The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-10
LOllAY AID THE WATERWAYS Tultongress Expected to
 Press Bill. sAYSUcH WORK, LITTLE RESULT A#dso Attention Paid to Many Con-
 ventionS. lOped That Gathering in washinston Next Month May Arouse the
 Lawmakers To Some Action for Rivers. 
BY SN FRED J. sToFER.

washinxtonS Nov. 9-tSpectai.)-I the usual rule Ks followed there vii | be general rivS'r and harbor bil | passed during the V 'oming session O Congress. The aggk gate appropria tions, however. will dc. pend upon th' state of the government f fnances Cash receipts have been runnini greatly behind at the Treasury Tor thu past twelve months, especiallyaN thos' collected by the Internal RevenueN Blu reau. Customs receipts have also faA II en off heavily and only a revival O. trade in all the leading lines will put the Treasury on an easy footing.
 The Republican spellbinders during the recent campaign informed the peo- pie that if only another victory for their party was secured. business would boom and the Treasury would event. ually be oyerfiowing with money.
 Congress has not yet paid the slight est attention to the recommendations Of the conventions that have been held during the past several years in tha interest of the proper improvement of the waterways of the country.
 The National Rivers and Harpors congress Is to assemble here again early in December. and the prospects are that number of the leading rne,, who take part in the proceedings will get after the National lawmakers fn vigorous fashion There were fin at- tendance last year about 1 800 dele gates. The expectation is that moro than 1000 will attend the Rivers ana Harbors Congress at the next meeting.
 great deal of interesting literature has been circulated within the year on the subject of the proper improvement of the waterways, and especially those denominated as inland"
 Owing to the unusually large number of close races In the Congressional dis tricts. the chances are that there will be many contests for seats that will have to be decided by the next House of Representatives. Most of these. of course, will be made by the defeated Republicans who thought at the begin ming of the campaign that they had plain sailing in their districts, only to discover that the Democrats were unus. ually active and. aggressive.
 So far during this Congress no Dem- ocrat has been turned out of the HousO Few contests were made, Most of them were from the South and were insti- tuted by negroes who aimed more for the allowance fees of 1000 than with an idea of being awarded the seat. Three of these cases are from South Carolina.
 A peculiar thing happened in the Fifth Congressional District of vir- hs- County was formerly a part of that dis trict It is, comparatively speaking, heavily Republican. In the most re- cent apportionment the Virginia Legis- lature detached Floyd County from the Fifth and put it in the Sixth District which is safely Democratic, the Fifth being rather a close district.
 The Republicans of Floyd County re- fused this year almost to a man to vote for the Republicans their party nomln- ated In the Sixth District and insisted upon supporting the Fifth District nom- inee. On this they are said to be pre- pairing a contest, alleging that the Leg islature had no right to detach them from their old district. They will get cold comfort at Washington when this point Is advanced. Congress recognizes that the Constitution gives the States absolute right to arrange the bound. aries of districts. And when it comes tn Rerrymandering. the Republicans are na masters at the art. They have New York, New Jersey. Ohio and other states so fixed that they control the delegations and nothing but land slide like that which occurred out in Indiana this time will enable the Demo-