The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1915-05-21
(From Thursday 5 Advertiser)

The Pork Barrel-what it is, how II
grew so bulky that it is almost i'm
possible to upset; how its slaves arc
bound together with steel hoops of mu'
tual interest stronger than politics;
how the bottom of it rests solidly OH
nOn-partisan foundation as broad as
all congress; what it costs to keep it
filed; who are those that feed from
it-these and other things Representa-,
tive Frear of Wisconsin told yesterday
to the members of the chamber of com
merce. .qts..h~. .r,
Governor Pinkham listened with in
terest from his chair at the right hand
of President Fred l.. Waldron, and
afterwards made a brief talk on the
needs of and plans for Honolulu har.
Dor. Later, Representative Frear again
took the floor in answer to questions
from the members.
Ben Tillman Said It
The. pork barrel ,is I the nickname
coined by Senator BeI- Tillman of South
Carolina for the gigantic rivers and
harbOrs appropriation. Representative
Frear is not member of the rivers
and harbors committee of the house.
He is not trying to get his hands into
the barrel; he is trying to get a crow.
bar under it and upset it. He and
those with him came very near do.
ing it. ..H.M
AS the readers of the national maya,
zines know, such fight was made on
the last bill that the house and senate
compromised by striking out all spe.
cite appropriations and placing lump
sum in the hands of the board of army
engineers. IL,
eff you don't get the money needed
here, said Representative Frear, Ego
to the board of engineers. They have
sixty three millions to spend. "
it was not, set address that he de.
livered. 1t was a friendly talk, light
encd by anecdotes and filed with illus
tration. No names were mentioned.
There was no desire to expose the pet
projects of the gentlemen from here
or there.
IAN the members of this party are
my friends,' he said. "They are the
pick of the best men in public life.
All Of them are honest. | have no
quarrel with them. | am trying to ex.
plain to YOU why, if the city of New
York on the Atlantic Coast cannot get
money for the improvements admittedly
needed, the Islands of Hawaii, without
vote to trade, need not be surprised
to encounter difficulties. -
How It Is Done
From much discussion on the Mat
form and in print, the construction of
the pork barrel is pretty generally I'M
drrstOod. The member from Maine
and the member from California each
Rave river and harhor appropriations
they desire made. The project of one
may he deserving aud the other a
fraud, but the man with the honest
item must vote for the swindle if he
wishes to get in return the vote of
the man lehind the swindle.
NO one item can survive without the
h" p Of those behind all the Others, and
Tor the same reason IL is almost i'm
possible to kill any individual item
"thomt making fight on the whole
Dill That, in the end, was what Frear
and those who stood with him did.
The sneaker drew laugh when he
ted Of hundreds of thousands appro,
prlated for inland Waterways $50 dry
that they ought to be insured against
fire to make them available for motor
sprcdwaYs Here are some of the
actual pro 'rrts now in course of con.
Strurtion that he exposed, quoting for
authority the data of the army engine.
CTS:
millions for the development Of
Il ''t'le creek with an annual commerce
of losI tons. To make this creek the
waterway that is proposed would take
one hunt ct years, yet the engin GERS
gnv" il liberal appropriations Two
milliouS and a half have been spent OIL
1t and the last two allotments were
of S2UO,OOO each.
F0u" millions and half for the dev.
elOpment Of a canal that never can
handle as much commerce as any one of
half a dozen sugar plantations here
sends out annually.
Tells of Twin Clues
Two millions and a half to develop