Evening star., 1932-07-17
Fifty Years Ago
In the Star

Notwithstanding the refusal Of the
Senate Committee on Commerce to in
| clude in the
Appropriation for rivers and har.
the Potomac Flats. bors bill 81
years ago ar
item for the reclamation Of the Potomac
hats, an appropriation of half mil
| lion dollars was written into that
measure by the Senate itself Senator
Ransom OF the select committee con-
| sidering the question of the Potomac
River Improvement, presented the item
to the Senate while the bill was under
discussion, and 1t was adopted So to 7
The Star Of July II, 1882, says:
Senator Ransom naturally and very
properly feels elated over the success
Of his efforts in behalf Of the improve
ment of the Potomac River and The
| reclamation of the flats. He regards
| the half million app1 opriation as now
practically secure. it having been ap-
proved with substantial unanlmlty IN
the Senate. Being upon the river and
harbor bill. the House. even if it We're
unfriendly to the improvement-and on
| the contrary the sentiment is as fav-
orable as that manifested in the Senate
would not jeopardize that bill by max
| ing fight against one of its provisions
Some Of the most 1nhuenftal niue {t mem nerS
| Of the Commerce Committee, have vol
unfairly expressed themselves as heartily
in favor of this appropriation.
The few members of the Senate who
| voted against the Ransom amendment
/ did so because they did not think it
had proper place on the river and har-
Dor bill. They objected to the manner
and not the nature or the amount OF
| the appropriation. During the session
| Senator Ransom has been at times
criticized because Of what was thought
| by some to be his dilatorineSs in press
! ing the claim of the fats. This Is a
| matter of momentous interest to the
people of the District and their anxiety
/ to see some action looking to the re-
moval Of the fats made some OF them
! impatient. Senator Ransom's course has
been, as Is now apparent. governed by
wise and judicious reasons. He had no
doubt of his ability to pass separate
| bill appropriating money for the fats
through the Senate, but he apprehended
| its failure in the House, through the
; large accumulation of business there.
| In order to make sure Of the appropri-
| alton at the present session he preferred
/ to have kis xssassre attached to the
river and harpor bill, and thus assure
| its success"
Fifty years ago international atten-
ton was centered upon Egypt, where
British Attack force ter 0iaSasH was begin tgha.
on Arab Bey. against ugesaIsai. rebei iead.
er named Arab, who, in the interest of
the deposited Khedive 1smail. was un-
| dertaking to overthrow the rule OF
| Tewfik, son of the former Khedive
! Alexandria was bombarded and burned
with heavy losses. The Egyptian Army
! being compelled to evacuate. The
| British Intervention was based upon the
right to maintain a responsible govern
ment in Egypt in view of the British
| interest in the Suez Canal. The Star
! of July IA, 1882, says:
There is an evident disposition on
| the part of the opposition in the British
Parliament to charge the horrible re-
suits of the last few days at Alexandria
| upon the dilatoriness or indecision in
dealing with the Egyptian question. The
government should have interposed
sooner, in the opinion of opposition
leaders. and should have suppressed
Arab Bey and established the authority
of the Khedive before Arabi had ac-
quired the power to do so much mis-
chief. When the English people begin
to feel the cost Of this Egyptian war this
, argument of the opposition will be more
effective than at present. Egypt is. of
course, paralyzed in a commercial and
industrial sense and the English hold
ers of her bonds will suffer in the nom
payment Of interest for perhaps a pro-
tracted period Within less than a week
the war has inflicted a loss of millions
upon Egypt and it is safe to predict
that the undisciplined mob which fol-
lows Arab Pasha as his army will carry
destruction wherever it goes"