The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-04-04
TO BUST" THE PORK BARREL.

The newspapers in the great cities
of the East, whose ports and harbors
have been magnifcently developed at
the National expense, are furious at
the ''pork barrel The "pork bar
rcl' is the logrolling bill which dis.
tributes Government money for various
local purposes throughout the country.
The grosscst abuses contained therein
have been and are those which under.
take TO make navigablc streams where
nature has not provided the water, and
harbors where there is no commerce
nor shipping. At times the programme
for public buildings is included in the
pork barrel, in order TO get votes
enough TO log.roll it through both
Houses of Congress.
a good many methods have been sug.
gested for limiting the "pork barrel"
or eliminating it altogether from pub.
lie consideration. The most recent
scheme is that Of Mr.. Anson Phelps
Stokes. Jr., secretary of Yale Univer-
sity. He suggests that extravaganza
in river and harbor and Federal public
buildings appropriations may be
checked by requiring ten per cent
co operating subscriptions from the
communities benefited. That is to say.
where any community desires the Sim.
provement' of some little brook or
the construction of public building
pCb ,c - 4
it must put up ten per cent of the pro-
posed cost in order to get the appro,
prlation from Congress. 1t is a subtle
scheme, but there is no likelihood OF
Congress adopting ii; for there arc too
many members of Congress whose po-
litical future depends upon the rolling
of the "pork barrcl''
AS to the abuses. in Federal appro-
priations for dredging and undertaking
to make navigabIe streams that are
impossible, and the creation of harbors
where there is no need, there is no
doubt of the abuse. The public build
ing proposition is on a different basis.
however, where there is any sort Of
business reason for the appropriation.
As for the construction of public build.
ings, it is plain question of ultimate
economy, whether it Will pay the Gov
ernment better to put up public
building at moderate cost rather than
to pay rent for its postoffice and other
Federal utilities that may be housed
IN IL ,N,,l1
building phase of the so-called "pork
barrel" (the application OF the term
"pork barrel" to public buildings be.
ing of an extremely recent period
it is question Of easy computation.
If the interest, say, at the current rate
for Federal bonds will Justify the ap-
then there is no reason
to put it in the "pork barreln class.
If the Government can get all needed
quarters for a yearly sum that would
be less than the interest on the money
invested in a building, say, at two or
three per cent, then the building ought
not to be constructed at the public
expense, and is "pork barreln tidbit.
But If the construction of the build.
ing will save money to the Govern.
meut, then the Government ought to
construct it.
The Stokes proposition is entirely
unfair as applied TO any building propo-
sition that is economically justified;
while as to its application to impossi-
BILE river and harbor improvements, the
likelihood Of getting Congress to adopt
it is so very remote that mere ref
erence to the matter as an ingenious
suggestion OF the time is sufficient TO
dismiss it.
WHAT BOOSTS THE COST.