The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1912-12-31
S44,000.000
MAY Be SPENT
FOR WATERWAYS
IMPROVEMENTS CALL FOR THAT
AMOUNT+COMMTTEE MEETS
AFTER HOLIDAYS.

Washington, Dec. 31.-Chairman
Sparkman will call a meeting Of the
rivers and harbOrs committee i'm
mediately upon the resumption Of
the session of the House. with view
to an agreement for an early report
on the annual bill making appr0-
priatiOn for waterway improvements.
Consideration OF the measure has
not yet reached such stage as to
indicate what will be the size of the
bill. except that, from expressions
of members of the committee Il will
nearly approximate the necessities Of
provision for continuing contracts,
maintenance and Outlays for such
public works as are of obvious and
IMPERATIVE Importance in carrying
forward the progressive policy adopt
cd by Congress responsive to wide
spread public opinion.
Both the rivers and harbors COM
Mittee of the House and the COM
rlerce committee of the Senate gave
, hearings during the anti-hOliday pc
Rod of the session, notably during
the presence In Washington Of men,
! bers of the national rivers and har-
bors congress. The work of the two
committees has thus far been almost
wholly given to these hearings. and :
but few more hearings, at least by
| the House committee, will be had be-
F., fore the bill is reported to the House,
as 1t is planned shall be done early
IN the remaining days of the session.
During the meeting of the Nation
|
al Waterways association the first
week in December, delegations from
that organization were heard by the
two committees Of Congress on prob
lens affecting the larger inland wa
tcrways. notably the Mississippi and
Ohio rivers. F.
In both instances respecting these
two rivers, advocates of improve
m"nts laid stress upon the desirable
ity and importance of the federal
government taking over the entire
scheme of Improvement and aban-
dOning the local cooperative prac-
tice on the Mississippi river, parti-
cularly in levce improvements and
On the upper Ohio, at the junction
OF the Allegheny and MOnonsahela
e rivers, involving lock and dam con.
! sructon and flood prevention pro-
a jects.
The hearing on the Mississippi
rivers difficulties, in the discussion
o. the levee problem, disclosed thai
local cooperation in levee work haf
made excellent progress up 10 the
? disastrous flood of tarly last sum
P mer, the extent of the vast destruc
= tiyeness of which convinced all in
tcrests that the safest dependence t
prevent the recurrence of these nu
IL mrous disasters, is for the fedora
Df government to he given complete
N control of the construction and car
L. of the levees of the great water high
n way II was particularly emphasized
l. that the speeditst possible improve
al ment i'm accord with the policy wa
y. now more than ever manifestly tn
al most vitally important of all rive
h. projects, in view of the approaching
no completion and opening TO the com
canal.
The estimates from the engineer
Of the army for all river and harbo
improvements call for the expendl
thre of about Sil 900. 900. There ar
I'M millions more. already involved il
)U former recommendations. VI tht
first meeting of the rivers and har
bors committee after the holidays III
effort will be made looking 10 an al
II justment of the difficulties indicate
ar and pairing the amounts as far a
or possible to an equitable basis of dis
.u tribution, keeping i'm mind always
the two considerations of pubht
" economy and the superior import
ne ance of puhlic works already pro-