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24 MARINE REVIEW. [October 10, NATIONAL RIVERS AND HARBORS CONGRESS AT BALTIMORE. The National Rivers and Harbors Congress began its session in Baltimore on Tuesday of this week and adjourned Wednesday without de- ciding upon a place of meeting for the next congress. 'Mr. Robert Ram- sey, chairman of the rivers and harbors committee of the Baltimore board of trade, called the assembly to order on Tuesday and introduced Mr. M. J. Sanders of New Orleans, to whom, he said, was due, more than to any other man, the idea of holding such a congress. The permanent or- ganization of the congress resulted in the election of Mr. George E. Bartol of Philadelphia as chairman; Col. W. H. Love of Baltimore as secretary, and Messrs. E. R. Sharwood of Philadelphia, Geonge H. Lord of New Orleans, and F. A. Scott of Cleveland, as assistant secretaries. It was decided by the adoption of the report of the committee on organiza- tion that the constituency of the convention should be defined in the call as follows: Delegations from trade, manufacturing, transportation, agri- cultural and labor organizations and accredited delegates from states and cities, Furthermore, that the only subjects considered by the congress should be those dealing directly with waterways for the carriage of com- merce and the promotion of a general public interest in the increase of means and facilities for water-borne commerce. Of course the principal act of the congress was the adoption, before adjournment Wednesday, of resolutions embodying its sentiments with regard to congressional appropriations for the improvement of water- ways. Congress was also urged to take speedy action in the matter of constructing the isthmian canal. The resolutions are as follows: "Resolved, that this congress asserts that the best development of our national resources demands the adequate improvement of our waterways; and therefore it indorses and urges upon the congress of the United States a liberal policy in their improvements, through systematic and adequate appropriations therefor. This congress deplores and condemns any action which leads to the failure of rivers and harbors legislation. "Resolved, that it is the sense of this congress that the improvements of rivers and harbors is fully as important as the work carried on by any department of the general government, and for this reason we urge that appropriations therefore be placed upon such a footing as will insure at all times ample funds for a vigorous prosecution of the work; and to this end we indorse the system of continuing contracts. "Resolved, that in the judgment of this congress all items should be excluded from the rivers and harbors bill that do not appertain to the improvement of harbors and waterways for the purpose of water-borne commerce. "Resolved, that the wonderful prosperity of our country is largely due to the vast increase in our foreign commerce, and that to advance our position as a great commercial nation all possible facilities must, be afforded, deeper and wider channels must be created to meet the require- mets of modern steamships that have revolutionized the commerce of the world. "Resolved, that our great systems of international navigation by the lakes and waterways of our country, besides being so essential as great highways of commerce, to the fullest development, of national resources, are effective regulators of freight rates, and we therefore urge their con- tinuous and systematic improvement, with liberal appropriations there- for. "Resolved, that atlexecutive committee of seven be appointed by the president of this. congress, representing the different sections of the country, who shall have general charge of the affairs of this congress, with power to. convene future meetings, and to perform such other duties as may be necessary to carry into effect the purposes and objects of its organization, "Resolved, that the foregoing resolutions be formally submitted to the appropriate committees of congress at its next session by a committee, consisting of one delegate from each state, to be appointed by the presi- dent of this congress, who shall be, ex-officio a member of the committee." : ADDRESS OF CONGRESSMAN BURTON. A feature of the congress was the address of Representative Theodore E. Burton, chairman of the house committee on rivers and harbors, who is beyond question the most thoroughly informed man on waterways of the United States. Mr. Burton said in part: "The influence of this assembly should be exerted for liberal appro- priations for rivers and harbors, but liberality should always be coupled with discrimination. Appropriations should not be denied because large amounts ate required to secure the best and promptest results, but there should be equal care to prevent waste or the adoption of unworthy or im- practicable projects. In view of the necessary limitations in the amounts appropriated in river and harbor acts, and the pressing need for deeper channels and improved facilities along established: lines of traffic, it is better to appropriate for localities where traffic is already established than where its development is uncertain or problematical. It is more business- like to finish one and obtain results from it than to make piecemeal ap- propriations upon all. In Great Britain the central government does not improve channels 'or harbors, except for the purpose of national defense, but municipalities and private corporations have expended for these pur-~ - poses greater amounts than in any other country. Not many years ago the Tyne at and-below Newcastle was improved at an expense of over $20,000,000; the 'Mersey and Clyde at still greater expense; the -Man- chester canal, 3534 miles in length, was built at a cost of $75,000,000 or more, and $150,000,000 has been expended for canals in the interior of the. country. Theoretically the charges imposed are commensurate with the' cost of the improvement, but in practice it is rarely so. "A system under which the central government improves harbors anu channels and imposes charges in the form of tolls, extra duties, port or: whariage dues, the income of which is in greater or less proportion to the expense, is well illustrated 'by the action of the republic of Uruguay, which last December contracted for the improvement of the harbor of Montevideo at the expense of $9,916,336, and made provisions for pay- ment by the imposition for an extra duty of 3 per cent: on dutiable' imports. and 1 per cent. on dutiable exports. -Thé port of Antwerp has been improved at an expense of $30,000,000. Approximately three-fifths of the expense has been paid by the Belgian government and two-fifths by the city of