Evening star., 1915-03-14

/ Congress for an adequate approprfA-
tion, and several months ago, after the
needless loss Of ono of Its largest ships
one OF the companies announced that
another of the same type would be
withdrawn from a certain route. which
had great need for it's services.
As Secretary Reddeld once remarked
with pithy humor: THE plan Of dis
sells on them 10 still in vogue" Indeed
disasters due to hidden or uncharted
rocks are so common that q newly
found obstacle to navigation 10 usu-
ally known thereafter by the name OF
the ship whose destruction 1t caused
Thus were named California Rock
Ohio Rock. Idaho Rock. Potter Rock
and others.
Is the pork barrel" q myth? The
popular notion that the rivers and
harbors bill as
River and Harbor introduced ach
Appropriations. y year .pors 1o msreys nayreI,.
affair is not shared by Col. Lansing H.
Beach of the United States Engineer
Corps. He agrees that many years ago
the rivers and harbors bill was simply
compromise between those members
of the House and Senate having the
most influence, and that each one Sc
cured what he could for his district OF
his state; but now, he declares, each
item In the bill has gone through such
a scrutiny that the measure as whole
is as far removed from pork barrel
methods as any bill that passes
through the national legislature
Congress several years ago, accord
Ing Col, Beach. nASEed law
vldtng that neither any engineer off
Ger nor the engineer department
should make any recommendation con-
cerning the improvement Of a water
cost OF such an Improvement without
the authority of Congress. II the peo-
pie of section or state believe that
their waterway is worthy of improve
ment they can have their representa-
tive introduce a clause in the rivers
and harbors bill directing a prelimi-
nary examination of that waterway. II
the committee of Congress considers
that the representation Is such as to
make it fairly evident that the stream
the order for a preliminary examina-
ton.
When the bill has passed the order
for the examination is sent to the en-
gineer officer having charge of the dis
trict In WHICH the waterway is located
He is required to obtain all possible
information concerning the physical
condition of the waterway, existing
commerce, if any. and prospective COM
merce If the Improvement should be
made, together with the effect upon
freight rates and the effect on the
community generally, taking into con-
s1deration the sphere of influence OF
the waterway as far as 1t can legiti-
mately and truthfully extend. All this
is but the preliminary step.
This Is not nerfup ct0rv examipa
tfon.' says Col. Beach, for the engi-
neer ordinarily visits the locality him
self, examining the waterway and talk
ing with the principal citizens of the
communities along its shore. and after
as complete fund of information has
been obtained as possible he makes a
report to the chief of engineers as to
whether the locality is worthy of a
not appear rational. or If it is evident
that the expense either of construction
or Of maintenance will be dispropor-
tionate to the benefits involved. or If
for any other reason the improvement
appears undesirable, the district Off
GERS report is unfavorable. This is
reviewed by the division engineer. who
may concur or may differ.
.It is then sent by the chief of engi-
neers to the board of engineers for
rivers and harbors, a permanent board
of seven engineer officers sitting in
Washington. who are required by law
to be of the rank of major. Should
the report of the district engineer be
engineers be unconvinced of the ad-
visibility of the improvement. notice
is sent to the parties interested noti-
flying them of the reasons for the ad.
verse decision and informing them that
they are at liberty to present any
additional views. If the report of the
board is now unfavorable nothing fur
ther is done. Whether the report is
favorable or unfavorable, it Is for
warded to the chief of engineers, who
lit is then forwarded to the Secretary
of War and then to Congress.
Congress for some years past has
pra ctically confined its appropriations
ceived favorable consideration 1t VII
thus be seen that to obtain recognition
an Improvement has to survive. the
careful scrutiny and careful criticism
of the district officer. division engineer
bors and the chief Of engineers. none
Of whom has any personal interest IN
the improvement. and each is ape 10 give
a very unbiased and Impartial 1udR-
ment upon the merits OF the case sucn
examina tions have received the favor
a hIe Recommendation of the board OF
appineers that it is jocularly known in
Congress as the infanticide board.
'x
Examinations of concrete taken from
buildings of the Edison plant recently
destroyed b
Measnrinp Heat fire, now being
at the Edison Fire. United states
bureau of standards, develop the fact
that the Edison fire was perhaps the
hottest ever recorded. The wax used
in monograph record manufacture and
the films caused a heat in the many
parts of the same building which in a
number of cases reached temperatures
approaching blast furnace heat
That the temperatures ranged from
1000 degrees to $500 degrees, Fahren-
heit, and probably higher in places,
was evidenced by fused concrete on
parts Of columns, and the wasting
away of beams and floor slabs as the
result of fusion. Official Investigation
showed that the heat was SO intense
Stag flowed down the side of the
columns and hung in stalactites from
the bottoms of beams and floor slabs.
The governments experts who investi-
gated the fire report that this indi-
Gated a temperature of $500 degrees
or more.
The bureau of standards. following
the Edison fire. has continued its in
vestigation of Stag concrete and the
fusibility Of concrete in general, and
it is believed that many important les
sons in the use of concrete will be
learned from the action of intense heat
on the concrete construction in the
plant. That the concrete stood the in
tense heat as we'll as any other ma
terial, and that it is satisfactory for
his purposes. Is indicated by Mr.. Edi