Arizona republican., 1913-02-24
BARREL WORST EVER
 JUST OPENED
Omnibus Public Building Bill Passed by the House Provides for the Most Shameless Waste of the Public Funds

WASHlNGTGN. b. C. Fen 1S.---
 Monday. February 17th was a red letter day in the house of represen- tatives That was the day when the house turned itself into plunder- bund and in disregard of every con sideration that should actuate high minded men desirous of faithfully re- presenting the people and needs of their districts, passed the S25,000,0 900 pork bill. euphemistically known as the Omnibus Publicity Buildings bill. This oblgates the government to spend at least $25.643,S09 upon some 3S5 or 400 public buildings scattered through the districts of the different men who voted for it. The great majority of the members of the house were banded together in this colossal conspiracy to raid the trea
 sury for public buildings which they know are not needed. and the con- struction of which cannot be under taken for many months.
 The public buildings business is a sham Some years ago. the pork grabbers. responsive to the faint mutterings of their expiring cons ciences, made tacit agreement among themselves that they would not provide for public buildings in towns where the postal revenues were not at least $10.000 a year. Even that limit was utterly ignored in this bill and many items are included for villages of population even less than 1000 and of postal receipts less than $500o There is no public demand for such a bill There is no need for such bill It comes as near to being pure graft as anything done under the color of law can come.
 The bill was not reported to the house until Saturday. The conspira- : tors behind it knew that publicity would be fatal to it. It was called up for passage on Monday before there had been any decent opportuni- ty to study it's iniquitous provisions. It was called up under suspension of the rules. The conspiratOrs knew that they could not stand extended examination and discussion of the measure so they reSOrted to this | trick Under suspension of the rules ! debate is limited to 40 minutes, half 1 of which time is controlled by those i in favor of the measure. That left | but 20 minutes to the few opponents | of this bill in which to discuss its | outrageous provisions. Thus effort ] had been made by the committed
 to silence opposition through the i well known means of taking care 1 of the different members"
 The opponents of the bill had 2 minutes in which to discuss these 3S5 odd items and point out the scores of indecencies among them.
 Able use was made of that time I however, by two democrats who have
 not heretofore challenged applause l for their actions in the house, MT l Fitzgerald of New York, chairman oi
 the committee on appropriations, ano l Mir Hardwick of Georgia. Mir. F'itZ- | gerald fought the bill with all the vigor of which he was capable. Ht l pointed out that there are now au-
 thorized 2S9 public building projects | upon which the treasury department l has been unable to commence work l He showed that it will be three years before the treasury officials have
 completed the buildings already au- | thoriZed He denounced the shan 1 economists who have been prating
 about care in appropriations and who (Continued on Page Five)