The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-02-10
Rivers and Harbus Get More
Attention Than They Did
a Few Years Ago
CONGRESS SETS ASIDE
$4O,OOO,OOO FOR RIVERS
Congressman ROdenburg of Illinois
Says Waterways Bills Cannot Vow
90 Defeated BY Mere Talk In
Nails of Congress
ny wATrERsoN sTEALEY

ny WATrERsoN sTEALEY
Washington, February 9.-(Special.)-
Representative Rodenburg of Illinois,
member OF the rivers and harbors COM
mi tee, takes little stock in the report
that the bill to be reported from his
committee will receive material Senate
opposition. You can have no idea how
the sentiment calling for the improve
ment of our rivers and harbors has
grCNn IN the last few years unless you
conie from a district such as mine is,
borde ering upon one of the great nat
ural thororghfares of the country" said
he toright
"The national rivers and harbors con-
gross and the great commercial bodies
of the cities interested in the question
of cheaper transportation are largely re-
epoIsible for this awakening.
Sentiment has been crystallized in IA
vor Of comprehensive plan of waterway
I'M ,ovement and the Congress of the
Un.tcd States must be responsive to that
sentiment.
Amy senator, in my judgment. who
would attempt to talk such a bill to
death would be inviting his own political
Iuil. Times have changed since the days
when a waterway bill was defeated by
talk, and the country has become edu-
Gated to the needs of improved river
and harbor facilities. Not so much the
effect it may have in the regulation and
reduction in railroad rates but because
the rivers are needed to haul our bulky
freights.''
In addition to rivers and harbors APP
propriations for the state of Ala bama
as contained in The Age Herald today,
the commit ee today decided to give $780,
900 for canal connecting the Chatta
-Appalachicola river with st. An
drews Bay Fla. Tie harbor will be inn
proved to the extent of $4,000. This i'm
provement will mean that the cotton
growers in this section of Alabama and
Georgia will be able to get their cotton
TO deep water at a saving of from 81. 80
TO 50 bale. Representative Clayton,
who has been instrumental in securing
the appropriation, is highly gratined at
the success which his efforts have met.
Bill Practically Completed
Washington, February 9.-The rivers
and harbors appropria tion bill, carry
Ing an aggregate of $4,000, ,000 as an
annual budget, aside from prospective
ultimate expenditures of some hundreds
of millions of dollars in coming years.
was virtually completed tonight by the
House committee on rivers and harbcrs.
The committee was In session all day
In an effort to press the matter to a
conclusion and when the committee adj
5ourned all that was left were a few
minor matters which Chairman Alex
ander was vested with discretion to ad-
Just. The bill will be reported to the
House tomorrow afternoon and If Chair
man Alexander's expectations are real
tied, will be taken up by the House
on Friday.
Conspicuous among the large projects
provided for In the bill are the fol-
lowing:
Improving the upper Mississippi river.
oil north of st. Louis, s2,000,00O from
st. Louis to Cairo, $4,000 in addition
to the $250,000 carried in the sundry
civil appropriation bill; from Cairo
TO New Orleans, s2,000,o00 in addition
to the $2,00G,000 carried in the sundry
civil appropriation bill.
For the Ohio river, $1,O00,OOO i'm
mediately, and s2,500,O00 in continuing
contracts"
There are numerous minor projects.
Feature of the Bill
A notable feature of the bill Is the
vesting of authority in the Secretary Of
War to appoint board of five members
to be composed of our engineer Of
fcers of the army and one civil en-
gineer. taken from civil life, to CO.
operate with the Illinois authorities In
securing a suitable waterway in con-
junction with the development of wa
~ hof fyvo
and Utica for which Illinois has already
authorized an appropriation of scO,0CO,.
900
The president of1the board is to b.,
the same one who was president Of the
beard of five memberA Aauthorized under
the act of March ., 1907, to examine the
Mississippi river below st. Louis, and
to report to Congress on the project tf
q 1i-foot channel.
The provision of the bill adopted fol-
lows: wv
THE board shall, after full conference
with the authorized agency of the state of
/ illinois submit report upon the extent
TO which the United States may properly
cooperate with the state of Illinois In
securing the construction of navigable
waterway in conjunction with the devel-
opment of water power by said state
between Lockport and Utica, for which
the people of the state of Illinois have
authorized their state legislature to ap-
propriate twenty million dollars; the re-
port shall state the extent and charac-
ter of the cooperation recommended and
the conditions considered necessary in
connection Herewith to protect fully the
interests of the United States; should the
board consider cooperation to be advis-
able the report herein called for shall
include plans and estimates of cost of
the work commended to be done by the
United States alone or in cooperation with
the state of Illinois; and until these
plans and estimates have peen SUBJ
4 mitted and q project for the improvement
adopted by congress. the appropriation
of one million dollars herein made shall
not be available for expenditure.
Report ON Improvement
''rhe board also shall consider and re-
port upon the proposed improvement OF
the Mississippi between the mouth of
the Illinois river and the mouth of the
Ohio river. by the construction of a dam
at or near Jefferson Barracks and a
dam at or near Commerce. and the de-
velopment of water power incidentally
created by such dams.
In the performance of its duties the
board may consider all reports heretofore
made: and the force. and plans and rec
ords OF The Mississippi river con,misson