The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-10-10
OUTL COX G. OM'Y FOR
THE PORK B a r. r 3 4 MEN
doaed. Neither report has been act

ed upon. H ~
None Of the streams selected for
discrimination are the small creeka
atlwhich 80 much fun has been poked
In the pork barrel debates. Not even
the Trinity river Of Texas, which.
one senator said, Is so dry that an
tnterurban' traction company had
asked for the river as d road bed, is
included. They are all streams Of
consid erable length In which 1t is
possible to maintain deep channels
after expensive Improvement. Sena-
tor Burton condemned them on the
ground that there Il no commences.
nor promise Of any, to warrant the
expenditure.
In his report Of the Missouri river
Col. Deakyne takes up this very point.
sHe comedies that no great engineer
Ing difficulties are presented. But
he concluded that $20,000.00o, the
cost OF the completed project, Is a
pretty heavy bill to give Kansas CITY
lower freight rates, especially as we
have an aitive Interstate Commerce
Commission to regulate freight rates.
His reports points out that there
are two railroads ON the banks Of
the Missouri and that they are carry
the present traffic, although the river
is now rnavigable to : Kansas City
much o fthe time. For these reasons
he recommends an abapd
OF the work except tor annual snas,
ging. although $4,000 has al
ready been spent on the improve
ment. +, 81. s,.
On the Coosa river nearly So
100000 has been expended BY the
government. yet the report. on the
last river and harbor. bill showed
that on one long section of the river
there 10 no commerce at all ana that
another section last year traffic was
only 10000 tons. seantor Burton
DEM nstrated that this was nearly all
stone, being freighted to one of the
government dams In process OF con-
struction. s5Is
On the Brozos river It is proposed
to make four foot chained FOR
10 miles above Old Washington 1t
q cost Of $2,215,0Q0. Below Old
Washington to the mouth there IL a
.245 mile stretch navigable without
improvement, but practically NO COM
merce moves on It.
The Red river project has been
termed the most absurd Improvement
ever undertaken by the governmant
on large scale. Nearly $4,000 600.
has been spent In 1912 the trafiic
was 44,967 tons, Of which AZ. Gao,
tons were logs in RATS, which could
nave hoated In the unimproyetl
stream. Including the logs, It cost
the public $4.6s q ton for THIS
freight merely to pay interest on the
investment. Exclude the logs. and
me cost per ton Of freight waS
$s0.56, Of $1.53 per ton mile. a
against $500 Of a cent, the average.
ton mile cost OF sending freight 81.
rail. - - n. N $ 20 n ~
Although the commerce. Of tha rad
river is practically nil. yet the norl
barrel advocates have spent mnni,
money on the Ouaohita, 4 fribntary
o. the Red. In all nearly So, $50 900
has been, expended. and It Is proposed
to psent another $1,500,000 for 4
trafhc Of about $4,000 tons a. year.
q poor days business on the 0hic
river. - 4 4
The Arkansas Is similar to the
Red river. Nearly $s,000.o0O han
been laid out on this project Z Ia
1912 the traftic amounted to ii mn
tons. exclusive Of floating LOGS. Com.
pare that with pittsburg's vast ton
mage, or In the hatbor Of Wheelinr
when the Ohio In nayfsahla ! -