River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-03-26
WASHINGTON LETTER
FROM JAMES A. FREAR, MEMBER or
CONGRESS, 10th DISTRICT

Il Washington, d. c., March "a, 1914
The river and harbor "pork bar
| reln appropriations which were
formerly semi-annual visitors, now
show up every year. Last year
the appropriations amounted to
Sn,383,78O and this year it reaches
S43.289,OO4. 1t is hard to under
stand why practical, heardheaded
| people will continue to counten-
ance the river humbug and steal,
but year after year the raid on
the treasury is made without fail.
The River and Harbor bill is the
barrel of legislative molasses which
attracts flies from every part of
the country.
Committee members are usually
generous with their own constitu-
ents and with those whose aid is
desired to pass the bill; and as
an illustration of methods of divis-
ion two states each have twenty
five separate appropriations, there
by dividing the honors equally,
while a third state having less
| than one-third the population of
Wisconsin captured twenty-three
of the purses hung up in this 1914
governmental grab bag.
Nearly every state has one or
more items in the bill; but for
genuine skill in playing the game,
North Carolina with it's twenty
five appropriations and Florida
| with it's twenty-three appropria-
tons, head the list, because nei-
tber of these states has river
much larger than our Wisconsin
River. Appropriations cover many
creeks and riVulets that would not
compare with the Chippewa Riv-
er in size, and the Engineers re-
ports corroborate the general i'm
ore ssiun that four-fifths a" This
vast sum of money is wasted. Sen
ators on the floor have declared
| that nine-tenths of these appro-
priations are fraud and have adj
yertised such "steals" and 'loot-
ing of the treasury" in the Record.
without avail. The quotations are
| taken from the Record.
Wisconsin contributes about one
million dollars to this bill for her
share. She receives in return
small aid for several lake harbOrs,
but aside from harbor aid, no
| Northern state gets recognition
for it's rivers. This statement is
subject to an exception of three
rivers. Seventeen million dollars
of the bill are poured into the Mis-
sissippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers
whereas combined traffic on all
these rivers, according to statis-
tics. is not one-quarter that re-
gistered from the port of MilWau-
kee, Many items of waste are ex-
posed annually, but not one ap-
preparation can be stricken from
a bill after the committee acts,
because when the division OF pork
has been determined, the key to
the combination is thrown into the
river along with the wasted mil
lions.
The Senate passed the constltu-
| tional amendment in favor OF
equal suffrage by vote OF 50 10
"a. In order to make the vote et-
fective, it has to pass both Houses
by a two-third vote. This record
is remarkable when it is remem-
bered that ten years ago not
dozen Senators would have favor
ed the measure. Equally signifi-
| cant was the vote on Senator
Vardaman's proposed amendment
to repeal the fifteenth amend
ment to the constitution in order
to disfranchise negroes. His pro-
| posal was defeated by vote of
! is to 10, all the votes in favor be-
ing cast by Southern Senators.
The agricultural appropriation
bill which passed the House car
ried an appropriation of 1924, 1O5,S14.
This is practically the m
| amount that has been carried dur
| ing the past four years, but is
about ten times the average an
nual amount contributed by the
Government twenty years ago. 1t
| indicates that this branch OF in
dustry, the largest in the country,
| is now receiving more consIdera-
ton than ever before although the
amount annually expended is only
50per cent greater than the money
that will be poured into the Ohio,
i NT.Ccnr1rs on1 Micci O. mi riunrS