The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-08-17
RIVER AND 'HARB0R
WORK TIED UP
p
FAILURE OF CONGRESS TO APP.
PR0PRIATE HALTs WORK ON
HUNDREDS OF PROJECTS.

Washington, Aug. 1.-THE "War of
the Nations" is not only causing the
closing down of factories in the United
States by shutting off the importation
of material from Europe, but is also
causing the dismissal of hundreds of
railway employees. Freight and pas
senger traffic on all the railroads run
ming out of Jersey City shows such an
enormous falling off that the railroads
are compelled to make wholesale dis
charges in their operating forces.
To make bad matter worse, mil
lions of dollars worth Of property are
! being hung up and thousands of men
thrown out of employment because of
the failure of Congress to pass the
river and harbor bill.
According to the army engineers
having river and harbor work in
charge, work on 1876 projects has eth
er been suspended already or will be
suspended by September Is, because
Of the failure of congress to make the
needed appropriations.
No Pork in Bill.
In memorandum submitted to
Chairman Sparkman, of the River and
Harbor committee of the House, the
chief of engineers in calling attention
of Congress to the pressing necessity
for appropriations to carry on river
and harbor work, said: Every effort
has been made to keep the estimates
down to the amounts actually needed
to permit of economical prosecution
of the works adopted by Congress and.
by reason OF the regular passage in
the past four years Of rivers and har
bors acts, confidence that this policy
would be continued has been gradual
ly acquired and not only the engi-
neers department, but contractors en-
gagged in furnishing materials or doing
work under the department have &C
quired the same confidence and have
made their plans accordingly. The
suspension of work results not only
in positive loss of time and possible
interference with navigation, but seri-
ously handicaps and greatly adds to
the cost of future work by the disor-
ganization of working forces, and the
effect which it has upon the conf
dence of contractors supplying ma
terials."
Mississippi River in Need.
Among the many important projects
that are seriously affected through the
failure of Congress to pass the river
and harbor bill, are the Mississippi
river from it's mouth to Minneapolis;
the Columbia river at it's mouth; the
Delaware river between Philadelphia
and the sea; the Hudson river, which
is an extension of the Erie Barge Ca
nal; Mobile Bay channel from the
Gulf of Mexico to the city of Mobile;
Black Warrior river, locks and dams;
Boston Harbor Massachusetts, 35-foot
channel; Ohio river, locks and dams.
1t is stated at the War Department
that millions of dollars worth of ma
chinery will shortly become idle on the
Mississippi river because of lack Of
appropriations to carry on the work
of revetment, etc. But while the loss
of time will be seriously felt in COM
pleteing the Mississippi river project,
the greatest loss will fall upon con-
tractors who, believing that the river
and harbor bill would become a law
by June 80, have gathered great guam
titles of willow brush which is used
in making the mattresses used in revet-
ment work. This brush, lying along
the river and exposed to the sun, will
soon lose its resiliency and become
perfectly useless for mattress con-
struction.
Having been "stung" once the con-
tractor will hardly prepare his ma
terial again in advance of contract,
with the result that work on the Mis-
sissippi river next year will be great
ly retarded. The working season on
| the Mississippi is also necessarily lin
tied as the high waters do not recede
generally before June, and, conse-
quently. the period for active work is
considerably shortened.