Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-01-02
To Report
on HarbOrS
and Rivers

Washington, Jan. 2.-Chairman
Sparltman will call a meeting of the
rivers and harbors committee imme.
diately upon the resumption of the
session of the house, with view to an
agreement for an early report on the
annual bill making appropriation for
waterway improvements.
| Consideration of the measure has
not yet reached such a stage as to
indicate what will be the size of the
bill, except that, from expressions of
members of the committee. it will
nearly approximate the necessities of
prcvision for continuing contracts,
maintenance and outlays for such
public works as are Of obvious and
imperative Importance in carrying
forward the progressive policy adopt
q by congress responsive to wide
spread public opinion.
Both the rivers and harbors COM
mittee of the house and the COM
merce committee of the senate gave
hearings DUNG the ante-holiday Pc
riod of the session, notably during the
presence in Washington of members
Of the National Rivers and Harbors
Congress, The work of the two COM
mittees has thus far been almost who'll
ly given to these hearing, and but few
more hearings, at least by the house
committee, will be had before the bill
is reported to the house, as it is plan
ned shall be done early in the remain
ing days Of the session.
During the meeting of the national
waterways association the first week
in December, delegations from that
organization were heard by the two
committees Of congress on problems
affecting the larger inland waterways.
notably the Mississippi and Ohio riv.
ers.
In both instances respecting these
two rivers, advocates of improvements
laid stress upon the desirability and
importance of the federal government
taking over the entire scheme of i'm
|provement and abandoning the local
cooperative practice on the Mississlp.
pl river particularly in levee improve
ments and on the upper Ohio, at the
junction of the Allegheny and Monon-
gahela rivers, involving lock and dam
construction and flood prevention pro-
jects.
The hearing on the Mississippi riv-
er's difficulties, in the discussion Of
the levee problem disclosed that local
cooperation inN levee work had made
excellent progress up to the disastrous
flood of early last summer, the extent
Of the vast destructiveness of which
convinced all interests that the safest
dependence to prevent the recurrence
of these numerous disasters, Is for the
federal government to be given COM
plete control of the construction and
care of the levees of the great water
highway. 1t was particularly empha-
sized that the speediest possible i'm
provement in accord with the policy
was now more than ever manifestly
the most vitality important I all riv-
er projects, in view of the approaching
completion and opening to the COM
merce Of the world of the Panama ca
nal.
The estimates from the engineers of
the army for all river and harbor i'm
pi ioyements call for the expenditure of
about $44,OOOOOO. There are millions
more, already involved in former rec
concentrations. At the first meeting
of the rivers and harbors committee
after the holidays an effort will be
made looking to an adjustment of the
difficulties indicated and pairing the
amounts as far as possible to an eQuit-
able basis of distribution, keeping in
mind always the two considerations OF
public economy and the superior i'm
portance of public works already pro-
jected or commenced.