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While Congress Wastes Millions Ohio River Traffic Languishes Half a Century of Folly Washington Correspondent, Marine Review TARTLING' waste of public S money in the last fifty years, al- most criminal in its nature, is dis- closed in the slothful course of congress in dealing with improvement plans for the development of the navigable in- land waterway channels of the country. The Ohio river project is outstanding as an example of the culpable negligence that has been permitted to exist for a half century in the extensive but dally- ing undertakings for the development of the great natural channels of trans- portation. Despite the fact that hun- dreds of thousands of square miles of shipping territory are embraced in the Ohio river drainage domain, and that 58 per cent of the members of congress represent the area involved in this proj- ect, the improvements only are a little more than two-thirds completed, with almost $81,000,000 having been ex- pended on the Ohio river since 1875, In 1875 the improvement was started on the old plan of an entirely open river navigation, the desirable depth on the bars to be obtained by wing dams and dredging. From 1875 to 1910, the huge sum of $17,657,274 was spent, only to result in 1910 in an entire change of the plans of the project under which the improvements now are being carried on. This present project has in view a nav- igable channel secured by locks and dams when the river is below a 9-foot stage. This has been coupled with open river work where locks and dams have not been provided. What Might Have Been If $60,000,000 had been appropriated in 1875 when the cost of labor and ma- terials was especially low, and if this sum had been properly expended over a period of 10 years by following the methods used in the building of the Pan- ama canal, the work could have been completed entirely within that period of time and at a cost of only $60,000,000, it was declared by James E. Smith, of St. Louis, president of the Mississippi Valley association, in a statement be- fore the house rivers and harbors com- mittee last year. “Think of the tremendous loss to the people of the Ohio valley that has re- BY FRED B. PLETCHER sulted from this foolish and inexcusable procedure,” said Mr. Smith. “Instead of having that great water- way completed not later than 1885 at a cost of $60,000,000, nearly $81,000,000 has been expended upon it and it is to- day little more than two-thirds com- pleted. Its completion will cost an addi- tional $25,000,000. As the work now is being carried on, 15 to 20 years more Slow Progress N THE 1910 rivers and harbors bill, clauses also were adopted providing for the completion of an 8-foot channel in the Mississippi river between Cairo and St. Louis at an estimated cost of $21,000,000 to be completed in 12 years. This desig- nated time expired two years ago, and the work is not completed. As a result of this negligence, the gov- ernment barge line on the lower Mississippi between St. Louis and New Orleans is operated -on this portion of the river at a loss, not having a dependable channel. Pri- vate shipping likewise is _handi- capped. At the rate this work al- ready has been undertaken, about 130 years will be necessary to com- plete the job that was to have been completed in 12 years. no doubt will be required for its com- petion. “Think of allowing an idle invest- ment of $81,000,000 remaining unpro- ductive for so long a period of years. Think of it being allowed to lie idle and useless for 20 years longer, when it can be converted into a big-paying invest- ment within from four to five years’ time.” A conservative estimate shows that at an interest charge of 5 per cent upon the amount of money which will have been spent on this project up to the time of its completion, the accumulated interest alone will amount to more than $120,- 000,000, or double the amount the en- tire project from Pittsburgh to Cairo, Ill, would have cost if the proper 83 methods had been employed from the beginning for this work. But this is not all of the lamentable story, as the head of the Mississippi Val- ley association pointed out to the house committee. If this waterway. had been completed 40 years ago, as could have been done, it would have been transport- ing throughout that long period hun- dreds of millions of tons of the prod- ucts of the country’s greatest indus- trial area, the Ohio valley, at a saving of many hundreds of millions of dollars in freights. It is pointed out also that hundreds of new industries also might have been established on this avenue of cheap transportation. Congress first seemed to sense the importance of putting the great trunk line waterways of the Mississippi val- ley into use as carriers of steel, coal, coke and many other commodities in 1910. At that time a bill was passed which provided for the completion of a 9-foot channel in the Ohio river from Pittsburgh to Cairo at an estimated cost of $63,731,000, with the declared inten- tion of completing the work in 12 years. Improvements Are in Sight Succeeding sessions of congress, how- ever, failed to keep faith. The 12-year period expired more than two years ago and in the meantime the work has been dragging. Under the present plan great benefits are in sight even though the final completion of the river improve- ment has produced tremendous waste of money and time in its uindertaking. The plan contemplates a 9-foot channel from Pittsburgh to Cairo for 10 months of the year. Improvement of the Mis- sissippi below Cairo and St. Louis will make more available a shipping course from Pittsburgh to the Gulf. When the slack-water system has been extended far enough down stream to permit of continuous navigation at all times, except when interrupted by floods and-ice, the really great benefits of the undertaking will be realized. Commerce now is being moved by barge from the head of the river to points on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers and up- stream shipments of coal, coke and other commodities have been going on for