Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1915-03-12
RANSDELL ON
INVESTIGATORS
APPROPRIATE
MEASURE PASSED MUCH MORE COM
PREHENSIvE MEASURE THAN
is BELIEVED.
is BELIEVED.
SIS. GOO, 900 WILL BE MORE THAN CAN
BE SPENT IKyeAR. AND THERE
WILL BE BALANCE.

WILL BE BALANCE.
Washington. ID. g., March l2.-"A~ | ~.
ID. friends Of waterways have no reason
for Encouragement IN the present >itua- |
ton. - sand Hon. Joseph f.. Ran~dcll.
senior United States senator from L.oui,i-
ana. president IT the National Rivers and
llarbur> congress. and one OF the strong
c~t believers M. and advocates Of, the Inn
provcment of waterways IN the country.
"rhc riycr~ and harbor> bill which ha~
Just been enacted" continued Senator
Iian~dcll, IL \ very much more comprc-
hcu>ivc measure than l. generally under
stood. In the first place. 1t provides a
direct lump sum appropriation OF S25.-
q 600. To be- expended under the dircc-
tlon ~ the secretary uf war and the super
vision oi the chief oi engineers III order
Gets in condition To give best service and
for prosecuting improvements thereon"
1T ha~ not always been possible Ia cx-
pend the funds provided for river and har-
Dor work within the year that they are APP
propriatcd. - there i always standing
To the credit ot certain projects sum of
money which are not immediately needed.
.. IN the second place. the bill authorizes
the secretary of war. upon the recon-
mcndation III the chief Of engineers. IA
transfer such funds to other project, for
which money l. immediately needed, up To-
a total of S5.o0o. 600.
"Furihcrmorc. the ~undry civil hill ear
rir~ nearly $1,000. nuu - .p>2. 600. IN N,
eXact-for projects which have been
placed under cuutiuuin. contracts. Ia nd.
dItion. the hill authorizes the beginning ni
work on = number Of projects which have
been held ~ allegiance until the condition.
attached ~ the appropriations made FOR
them have been complied with. The
amount thus authorized are upward of
i .00O. 600. 20 that We have q total of be-
tween ~31. 900. 400 and $50. 0nn 600. which
will bc available for river and harhur work
during the coming fiscal year. When ~
consider present financial conditions and
the shortage uf money for all purpu~c-.
private - we'll ~ public. this j. 4 fairly
satisfactory sum aud II y far larger than
the average annual appropriations for
waterways ten YEAR. or even five vcar~
ago.
Another very important feature of The
bill 4 that II authorizes the chief of rnui-
nccr~ ~ make surveys ~ no les than POI
new projects. MANY al which are thought
Ia Ia al trta.uf t4.ptf Tl... 80. -..tt.-.I
throughout the entire country and this
provision of the bill will he especially
gratifying T. MANY people IL al parts al
the United >taic-.
The bill ~" provides tor rc-rxnmina-
tl"n~ "i several very rmportan, canals aud
rNer> which. # thoroughly improved.
would hc most efficient competitors with
railway and regulators 81 freight ratc-.
Among these are the inland waterway from
Norfolk Z" Beaufort Inlet. and the Coo,a.
Braz">. Red Ouachita. Arkansas. Tcnnc--
see. Fox and Missouri river>. The mr.
pose Of these examinations i, Ia ascertain
whether there should BE- any modification
~ ne present plant III Improvement. or
amy abandonment of the work. There are
also m The bill a number of general pro
Visions 81 much value which can not he
separately described at thi- time.
When 4 i borne III mind that the H.
dlan appropriation bin. carrying more than
I'll 900 900. and the great post office bin.
carrying nearly S324.000. 900. were both
defeated and provision for these two de-
p~artment> Of the government had IL h.
made ~ JOINT resolution extending exist
me appropriations for another wear. II will
he seen that the rivers and harbors hill
has faired much better than some othcrs
Il wish L. >av also that the di>n .ter
which bctell the rivers and harbor, bin ~
1914 was not due chiefly Ia the cffort, nf
II enemies IN congress-. but IL 4 series ~
untoward circumstances which DELAYED
action ON the measure for several months.
followed by the outbreak of the awful war
m Europe. with the state Of business de-