The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-02-11
WATERWAYS COMMISSION
MAKES PRELIMINARY
REPORT.
Some Weaknesses of Our System
Outlined in Comparison With
Other COuntries-Increas O
Army or Other Trained Engin-
GERS Urged.

er ana harDOr questions III Europe, III
a preliminary report to congress de-
clares that the existing organization
for the carrying OH of waterways i'm
provements is defective. The supply
of army engineers it says is inadequate
and engineers are detailed for too short
a time on important projects Two
plans are proposed for remedying this
condition: first, to create a corps of
civilian engineers, under department.
of public works; or, second, to enlarge
the present engineer coprs of the army,
charging their maintenance to the river
an harbor work and not, as now, to
the army.
The European System
Relative to methods of financing wa
terways work the commission would
like to see tried in the United States
system of division that has operated
very successfully in Europe. Under
tina system local authorities pay an ad-
equate portion of the cost of improve
ments benefittng their immediate 10.
calities. It is unfair, the commission
believes, that inland cities should bear
a share of the cost of improving cities
situated on waterways, especially when
such improvements will increase the
opportunities of the latter cities to be-
come competitors of the former. The
commission believes there should be
some method of participation in pro-
portion to the local benefits to be de-
rived. This is the plan all over Eu-
rope where it works to the entire sat-
isfaction of all concerned. Such pol
icy, it is pointed out, diminishes the
number of unwise and Improbable
schemes proposed. Schemes that are
not all right will not be pushed if the
promoters have to pay their share of
the cost; and what is equally import
ant, worthy schemes will be pushed
faster, because of the reduced drain on
the general treasury.
Concerning the method of financing,
the commission says it does not believe
in issuing government bonds.
AS to the kind of improvements that
should be made, the commission COM
mends the system in operation in the
United States for more than genera
ton, and shows it is as good as any in
operation anywhere in the world. The
commission favors the ''open river"
system-that is to say. no locks and
dams where they can be done away
with. This is the German policy, and
is peculiarly adapted to the upper
Mississippi river, which, the report
says, is perhaps better adapted to this
kind of improvement than any other
stream in the world.
The report strongly urges that local
communities have necessary terminals
and levee facilities, the charges for
them to be regulated by the secretary
of war. If this is not done the COM
mission thinks congress should go
slowly in the matter of improvements.
Inland Canals Not Favored
The report condemns the construc-
ton of canals in the United States un-
der present conditions as being too ex-
pensive and not warranted by CONNER
cial requirements. It especially recon-
mends that the United States should
provide only the main channels lead
ing to central anchorages in rivers and
harbors, the local communities to pro-
vide the necessary lateral channels
leading to docks and wharves The
government, the commission believes,
ought not to benefit private property
by constructing channels to that prop
erty. There has been great difference
of practice in this respect, as shown by
appropriation bills from time to time,
but the Commission expects that here
after there will be no more appropria-
tions for private benefit in the direc-
tion just mentioned.
Attention is called in the report to
the fact that on all American rivers,
the Ohio excepted, terminal facilities
are inadequate. Conveniences for load
ing, unloading and handling freight on
these rivers are not as good as in Ger
many or on the Great Lakes of this
country, or along the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts. These conveniences.
the commission believes, the local au-
thorities ought to provide.
The commission discusses the con-
troll of dams in navigable waters and
seems to hold that permission ought
not to be given for the construction of
dams in navigable streams for power
purposes. Where the United States
owns dam full charge should be
made to anybody using power created
by that dam.
A careful comparison is made in the
report between conditions in this coun-
try and in Europe, and reasons are CIV
en- why American waterways have not
been used as freely as the waterways
of Europe.
Relations Of Railroads and WATERWAYS
The relations between the railroads
and Waterways are discussed, showing
that the commission is not a unit on
this question. The majority seems to
hold that there is merit in a system of
minimum rates below which the rail
roads may not go in competing with
the waterways for traffic. But this