The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-04-08
FIRST AID TO RIVER
APPROPRIATION BILL WILL SOON
BE REPORTED.
Measure Is to Carry in the Neighbor-
hood Of Fifty-Two Thousand Dol
lars; the Lakes-t to- the Gulf Scheme
Is Given Recognition; One of the
Feature. Of Congress Platform Is
Bond Issue.
Especial to The Srsa Prsss.l

Washington, ID. c., April G-The
river and harbor appropriation bill is
virtually made up and will. in all
probability he reported to the senate
tomorrow or Friday at the farthest.
The bill will carry in the neighbor
hood of S52,0G0,000 but of this amount
between S7,000,000 and Sl0,000,000 are
not properly chargeable to the rev
enues collected during the present ifs
cal year.
Senator + NJ Simmons of North
Carolina, and member of the com.
mlttee on commerce. believes that the
bill will receive most general endorse
ment and that it represents i'm its
makeup the very best thought on the
part Of both committees of the sen
ate and house and that it is forward
step in the interest Of broad and
comprehensive policy for the improve
ment Of the rivers and harbors of
continental United States.
Bill Was Essential.
There was general feeling in the
committee said Senator Simmons
that an annual river and harbor
bill was essentially necessary to put
cur water ways in condition To handle
our growing commerce. In way the
bill is carrying out one of the plat
forms of the National Rivers and Har-
bOrS congress, that there should he Il
bond issue To take care of these i'm
provements i'm the event that current
revenues were not sufficient to pro
vide for an annual waterway bill of
sufficient amount TO make an apprO.
priation of S50OO0OOO annually for
ten years. possible. While we have
not issued bonds we have recognized in
the committee the necessity for an an
mal river and harbOr bill The bill
recognizes meritorious projects and APP
propriates literally for them TO the
end that they may be completed with
IN reasonable time and until they are
completed the annual feature of the
bill will continue.
One OF the First Fruits.
Gone of the first fruits of this new
system will be more liberal treat
ment of the waterways and well de-
fined plan for their improvement con-
ditioned upon a favorable report from
the board of engineers of the war
department. Under this new plan pro-
jects will be pressed to completion,
something wholly impossible under the
biennial and triennial bills OF former
years.
l, nc l.. y,
will be reported the last of the week,
10 project of real merit has been
neglected. Without reference TO any
section the appropriations will be adj
justed TO bring about the completion
OF projects in a reasonable length of
time thereby saving the enormous
waste that has come through small
appropriations extending over long
period of years. 1t is my judgment
that at least one quarter of the money
which congress has appropriated from
time to time for rivers and harbors
has been lost because of the failure to
appropriate annually for the projects
under way.
Lakes-to-the-Gulf Feature.
Speaking for the South. in which
| am more directly interested. there
has been no disposition to accord Co
its waterways any different treatment
than shown other setions. The bill
appropriatcs for the great Mississippi
system Il sum sufficient to warrant
its completion i'm twelve years, and as
far as practicable the annual feature
is retained in the bill so that we
probably, or our children surely, may
see the completion of a system OF
rivers and harbors rivallying the wa
terways of Europe. This one fact
will go far toward removing the pork
barrel designation given this measure
in former congresses, by reducing our
appropriations to system. The Lakes
to-the-Gulf feature of the house bill
is retained by the senate with one or
two amendments which do not change
the character of the project, but which
seek for information as to lake levels,
climatic conditions and whether the
building of this project would seriously
affect the lower Mississippi
81 think much of the credit of this
measure is due Colonel Alexander of
Buffalo. y. Y, chairman of the house
committee on rivers and harbors and
without any desire to detract from the
reputation of former chairmen. | am
convinced that this bill will prove to
be most scientifically prepared meas.
ure, and in every way worthy"