The Washington times., 1914-05-07
THE FREAR RESOLUTION,

on March 70, delivered a remarkable
speech in the House. The river and
harbor bill was his subject. and he
made a telling analysis'of the meas
ure. Taking up project after prof.
ect, he quoted from the engineering
reports to show conditions surround
ing them and the pitifully small vol
ume of traffic that could possibly be
benefited by enterprises for which
hundreds of thousands of dollars
were asked, demonstrating that the
measure as whole plainly aimed to
distribute lot of Federal money as
equitably as might be, rather than
to devote it to work that would be of
substantial value.
MIR. Frear's speech demonstrated
that he had made a great study of
the subject. He followed it on May
by introducing concurrent reso-
luton which probably will be duly
smothered for the present, but which
contains an idea that is certain be-
fore many years to be adopted.
This Frear resolution sets forth
that, while these appropriations have
increased 500 per cent per annum,
navigation on the rivers has fallen
off so per cent. Projects now adopt
ed, or contained in the pending bill,
which is expected to pass, involve
future expenditure of S3O5,OO0, 900;
surveys are authorized for projects
costing another S1O0,O0O,0OO, and
other huge projects are now being
insistently advocated which would in
volve billions. Mr.. Frear declares
that many millions have been spent
IN the past on rivers to benefit navi-
CATION, and that these projects have
since been abandoned as of no value,
and represent dead loss.
In short, Mr.. Frcar presents a
startling indictment of the whole
river improvement program; insists
that most of the money spent on it.
several hundreds of millions--in the
past has been wasted, and that. un-
less there is a change of policy, bill
lions more will &C the same way, and
he winds up his resolution with a
direction that the Interstate Com
merce Commission shall investigate
ana report on the whole subject.
Among other things, he would have
the commission find out how much
value there is in the S3G5. 900, 900
worth of projects to which the Gov
ernment is now committed; what
virtue there is in the billions of dol
lars worth of additional projects that
are insistently demanded, and what
are the organizations, interests. etc, .
boosting them. He wants 10 know
about paid lobbyists in this connec-
ton, sSnd requires detailed infOrma-
ticn as to all river and harbor i'm /
provements begun and afterward
abandoned, and how much this waste .
las aggregated. lie asks the COM /
mission TO learn whether it is true !
that certain privately owned canals, .
whose stock is practically worthless,
are being unloaded on the Govern !
ment for huge figures, and why. He
yearns for light, too, as to the ex-
tent Of the property values that !
would be benefited by certain great !
river improvements that are urged; ,
and he wants to be informed why +
States ard cities alon" the Missis- !
sippi, for instance, should rot pay a
big slice Of the expense for food pro-
lection and the like, of which they
would be the benefciarieS.
In short, Mr.. Frear has cut out for
he Interstate Commerce Commission
a Job which it couldn't possibly han
die, ard for which it has no possible
equipment; but. none the less, a Job
that very decidedly ought to be at
tended to. 1t should be given, not to
The Interstate Commerce Commits
sior, but to some other body. Per-
haps the Department of Commerce is
the right authority. Anyhow, the
broad investigation that Mr.. Frear
wants is demanded by the enlight-
ened sentiment IF the whole country.
We have spent hundreds of mil
ions on orr waterways; several
times as much. for instance, as Ger
many has spent on hers. Yet at the
end what do we see? Germany has
restored a vast ard fast-increasine
-raffic to her rivers; we have let the
traffic be driven from our rivers.
Germany has got immense returns
rom its river investments; we have
wasted ours, for the greater part,