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Show HARBORS BILL ST011TLUIPHELD National Rivers and Harbors Congress Opens for Three-day Three-day Session. Senator Ransdell Denies That Congress Is a Lobby Attacks At-tacks Untrue and Without With-out Merit. Washington, Dec 9. The National Livers and Harbors congress hegan its annual convention here today with a large attendance of delegates from i throughout the country. Man pro ol nent speakers are on the program tor addresses during tho three days' session I The convention was opened with an address by Secretary liryan. feature fea-ture v. as the annual atldres of senator sen-ator Ransdell of Louisiana, prealdenl cf the Rivers and Harbors congress in which he vigorously denounced attacks at-tacks on the harbor bill passed at the last session of congress and the Filibuster which resulted In the practical prac-tical defeat of the measure. "Attfccke on rivers and harbors legislation," leg-islation," declared Senator Rai sdell, are unfounded, practically without merit and many of them devoid of e ven a vestiRe of truth " Critics Are Unjust f'ritfes of the legislation, he added, had been unable to suggest a better system than the one they criticise. "To asBert that river and harbor bill-; are full of 'pork.' graft and corrupt cor-rupt items.' he declared, is to charge (hat the engineer corps of the army, members of the rivers and harbors committee of the house and commerce committee of the senate and a majority ma-jority of the senators and represents' tlves who advocated and voted for these measures, are guilty of fraud, corruption, graft and plain Stealing. Such an accusation is false." Senator Ransdell denied charges that the rivers and harbors congress was a lobby. Its activities he said, had been confined to an education campaign. Senator Ransdell concluded with an appeal to the convention to insist that under no circumstances should any water course be Improved unless, un-less, it has real, genuine merit back of It." net |
