Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-01-15
APPROPRIATIONS FOR
RIVERS AND HARBORS
Pending Legislation and the Policy OF
the Rivers and Harbors
Congress.

Washington. ID. c.. Jan. 9.-(Spe-
cial Correspondence of The Repub-
lican) 1.-THE senate commerce COM
mittce has lost no time get
ting To consideration of the river
and harbor appropriation bill. Work
was resumed on the bill on Thursday.
the day the session of congress re-
sumed. There is every indication
that the bill will be reported carly
and there is no reason to doubt that
1t will secure an early passage by
the senate.
The senate amendments To the bill
will be proportionately considerable
less than usual. To date the aggre-
gate sum carried i'm the senate
amendment is approximately $500
0O0. The senate amendments to the
bill of last year amounted to over
S10,0O0,00O. for straight appropriations
S6,3SO,567 and for continuing con-
tracts t3,627,67
1t seems pretty certain that the
senate will not depart far beyond
the policy observed in the bill as il
came from the house. which was dis
tinguished as a pairing down TO well
within the estimates of the engineers.
The senate amendments, although in
creasing the size of the bill to close
To s26.0O0,000. are all within the en-
gineers' estimates. with no new leg
islation proposing new projects in
cluded.
Other senate amendments are ex-
peCted to be offered, but il seems to
no Narn11 aIaN- IA
be done to endanger the bill by any
amendemtns calling for large appro-
pristions or attempting to provide
for new projects.
In this respect both committees
house and senate-having charge of
the river and harbor bill have acted
consistently with the cardinal doc
trine of the National Rivers and Har-
bors congress for "a policy and not
a project" The organizations policy
has regard strictly to the adoption of
no waterway enterprise not fully ap-
proved by the board Of engineers for
rivers and harbors. and it must also
be a project SO obviously beneficial
to commerce in the broadcast sense
that it will have the unquestioned
approval of the business interests
of the territory concerned.
At every session in which the SEN
ate has had to consider a river and
harbor bill there has been dispo-
sition to tack on new projects, often
times such as have failed OF approval
by the house committee House MEM
bers interested in local projects have
resorted to bringing the matter up
the result that il has happened that
insistence upon minor local water
way enterprises has imperiled the
entire measure, with all of its meri-
torious and thoroughly approved and
Undisputed schemes of Improvement.
even to setting back work under con-
tinuing contracts. The Rivers and
Harbors congress has earnestly
sought to educate the public and i'm
press congress upon this point. What
Gen. Bixby. chief of engineers. said
in his recent annual report and sub
sequently reiterated at the National
Rivers and Harbors convention when
he delivered his interesting and in
structive address to that body, par
ticularly with reference to projects
now in hand. is well worth citation.
Under existing law" said Gen.
Bixb;. denominations of existing
projects are made by the board OF
engineers for rivers and harbors by
either the committee on commerce
of the senate or the committee on
rivers and harbors of the house of
but these re -examin-
atoms are subject to the limitation
that no enlargement of the scope of
the project can be considered. so
that desirable extension of projects
can be recommended"
Thus it is seen that so far from
being ready to take up new projects.
the board Of engineers is not yet
prepared under the plain intent Of
the lawmakers To consider even the
of old projects until IL has