Antwerp. "A third sysem is that under which the general government improves channels and harbors, and imposes no charge upon commerce with a view to obtaining compensation for the improvements. This method is in vogue in the United States, both as regards rivers and harbors. In. France, it is followed in the navigation of rivers and canals, all tolls upon which were abolished in 1880. The policy pursued in the United States has not been altogether consistent or uniform. The very first act on the subject recognized a policy similar to that described in the first system described above, namely, the making of improvements and imposition of charges by a private corporation or municipal body. It was passed on Aug. 11, 1790, and gave consent to the operation of acts passed respec- tively by the states of Rhode Island, Maryland and Georgia, authorizing and levying of a duty on the tonnage of ships by the River Machine Co. in the town of Providence, by the wardens of the port of Baltimore and the collection of such a duty for the purpose of improving the River Savannah. Similar statutes were passed at a later date consenting to the operation of acts passed by the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia: It may be regarded that under the general welfare clause of the constitution and the authority vested in congress to regulate com- merce between the states, the right to take control of and to make ap- propriations for river and harbor improvements is well settled, though these appropriations have been made irregularly, and at times only for a limited number of objects." AGGREGATE OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS. Mr. Burton then gave an exhaustive history of the legislation affect- ing harbors and river appropriations up to the present time. He showed that the amount appropriated by the general government for the im- provement of rivers and harbors down to and including 1886 was $184,513,339.52; to and including 1892, $236,232,432.06, and the _ total amount appropriated to date $414,765,772.30. Mr. Burton continued: 'It will be profitable to notice several familiar objections to expenditures for rivers and harbors. There is a prevalent misapprehension that a_very large share of these appropriations is for insignificant streams. There is a constant succession of newspaper edi- torials and paragraphs in regard to amounts expended upon shallow creeks and ponds. An examination of the facts will prove these state- ments to be utterly without foundation. The average amount applied for minor streams in recent biénnial river and harbor bills has been from $500,000. to $1,000,000. The policy of making these appropriations may be questioned, but it would be difficult to find arguments which would not apply to all river and harbor improvements. While it is unnecessary to state that not every stretch of navigable water should be improved by the federal government, some of these appropriations are of the most bene- ficial nature. Numerous streams enter into the sea or larger rivers, to which considerable areas of territory having no railway facilities are tributary. For many years the freight and passenger traffic has been con- ducted upon these streams. The creeks and streams near to Philadelphia emptying into the Delaware are of this class, also those emptying into the Chesapeake bay. In a report filed last winter, it was pointed out that the traffic on some of these streams, though small appropriations are given to them, exceed the traffic of one of the largest rivers of the country. In: some cases these streams are utilized for the bringing of garden produce and fruit to the larger cities; in others for the delivery of coal, lumber and: heavy material at cities of considerable size. The total amount included' in the river and harbor bill of last winter for the streams of New England, excluding rivers of the first class, such as the Penobscot, Kennebec, Merrimac, 'Connecticut and others, like the Mystic and Providence, which are merely inlets from the sea and used for harbor and anchorage, was $120,500, yet the total amount of freight carried upon these streams was not less than 2,000,000 tons. "Another misapprehension which has gained considerable credence is that an undue share of the appropriations of the government are devoted to river and harbor improvements. This, upon investigation, will prove to be absolutely without foundation. The amount appropriated for rivers and harbors in the four years from, 1897 to 1901, including continuing contract appropriations, was $63,069,717.25. During these four years the amount appropriated for the navy was $247,441,460.93, showing that the 'amount appropriated for one arm of the military service was about four times as great as that appropriated for rivers and harbors, and that, too, in a country affording greater opportunities for internal and external commerce than-.any other in the world. In comparing expenses with those of other countries, we suffer by comparison. Not only has France :: expended $800,000,000, twice as much as we, though her territory is less ~ in area than that of several single states in this union, but of late amounts entirely beyond expenses incurred in this-country have been made or provided for divers harbors. "Of late years strong pressure has been brought to bear to include in the river and«harbor bill appropriations for reservoirs to be constructed ' for the purpose of irrigating lands. . It is certainly incongruous to include in a bill which has to do with navigation provisions for reservoirs 7,000 feet above the level of the sea in localities hundreds of miles from navi- gable water and where the natives have never seen any.style of boat except 'a birch-bark canoe. The problem of the reclamation of arid lands is an important one; but whatever is determined: by 'congress should be by a - bill which_has to do with irrigation alone. Another form of questionable appropriations often included in river and harbor bills is the provision for protection or rectification of the banks of alluvial streams. Very large sums have been included for this purpose, and mostly in localities in which --there is little navigation. Should the general government undertake the task of protecting the banks of rivers where the channel i € 4 s shift or away the adjacent land the expenditure would in.time come to ea amounts now expended for navigation. SUGGESTIONS REGARDING FUTURE RIVER AND HARBOR BILLS "There should be a more careful comparison of reports made by the government engineers, with a view to securing uniformity in their recom-. mendations. Under the: present system each of the different engineer . officers reports upon the advisability of an improvement which he is called