Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1910-04-22
RIVER BILL MAY
GET THE VETO
RUMOR ARISES, FOLLOWING SEN
SATIONAL ATTACK By
BURTON.
SAYS RIVER TRAFFIC ANTIQUATED
ohio Senator Attacks Improvement
system.-says Country Has Gone
Wild Over Construction Of Locks
and Dams.

ton of possibility that President
Taft may veto the river and harbor
bill caused some uneasiness among
members OF both houses of congress.
This rumor was circulated Immediate
ly after serious attack made upon
the river and harbor bill by Senator
Burton of Ohio. 1t Is assumed that II
President Taft has any idea that the
river and harbor bill should not be-
come law, it is due to the charges
made by Senator Burton that the gen.
eral total of the measure is extrava-
CANT, and that in some respects the ap-
preparations for number of the har-
bors and rivers would be wasteful If
applied according to the terms Of the
measure. More than this, the idea
became prevalent that President Taft
regards the bill as carrying too much
money, considering the present state
of the public finances.
Mr.. Burton declared that the coun.
try had gone wild over the construc-
ton of locks and dams. He instanced
improvements of this character, con-
tending that notwithstanding millions
had been expended there had been 4
falling off in tonnage. All this meant,
he said, that that sort Of transporta.
ton is going out of existence.
Replying to questions from Mr.. New.
lands, Mr.. Burton said he believed at
tention should be concentrated largely
on the more promising projects. He
advised an adjustment between the
railroads and the waterways, contend
ing that without such adjustment the
roads inevitably would drive business
from many of the streams.
Much Spent on Ohio.
As the senator progressed he
aroused more or less opposition and
was engaged in controversy by Sen.
ators Page Lorimer, Gallinger, Bailey,
and others. In reply to Mr.. Gallinger,
the Ohio senator admitted that be.
tween s2O,o00.0O0 and $4,000, 900 had
been expended on the development Of
navigation on the Ohio since he (Mr.
Burton) had become chairman Of the
house committee on rivers and har.
bors.
Speaking of the possibilities Of
deep waterway from Chicago to the
gulf Of Mexico, Mr.. Burton ridiculed
the idea that ships could go through
canal and river and sea to New Or
leans and to Europe. People who are
carried away by this view, he said, for.
get that via the Welland canal Chica.
go now has 14-foot waterway from
Chicago direct to Europe, but uses it
to small extent.
Proce eding after long interruption
by Mr.. Newlands, Mr.. Burton entered
upon the advocacy Of system of wa.
terway improvement under which local
communities should share the cost of
the work. He said this system is in
operation IN Europe. After speaking
for three hours. Mr.. Burton suspended
for the day and the reading of the bill
proceeded. When the paragraph ap-
propriatins 100000 towards the con.
struction of the harbor Of refuge at
Sandy Bay, Cape Ann, Mass, was
reached, Mr.. Burton moved 10 strike it
out. Mr.. Lodge resisted and among
other things said that IL the harbor
had been completed the steamer Port.
land might have been saved. The
to strike out was voted
down.
Comparatively little progress had
been made on the bill when the sen.
ate adjourned.
Would Pension Nurses.
A pension of $12 a month for each
nurse who served in the feder.
al army during the civil war is provid.
ed in bill reported to the senate by
Senator Scott from the committee on |
pensions. There are fewer than 200
Of the nurses now living, and the ex.
pense of the pension would be less
than $4,000 year.
BY 149 to SO the house refused to
pass = bill giving to Major General
Daniel E. Sickles the rank and pay of
lieutenant general United States
army, retired.
The house passed a bill declaring
that General Fred D. Grant was mus
tered into the service of the United
States, April 20, 1868. and when at the
age of Is he served as aide to his faith
er, General U. S. Grant, at Vicksburg.
By this action, General Grant was
made eligible to membership in the
Loyal legion.