The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-09-28
Eliminating the Pork.

The figure that looms largest in the
United States Senate to-day is that OF
Theodore f. Burton OF Ohio. BY his
persistency in exposing the discreditable
features of the rivers and harbors bill
and by his masterful leadership OF the
opposition to it, he has saved the coun.
try more than S30,000,00 and the scan
dial which the passage of the original
pork barrel" measure would have in
volved at this time. He has kept public
attention so steadily focused upon the
| features of this indefensible bill that
enough of those senators who originally
favored it, or at least were indifferent,
have responded to public opinion to con
stitute a majority for its defeat, and
now it is recommitted TO the commerce
committee with instructions to substi.
tute an appropriation Of S20,00O,000 TO
be expended upon existing waterway pro-
jects under the direction OF the secretary
of war and the board of army engineers.
This method of dsposing of the mat
ter was suggested last week, but at the
time it did not seem to arouse much en-.
thusiasm among the majority members.
1t was only by continuation of Sem
stor Burton's brilliant tactics that
enough were won over to effect a COM
promise, and by his victory he has deep.
ened the regret that he declines TO be a
candidate for reelection to the body of
which he has been one of the most dis
tinguished ornaments We should not
forget at this time to do honor to those
Democratic senators who broke away
from party leadership and made a ma
iority against the bin possible, and il is
gratifying to see that the two OF that
political persuasion from New England
were among them. 1t was not surpris-
ing, perhaps, to see Penrose of Pennsyl-
vania and the two senators from the
state of Washington aligned on the 9TH
er side.
While the president has not undertake
en- to dictate the method that should be |
it is understood that he ia
vored deep cut and will doubtless APP |
prove the manner in which il has been |
effected. There are no interests that |
will seriously suffer unless it may be
the projected deepening of the Boston
channel. That has been approved hy |
government engineers who have thor
,ughly investigated conditions here and
have advised that one Of the greatest
ports in the country should have the
asked for in order to bene-
il commercial interests that were not
merely local but national.
II is a good time to inquire why every
project that comes before Congress de-
handing an appropriation should not I'M.
lergo like scrutiny. For the most
,art they are individually small matters
,ut there are so many of them that they
constitute a formidable total. Why 4
hould not government engineers be re-
Iuired to pass upon their merits or de-
merits before they are permitted a place
n the national budget We do not un- !
lerstand that this is now done. Too {
much is accepted upon the assurances of
members, whose interests are frequently '
more personal than general. The relief
hat has been secured may be only tenn {
orary. There will doubtless be renewed I
forts when Congress meets again to I
eturn once more TO the trough, but We c
ope members will be wiser or more dis a
rect after they have seen their consti- {
uents.-Boston Transcript. c