Evening star., 1937-02-09

Of 1896. when Pittsburgh was laid un-
der water. when Johnstown suffered
another disaster comparable in loss of
property, If not in loss of life, TO
the original tragic Johnstown tiocd.
when the whole Suspuehanna Valley
was ravaged, when the Connecticut
and the Merrimac Valleys were the
scenes Of unparalleled disaster, when
even in the Nations Capital trans
portation had to be suspended on
main thoroughfares by reason Of
rise in the Potomac.
On the basis of that great calamity
we were able to report from the Sen
ate Committee on Commerce a new
bill, rigidly restricted to the selection
OF the Army engineers to the very
urgent projects in which disaster
might be expected at any time unless
preventive work was commenced i'm
mediately. No project was included
which had not been checked and re-
checked as to its merits and its urg.
ency by the branch of the Govern
ment specially trained for that pur-
pose. Even with such restrictions, the
sum authorized by the bill was very
large, amounting to S310,00O,000 for
only the most essential items.
Under the popular support created
by the emergency of 1896, the bill was
passed by the Congress. but with GER
tain hindering limitations A limit of
$50.000,00O year was placed in the
bill over the bitter protest of handful
of us in the Senate who conceived
that the United States could spend
money in no better way than for the
prevention Of these irremediable dis
asters. For instance, the largest iLem
of the bill was an authorization of
0,,000.0 900 for the protection of Los
Angeles. surely a goodly sum. But
this item was included on the sworn
testimony Of the best engineers in the
Army that a situation existed on the
Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers
in California that might at any time
cause one of the greatest disasters N
the history of the world.
I was one of those who struggled
to the limit of my ability against the
imposition of the limit in the bill of
the expenditure of only $50 600, 900
year. 1t seemed to me then and still
does that while the Government was
expending billions for various pur-
poses, when millions were being spent
on project for harnessing the tides
in Maine, and millions for a possibly
useless canal in Florida, when a mil
lion was being expended for building
a new village in Maine. when the tele-
phone and telegraph bill of the Re-
settlement Administration for one year
was running to the sum of 81, soc, 900, q
limitation of $4,000. 900 for perma-
nent improvements to conserve the
national wealth of the United States
and the lives and well-being of our
citizens was so modest as to be made
quate. But were were overborne upon
this point and, responsive to the crv
Of pork" the limitation was placed
in the bill.
Appropriation Not Obtained.
The tragedy. however, was in the
fact that we did not secure appropria-
ton to the extent of the limitation.
We did not obtain any appropriation
at all, try as hard as we might. As
the flood waters receded, as the dam
age was repaired, so did popular in
terest subside. The measure was
passed by the Congress and approved
by the President so late that there
was no appropriation bill to which
we could attach the actual appropria-
tion Of funds necessary. So Congress
adjourned confident that it had done
an excellent job by the mere setting
up OF a system and by the mere au-
thorization on paper Of certain very
important food-control projects. I
would be the last to deny that the
establishment of this principle was of
the utmost importance, but insist
that the delay in appropriations to
make it effective cannot be justified.
1t was then asserted that further ap-