The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-24
NO MORE LUMP FUND
APPROPRIATIONS
Senate Leaders Agree on Agri-
cultural Bill Amendment
WANT SPECIFIC ESTIMATES
100000 Permanent Improvement of
Forest Reserve and 100000 for
Pure Food enforcement
Causes Action.
WANT SPECIFIC ESTIMATES


Senate leaders to add to the agricultural
appropriation bill an amendment p.edS-
ing the Senate to make no further lump
fund" appropriations for the use OF any
executive department. 1t is too late to
institute this policy at this session but
the leaders are determined that it shall
he adopted for the future and shall be
closely adhered to.
The occasion of the amendment Is the
inclusion in the agricultural bill OF two
LUMP fund" appropriations, one for $780,
900 permanent Improvement in the forest
expended in the forest reserves and the'5$
reserves and the other for $600000 to be
expended by the chief of the bureau of
chemistry in enforcing the pure food law.
1t is decidedly against the policy of Con-
gress to make appropriations of this size,
except in accordance with specific est-
mates submitted at the beginning of the
session by heads OF departments. Never
theless the practice has been steadily
growing of asking Congress for what
are called Jump funds for various pur-
poses the details of the expenditure of
which are left entirely to the executive
officials.
Never before has there been an attempt
TO obtain from Congress such large APP
propriations with such meagre indica-
ton o. the purposes to which they are
to be put and this has led the senate
leaders to adopt the course proposed. Inc
large sum provided for the permanent
Improvement of the forest reserve has
been chiefly responsible for the protracted
debate ON this subject in the Senate
The Senate leaders are by no means
opposed TO the forest reserve policy as
they have abundant confidence in ChleL
Forester Pinchott and they are disposed
to give him all the funds lie may require
for the proper prosecution OF the WORK
in which he is engaged. The western
senators on the other hand are antago-
nistoc to the policy of forestry bureau
and of the President, and they succeed
ed today in having the provision placing
the uublic lands available for grazing
under the supervision of the secretary
of agriculture, stricken from the Dill Oh
order The chief excuse for the pro-
traoted debate, however, was the appro-
nriation of 5000. 600 with no adequate in
dication of the purpose for which 1t IS
to be used.
0~~-~~~-~--~----------~
with short comings and stumbllngs yet
did the duty of the moment though that
duty was nara anu Ollti piSetSi NN'AoA"
and not the men who confined themselves
to idle talk of no matter how high
sounding a nature, who have done real
good to the islands. These are the men
who have brought justice as between
man and man; who are building roaus'
who have introduced schools; VINO, grad
ually, with patience and hrmness, afe
really fitting the islands for selt-goVerh-
ment.
State Rights.
$50 It is fifth the great questions
which group themselves round the control
of corporations in the interest of the
public There has been n curious revival
of the doctrine of state rights in eonnec-
ton with these questions, by the people
who know that the states cannot with
Justice TO both sides practically conlrof
the corporations, and who therefore ad-
yocate such control because they do not
venture to express their real wish, which
10 that there shall be no control at all
Honest and fair dealing railway corpora
tions will gain and not lose by adequate
federal control Most emphatically IL IS
both the duty and the interest of our peo-
pie to deal fairly With such Corporations
and to see that a premium is put on the
honesty agreement of them, and that
those who invest in them are amply pro-
tected But those who invoke the doe
trine of state rights to protect state cor
porate creations in predatory activities
extended through other states, are as
short-sghted as those who once invoked
the sand doctrine to protect the special
slave holding interest. The states have
shown that they have not the ability to
curb the power of syndlcated wealth and
therefore in the interests of the people 1t
must be done by national action.
Special Privilege.
'Our present warfare is against special
privilege. The men-many of them L am
sorry to say, college men-who are
prompt to speak against every practical
means which can be devised for achiev-
ing the object we have in view-the
proper and adequate supervision by the
federal government of the great corpora
lions doing an interstate business-are,
nevertheless, themselves powerless to SO
much as outline any plan of constructive
craftsmanship which shall give relief. l
have watched for six years these men,
both those in public and those in private
life, and though they are prompt to crit
icise every affirmative step taken, | have
yet to see one of them lift a finger to
remedy the wrongs that exist. SO 1t is
in every field of public activity States
rights should be preserved when they
mean the peoples rights, but not when
they mean the peoples wrongs; not, for
instance when they are invoked to pre-
vent the abolition of child labor, or to
break the force of the laws which pro-
hibit the importation of contract labor
to this country; in short, not when they
stand for wrong or oppression Of any
kind or for national weakness or impo-
tence at home or abroad. 1t Is to the
men who work In practical fashion with