The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1913-02-20
BY ARTHUR w. DUNN.

| the future between the rivers and har-
bors men and the good roads advo-
Gates. There Is not the least doubt
that II the general government should
ever become committed to the building
Of roads throughout the country there
Ia no limit 10 the amount of money that
will be demanded every year. Such
appropriations will dwarf and possibly
drive out Of congress the big river and
harbor bills
When 1t comes down to actual facts
| the number Of congressman who are
deeply interested In river and harbor
appropriations is comparatively small.
1t Is because their state or some por-
ton Of It is benefited that induces most
Of them to support the various bills
which have been passed, together with
the fact that most men believe that
good navigation is Of great assistance
in regulating freight rates and thus
aiding the whole country. But the time
may come when the good roads appro-
priations will swamp river and harbor
bills.
Rejecting on the Engineers.
Advocates Of river and harbor appro-
priations insist that the severe criti-
cisms which have been made against
the various projects are really reflec-
tons on the engineers. that corps par
excellence Of the army. As q general
rule criticism Of the army officers is
limited to individuals, and the en-
gineers are almost beyond reproach.
However, 1t matters not whether the
bills are criticised or not they will
continue to pass with large appropria-
tons as long as the country demands
better navigation facilities.
Could Reverss Himself.
Speaker Clark is not bit afraid of
reversing himself or Of the charge of
inconsistency. Not long ago the point
Of no quorum was made, which was
evidently dilatory, and be 90 held.
There was considerable argument on
the subject, and finally Jim Mann
pointed out that similar case arose
In former congress when John Sharp
Williams was minority leader and that
Williams led fllibuster which Clark
helped along for the remainder OF the
session.
"The gentleman who occupies the
chair is right now and was wrong
then" sententiously remarked Champ.
Forest Reserve Protssts.
As indicating opposition to the pres
ent forest reservation policy Of the
government Senator Bourne recently
presented petition signed by 226 resi-
dents Of Oregon near the Siuslaw res
ervation in which they asserted that
the forest reservation was detrimental
to people in its vicinity, that 1t fa-
vored the man of means as against
the poor man. that It helped the big
lumber companies, that poor men
could not get benefits from it, that the
forest service was conducted by east
ern theorists who knew nothing about
the west and that the forestry service
was conducting the reserves 30 as to
continue and to create q wilderness In
stead Of developing the country.
Many western men In congress have
made similar assertions, but the for
estry policy seems to have become a
fixture all the same.
Want eailsy's Speech.
There Is a great demand for the
speech which Senator Bailey delivered
just before he resigned. Senator Mar
tin Of Virginia wanted the speech
printed as public document so that
1t could be circulated to meet the re-
quests for copies, but the watchful
Smoot interposed the objection that
such printing was not permitted. The
speech will have to be printed at pri-
vate expense. but 1t can circulate free
In the mails.
The War 10 Over.
When 1t Is proposed without much
opposition and general assent that
Grant-Lee memorial bridge shall be
constructed to connect Washington
with Lees old home, Arlington. and
that ultimately the United States shall
Join in a memorial Of some kind to
Jefferson Davis, we can really believe
the war Is over. And yet It was not
very long ago that rather strenuous op-
position developed to placing Lees
statue in memorial hall as q Virginia
contribution. Now Mississippi can
place statue Of Jefferson Davis In
that hall without provoking any Sc
rious criticism.
cefraudino the Readers.
Those senator's who talk for hours In
executive session In order to f1libuster
against confirming President Taft's ap-
pointments are defrauding the readers
Of the Congressional Record. John
Sharp Williams and Claude A. Swan
son spent hours telling stories and
delving into the forgotten past, using
lots Of information and anecdote which
The Record readers would have revei-
ID In. but which. because they occurred
n executive session. are lost to them
Iorevee.