The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-31

and dams of the Black Warrior and the Warrior rivers, the expenditure of which it is estimated would complete the work of opening those waterways to naviga- tion, to the end that transportation ia cilities by water would be finally con tinuous from Birmingham to the port of Mobile. In addition the bill also carries appropriations for the Mobile harbor inn provements, Alabama and Coosa river improvements and other lesser projects on the Tombigbee and other streams in Alabama, making a total for the state of approximate s1. .50O,000
 The republican objections to the bill are that it is pork barrel measure and that further il is annual bill. while it has been one of the customs of Con- gross to pass rivers and harbors bill only every two years. Congress last year passed a rivers and harbors bill carrying $41 000.00O
 Defenders of the pending bill declare that a close analysis of the measure will disclose the fact that it is as free from pork as any preceding similar meas ure ever pa ssed by Congress. None of the great appropriation bils-rivers and har- bors, public buildings and grounds, or even the army and navy. to say nothing of the pensions blls-but, what are more or less vulnerable in spots, and have al ways been under the present system of making appropriations.
 The republicans, who are fighting the measure. are actuated, it is charged solely by political reasons Seeking to have some ground for an attack upon the party in power for "extravagance, y they haev selected tue rivers and har- bors bill for the .'goeta
 Senator William Alden Smith of Mich iean. however, is warm defender of the bill. Senator Smith falls back upon the fact that the bill is composed of appro- priations for various big projects which have been approved by the engineer corps of the army. and he points out that only projects approved by the board of engi- neers are incorporated in the bill which fact robs the measure of the charge of be- ing pork barrel' bill unless the corps of engineers are the guilty parties. and they have no particular incentive for the distribution of pork
 Senator Smith said:
 Members of Congress have realized for years that an adverse report from the army engineers virtually dooms a prof ect." and he continues: "I do not recall a single instance in my own experience where this appellate board has not exer- csed full supervisory authority with con- servatism and impartiality. This course has done away almost entirely with the old practice of log rolling which was many years ago quite commonly practiced in securing local berefits in rivers and harbors bills.
 There may be- continued the senator, Improvements in rivers and harbors not as necessary to communities today as when undertaken. but that system was not without it's champions; boards of trade. chambers of commerce. common councils and citizens generally. They gave public men no peace until their ann bitons were initiated. The situation is entirely different today. And the work of improving rivers and harbors must now have the approval of the expert engineers of the army before it can obtain any standing before the committee of either House of Congress.
 The senator declared that partially completed projects cannot be permitted to languish without great loss to the govern ment and the communities affected
 This statement coming from a repub- lican senator throws a monkey wrench into the campaign thunder of the repub- licans opposing the bill The democrats also have the consolation of falling back on the approval of the army engineers for every item in the bill, while formerly their republican friends responsible for the big appropriations made when they were in power for river and harbor prof. ects had no such support, but made the appropriations indiscriminately.