Evening star., 1924-06-08
FILIBUSTER KILLS
RECLAMATION BILL
Senator Pittman Prevents Vote
Because House Cut Sum Al
lowed for Irrigation.
BONUS FUNDS LOST IN ROW
Linking Of Deficiency and Land
Bills Anglers House.

Reclamation legislation, including
the bill designed to carry out the
recommendations of Secretary Works s
fact finding commission, was killed
in Congress yesterday when the Sen
ate and House became entangled in
a dispute which was ended sum-
marily by the fall of the gavel an
nouncing adjournment.
Early in the day the House dis
agreed with the Senates method of
hitching reclamation legislation to
the deficiency bill carrying funds for
the first years operation of the bonus
Later the House accepted the meas
ure in a modified form, which aroused
the ire of Senator Pittman, Democrat,
Nevada, to such an extent that, with
only thirty minutes of the session re-
naming, he took the floor and held it
against all comers, preventing the
Senate from conducting any further
business.
The specific action of the House to
which Senator Pittman took excep-
tion was the elimination of an appro-
priation for the Spanish Springs irri-
gatlOn PROJECT In Nevada.
Pittman Refuses to Yield.
Launching vigorous attack on
the appropriations committee, Senator
Pittman declared it had not hesitated
to include "at this last minute ap-
preparations of more than $1,000, 900
each for two projects in Utah. which
the reclassification bureau had re-
| fused to recommend, and for which
no estimate had been made by the
budget"
You ask me to swallow that" he
said to senators who tried to make
! him yield the floor during the last
| minutes. but I won't. Call your
| extra session, and we will fight it
! out"
| Several senators among the Nevadan's
| closest friends crowded around him,
pleading that he discontinue the
| fight.
Senator Ashurst. democrat, Arizona
Others are being hurt more than he
| by his attitude"
Senator Ashurst protested against
elimination of the amendment, but
added he would not "starve" the
| other departments of the government
for spite by seeking defeat of the
entire bill. The reply of Senator
Pittman to all pleas was, ct refuse to
| yield"
Longworth Attacks "Selnshness.,
Still ranking, Senator Pittman was
| the center of group of pleading
members when adjournment was an
tnounced.
When the death of the bill was seen
| Representative Longworth of Ohio,
Republican leader, in a one-minute
speech in the House assailed senators
who he declared through selfshness''
, had killed the bill containing the
bonus funds.
The House accepted the 100000
carried in a Senate amendment for
the North Platte, Nebr., project, but
insisted that the appropriation of
$3.50, 900 for Warm Springs, Greg. and
\ 81, ipVUV IOT In0 uH1d-CaTlSDdQ
project in Arizona, inserted by the
Senate, be eliminated entirely.
Appropriations Reduced.
| 1t also voted to cut the allotment
for the Salt Lake Basin from $780,
900. to $375,000, to reduce the appro-
priation for Owyhee, Ore, from
$1,250,00O to $685. and to decrease
the amount for the Kittitas phase of
| the Yakima, Wash, project from
$1,5o0,G00 to $375,000.
| A provision was added that no
money was to be expended to begin
work on any reclamation project
| which had not been recommended by
| the commissioner of reclamation and
the Secretary of the Interior and ap-
proved by the President as to its
| agriculture and engineering feasibil-
| ity and the reasonableness of esti-
mated costs