river an
harbor bill. but to employ a chemist I
determine whether the water was sal