The Mississippi River Improvements

J The following1 interesting, timely and pertinent comments on the Misáissippi River Improvements bill were made in Congress Tuesday by Representatives Frye of Maine and Harrison of Indiana, both members of the committee baving the bill in charge: Mr. Frye said that the northern and eastern members of the committee, while appreeiating the importance of improving navigation were opposed to allowing any part of the appropriation to be used for the reclamation of lands in the river states. They regarded the existing sentiment causedby the recent overflow as a dangerous one upon which to base legislation. The unanimous favorable report upon the measure was due to the proviso which prevents the use of money for rebuilding levees and this had been inserted without objection. He said he made this statement in view of an intimation thrown out yesterday by Mr. Kellogg that an amendment removing this striction upon the expeaditureof money would not be objected to by the committee, and also in view of the Jonas amendment applying part oL the appropriation to Ie vees. Mr. Harrison addressed the senateat some length. After asserting the admiralty control of the United States over the eiitire navigable length of the Mississippi, and its jurisdiction over improvements of navigation and works necessary to make the river a safe and constant outlet for commerce, he said that nearly 14,000 navigable miles of the main river and its tributaries were distributed among 18 states and three territories, a región producing the greater part of the entire grain erop and a largo part of the cotton erop, and that the work of providing acheapand f ree highway for these products in their conveyance to consumera of the Atlantic states and of Europe was obviously not a sectional but national one. Speaking of the facilities for cheap transportation and free competition pertaining to river navigation as compared with oppressive railroad rates, Mr. Harrison remarked that upon the obstructing bars being cleared away and a uniform low water depth of 10 f eet being attained below St. Louis, the shores of the Mississippi would practically be at tide water; that grain will go west and south as well as east to the river, whenever railroad charges are oppressive. No act of congress or of the states, in nis opinión, could prove so efficiënt in regulating transportation charges as the law of competion between improved natural waterways of the country and railroads. A sufficient and uniform depth of water throughout the year on the upper river woald cause a great reduction in the river transportation charges by enabling larger boats and barges to continue running instead of being laid up as now for portions of the year. A system of inter-cnannel works has been adopted and it was thought that this would remove difficulties in low water navigation, and upon this belief only could appropriations for such works be made. He opposed the levee project, contendiag that money appropriated for levees was practically a donation to owners of alluvial lands. Replying to Mr. Vest's appeal that the government should tie the country together with bonds of love by building levees, Mr. Harrison said he was sure there was no disposition in the north to withhold anything from a southern state on account of the rebellion, but he could not accept the suggestion to use public revenues for the benefit of a state or individual simply because of the fact of the rebellion on its or his part, or because of the poverty which came from natural causes. He had no faith in the permanent influence of appropriations to bind men to a flag or a constitution. The speaker thought it was plain that states on the lower river had been planning and were hoping to thrust their costly levee system upon the general government and any speedy settlement of the question would be a great relief to those states, as so long as they have expectations of relief from congress their own efforts would be paralyzed. We could not now afford to float out of the treasury on the tide of our sympathies 115,000,000 and possibly $50,000,000.