The Washington herald., 1916-03-03
REAL FACTS ARE COMING
Document Exposing Foolish
ness Of Proposal Is Sup
pressed to Gain a Point.
TEXT TO BE PRINTED SOON
Disclosure of Truth May Cause Even
Congressman's Constituents
to Rise in Protest.
By JOSEPH p. AMIN.

The disclosure OF the real facts in con-
nection with the Missouri River improve
ment project threatens to develop into a
pork barrel expose which even the con-
ytituencies directly benefited by the plan
will repudiate.
The ends to which Representative Will
lam P. Borland-the same Mr. Borland
who proposes to increase hours OF labor
in the government departments in order
to save" the ''pee-puls' money-and
his associates have gone in order to force
his pet project through are hardly rivaled
in American history.
A competent and conscientious army en-
tinuation of a project which proposed an
initial expenditure Of s5S 100000 and an
nual fixed charges Of s1.1oo.OOO.
Representative Borland not only pro-
cured the reversal. without cause. Of this
report by the board Of army engineers in
Washington, and the removal Of Col
Deakyne to another position, but through
some strange delay, this adverse report
has never reached Congress. despite re-
peated demands made upon the War De-
partment.
Item In New Measure.
The first tangible result OF that delay
Is seen in the fact that the new river and
harbor bill contains an item of 81 ,75O, 900
for this project, slipped into the bill while
the dana ging and conclusive report OF
Col .Deakyne was held under cover lest
1t spoil the WelI-Iaid plans of the Kansas
City protector Of the ''pee-puIs money.
The report Of Col Deakyne was dated
April Is, 1915. The report of the board
Of army engineers, which reversed Col.
Deakyne, under the tremendous politi-
cal pressure brought to bear by Rep
resentative Borland and his friends on
the Missouri delegation, was concluded
early last observation-disclosures the River
and Harbor Committee commenced writ
ing the omnibus bill.
Repeated demands were made by mem
bers Of Congress for the Deakyne report
in order that they might have all the
facts in connection with this tremendous
project. Representative Frear, of Wis
consin, the leading protagonist in the
House OF river and harbor work. de-
manded it for use in preparing his mi
EOrity report. But it was safely pigeon
holed in the Office Of the chief of engi-
neers, where it would do the least dam
age to the projected raid on the Treas
Ury.
Report Not Available.
Even now the report Is not available
for members Of Congress, though 1t prob
bly, will be a few days. It is being printed
at the Government Printing Office. Com
menting on this fact in a speech in the
House. Representative Frear asked:
Where is the Deakyne report, reject
ing the Missouri river project? Several
million war-tax-burdened people not in
cluded in the State census are from Mis-
souri, and want to be shown Just why
Deakyne was removed and why his re-
port has been delayed or suppressed.
Deakyne tried to protect the government
Treasury. Why not make him chief en-
gineer?
What influence caused Chief Kingman
to Danish Col .Deakyne, whose official
reports disclosed that the government
is spending s2OCOO.OOO for revetting and
retaining private land on the Missouri"
And Yet Mr.. Borland. the principal
prepayment Of this project, blandly asked
in the House last Monday:
Can Congress defend the placing OF
taxes upon the farmers and business men
Of the land to furnish gratuities for priv
LEGGED classes?"