Weekly journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1908-1929, 1909-01-27
CONGRESS JEALOUS


Unless the move IL halted before IL
gains any considerable Roadway. tnere
is likelihood Of congress changing the
policy which allows the reclamation
service to spend many millions of dol.
lars without the lawmaking body hav-
ing direct control of the expenditures.
On the surface this appears to be n
perfectly reasonable thing, hut under.
meath is a desire on toe part Of Ger.
tain members 10 add another "pork
barrel" from which the hungry of
both legislative folds can feed This
may be a mere suspicion, and the
members of the House Committee on
Arid Lands may have praseworthy
object in view in desiring to annex
the Reclamation Service, but when il is
understood that there are under con.
temptation by this service projects
involving some ss5.OOo,OOO, tnen the
matter takes on different phase.
Maybe the arid lands cOmmittc. has
no intention of making this recon.
mendation To- congress, aud perhaps a
recent statement by Representative
Englebright, of California, n member
of this committee, that he thought
"congress might be disposed 10 alter
ats policy toward the servicen was
merely handed out 10 scare the heads
Of tue reclamation bureau; but. any.
way, the impression has gone out that
the situation relative 10 the rcclama.
ton fund prcsages the openings Of a
third "pork barrel" the other two
being the Rivers aud lIarbors aud the
Public Buildings bills
Aside from the ordinary objections
TO so large fund being disbursed by
bureau not responsible to congress.
little Jealousies have cropped up from
time to time because projects in the
west have claimed the major portion
OF the reclamation fund, Amounting Ia
about si2,OO0,0oo appropriated up to
date. The south has had certain de
mands for irrigation and reclamation.
but Director Frederick H. Newell NJ
ehe reclamation service, following the
judgment of his expert engineers in
the field, has elected 10 spend the
money to reclaim arid lands in Ari. |
aona, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada.
California and Washington. An at
tempt was made some time ago to di |
vert some Of this fund TO reclaim
parts of the Dismal swamp of Virginia
ana other similar projects in the souta.
but 1t failed when il was whispered
around in congress that certain land
owners, actuated solely by self inter.
est, were trying "to raid the fund. -
This may have been an adroit moye
to keep the work going in another
neid, but at any rate it put quietus
on the Dismal Swamp proposition, and
since then many thousands of acres in
the West have been brought within
Ieach OF settlers, who really don 4 care
rap VIII" conducts the work as long
ms 1t is conducted honestly aud well.
When congress created the reclama.
Ton service. it was expressly provided
that the work was to be supcry ised nv
the secretary of interior, who was
made responsible for the good conduct
u the bureau aud for the proper ex 9
penditure OF the fund. This was done !
presumably TO take the reclamation
service out Of the reach of those with
'Ses to grind or pet projects 10 pro.
note at federal expense. The pres.
'nt arrangement has not only worked \
With entire sitisfactiou but projects {
INVOLVING nearly s5o,OOO,000 have s.
'een handled by its engineers without n
ne slightest suspicion Of graft, Il
II rs reasonable to suppose taat il o
ne nave 90 give congress control of t,
he service is opposed, IT will be ON =
ne ground that any other arrange y
'ent than the present one will greatly Il
hmper the success of the govern. a
'ent y, general reclamation policy. TO n,