New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-09-06
PLAN TO DRAIN
S5O,OOO,OOO OUT
OF PORK BARREL
Congress To Be Asked to
Divert the Cash to Ma
tiOnal Defence.

Washington. Sept 5-Fifty million
dollars already authorized by Congress
TO be spent on river and harbor i'm
provements may be diverted to national
defence. it was stated here tonight
This viii be accomplished If it meets
with the approval Of the Congress
which meets in December. Advocates
OF an adequate national defence as
sert that there is no fear that the plan
will not be followed by discontinuance
Of further work on projects which the
Board Of Army Engineers regards as
not economically sound.
This is a radical departure from the
former viewpoint of the board Of army
engineers in considering river and har-
Dor projects. The engineers heretofore
have considered a project almost solely
from the engineering difficulties in the
way. In the present discrimination"
Of projects they are considering the
economic soundness of the improve
ments.
The denominations are the result
OF an innocent appearing proviso in
last winters river and harbOr bill, in
serted by Senator Burton, Of Ohio,
whose flibusters against pork barrel
measures have been spectacular and
frequently successful. This proviso
called on the army engineers to make
denominations Of ten important
waterways improvements.
Big Projects Condemned.
The first two reports Of re-examina-
tons have been made to the War De-
partment, and in both instances the en-
gineers have recommended discontinue
ance Of the projects, although several
million dollars have already been spent
on them. The projects condemned are
the Missouri River and the Arkansas
River Improvement schemes. No river
has had more influential friends in
Congress than the Missouri To the
dismay Of the waterways enthusiasts is
added more than q vague fear that the
engineers Will also condemn the other
eight projects.
REORGANIZATION of the ten specific
prof however, was not the whole
result Of Mr.. Burton's amendment. A
second paragraph IN the proviso in
structs the army engineers to re-ex-
anime any other project already au-
thOrized. but which does not seem to
justify further expenditure Of govern
ment money.
What will happen, the waterways en-
thusiasts are asking one another, TO the
little creeks and rills that have only
one champion each in Congress- their
local members -when the engineers
condemn such stream as the Missouri,
On which nearly 100000 already has
been expended?
The projects which are being re-
examined by the army engineers who
formerly approved them are. besides
the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, the
Coosa River, in Georgia and Alabama ;
ST. Lucie Inlet, Florida; Brazos River
Texas; Red River, Louisiana, Arkan-
sas. Texas and Oklahoma; Ouachita
River, Arkansas and Louisiana; Ten
nessee River. Tennessee, Alabama and
Kentucky, and the Fox River, Wiscon-
sin, besides the Atlantic inland water
way from Norfolk TO Beaufort Inlet,
North Carolina.
Expenditures Not Justified.
In his report Colonel Deakyne ad-
vised the abandonment of the $1,000
900 a year appropriation for the Mis-
sour River and the substitution of
$4,000 a year for snagging only. lie
declared that the project presented no
engineering difficulties, and that It
could be completed within ten years
at the S20,00OOOO cost originally esti-
mated, but he did not believe the
amount Of commerce TO be expected
10 take advantage Of the improvement
would ever justify the expenditure.
Against the argument that the i'm
provement would be justified if It
merely reduced freight rates, Colonel
Deakyne called attention to the fact
that the public already had rate-regu-
lating agency in the Interstate Com
merce Commission, and that the rail
roads were complaining that this COM
mission already was regulating them 10
death. Finally, he declared that II did
not seem worth while TO spend S20,000,-
600 of the public money to give Kansas
City lower freight rates.
The projects which are being re-eX-
amined call for an ultimate total ex-
penditure Of about S75,000,000. More
than S17,O00,00O already has been spent
on them.
cnanich Refugees Here