The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-03-01
Pork Barrel Politics.
Wilmington Star.

| i'Ni" VI HeduIlHeS 10 designate
appropriations for developing COM
merce ana for public buildings as the
pork barrel" The public is EASILY
led up to the idea that suc!, .DDro-
priauons constitute "a raid on the
| treasury for political purposes,
whereas the appropriations, when in
bounds provide for the really con-
structive work of the government
While there are probably some extra
VACANT and possibly unnecessary an
preparations, they require close scru-
tlny before they are linked up with
the pork barrel" politics Of by gone
| days
Newspapers, therefore, make a mis-
take when they influence public opin-
ION against appropriation bills as a
| Whole. They also influence President
Iatt, for he is misled into believing
that public sentiment will sustain him
II he Vetoes such bills. Take the riy
ers and harbors bill. for instance If
there is any pork barrel in it, the
Western Congressman have made il
so, for they have secured the lions
share for their rivers and harbors
They have gotten away with the East
where about nine-tenths Of the coun-
trys commerce is done. The East GER
tainly has not dipped very strongly in
to the pork barrel" and as to the
West its congressman can speak for
themselves
The appropriations for river and
harbor work in the East are far less
than most of the projects warrant.
The Panama canal lacks little of he
ing completed. The country has spent
millions of dollars on it, and vet the
harbors of this country will not be
properly equipped in time to do their
full quota of commerce through it.
Even some of the South American
ports are having more spent upon
them than most Of the important
American ports on the Atlantic. When.
therefore, it comes to rivers and har-
bors development, there is very little
pork barrel about it, The government
is simply making an investment which
VIII result in big returns in commerce
and give the great Isthmian waterway
an asset value to the country.
The Intra-Coastal Waterway, a
great and valuable project, both for
the commercial and naval interests
OF the country, has very small share
in the river and harbor appropria-
tiOns
a veto Of the rivers and harbors
bill consequently would be greatly to
the disadvantage of the commercial
interests of North Carolina and to the
Nation. That is also true as to other
Eastern projects, and admitting the
probability that some of the appropri-
ations are not altogether justifable,
the President in vetoing the bill would
do more harm than good. 1t would
country's ports to utilize the Isthman
waterway for commerce.
There is considerable veto talk at
Washington, and the Baltimore Suns
Washington correspondence of Febru-
airy 18th says alarm seized upon the
House Of Representatives when the
report became current from end to end
of the Capitol that President Taft had
about decided to veto both the rivers
and harbors and the public buildings
appropriation bills" The Suns cor
respondent says these are the two
big pork larrel measures in which
every member of the House and SEN
ate has a direct interest, and in which
almost every community in the Unit
ed States is in some degree interested"
The statement is made that when il
came to investigating the rumor as to
the Presidents vetoes, it was found
that it had back of it the fact that
President Taft had actually consult
ed with certain Congressional friends
as to the general advisability of veto
ing these two big bills, and as to the
political advantage that would accrue
from such action" Political advantag-
es? There would be no political ad-
vantage in it, but the very opposite if
the President should veto both bills
without more careful investigation as
to their mport-especially the rivers
and harbors bill.
AS to the public buildings bill, some
of the appropriations might lie over
but that the country needs most of
the buildings in it's business there can
be no doubt. The government has
gone into the parcel post business and