DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL 311

 Mr. HATDEN. I wish to announce that my colleague, the senior Senator from
Arizona [Mr. Ashurst], is unavoidably detained from the Senate.
 Mr. HATCH. I announce that my colleague, the junior Senator from New
Mexico [Mr. Chavez], is necessarily detained. If present and voting, he would
vote "yea."
 Mr. LEWIs. I announce that the Senator from Alabama [Mr. Bankhead] is
detained on account of illness, and that the Senator from North Carolina [Mr.
Bailey], the Senator from Washington [Mr. Bone], the Senator from Colorado
[Mr. Costigan], the Senator from Georgia [Mr. Russell], and the Senator from
New York [Mr. Wagner] are detained in important committee meetings.
 The junior Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Coolidge], the senior Senator
 from Massachusetts [Mr. Walsh], the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Maloney],
 the Senator from Nevada [Mr. McCarran], the junior Senator from Maryland
 [Mr. Radcliffe], the senior Senator from Maryland [Mr. Tydings], the Senator
 from Missouri [Mr. Truman], and my colleague the junior Senator from Illinois
 [Mr. Dieterich] are unavoidably detained.
 The result was announced-yeas 42 nays 32, as follows:
 Yeas: Bachman, Barkley, Benson, Bilbo, Black, Brown, Byrnes, Connally,
 Davis, Fletcher, Frazier, Glass, Harrison, Hatch, Hayden, Holt, Johnson, Lewis,
 Logan, McAdoo, McGll, McKellar, McNary, Minton, Murray, Neely, Norris,
 O'Mahoney, Overton, Pittman, Pope, Reynolds, Robinson, Schwellenbach, Shep-
 pard, Shipstead, Smith, Steiwer, Thomas of Oklahoma, Thomas of Utah,
 Trammell, and Wheeler-42.
 Nays: Adams, Austin, Bulkley, Bulow, Burke, Byrd, Capper, Caraway, Carey,
 Clark, Copeland, Couzens, Donahey, Duffy, George, Gerry, Gibson, Gore, Guffey,
 Hale, Keyes, King, Lonergan, Long, Metcalf, Moore, Murphy, Norbeck, Town-
 send, Vandenberg, Van Nuys, and White-32.
 Not voting: Ashurst, Bailey, Bankhead, Barbour, Bone, Borah, Chavez, Cool-
 idge, Costigan, Dickinson, Dieterich, Hastings, La Follette, Maloney, McCarran,
 Nye, Radcliffe, Russell, Truman, Tydings, Wagner, and Walsh-22.
 So Mr. Clark's point of order was rejected.
 So the Senate decided the amendment of Mr. Fletcher to be in order.
 The VxIO PRESIDENT. The question now is on agreeing to the amendment pro-
 posed by the Senator from Florida.
 Mr. VANDRENG. Mr. President, does the Senator from Florida desire to
 proceed, or does he prefer that I proceed?
 Mr. FLBCHEx I understand the Senator from Michigan is opposed to the
 amendment, and I should prefer to have him proceed now, so that I may answer
 his argument
 Mr. VANDENBEmG. Mr. President, it seems to me the best possible demonstra-
 tion of the error the Senate has just made in holding the pending amendment
 to be in order is the fact that the Senate now must pass upon the merits or
 demerits of the Florida ship canal, involving an expenditure of from $150,-
 000,000 to $200,000,000. In view of the decision the Senate has just made, it
 puts itself in the position where it now must pass on this project, in the
 absence of any of the reports which are required traditionally, and as a matter
 of common sense, by congressional practice, before great waterway under-
 takings are started.
 The Senate now finds itself in a position where it must say "yes" or "no"
 to the proposal to continue this vast undertaking. The greatest undertaking
 of its sort in the history of the Nation must be decided by laymen without the
 benefit of a conclusive report of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors.
 It must be decided by the Senate without a conclusive report from the standing
 committee of the Senate which has jurisdiction over responsibilities of this
 nature.
 The Senate has just voted itself into a position where it must decide upon
 its own responsibility, without respect to the traditional reliances which usually
 protect the Treasury in such instances, whether the Florida canal is justified.
 So I find myself in the somewhat awkward position of attempting to demon-
 strate to the Senate that the project is not justified.
 Mr. President, I find it necessary to say to the Senate, first, that this is the
 first major waterway in the history of the United States ever undertaken with-
 out an enabling act of Congress prior to its commencement. I am forced to
 say that this is the first major waterway ever undertaken in the history of the
 United States without a conclusive report from the Board of Engineers for
 Rivers and Harbors to justify the project. Yet the Senate has concluded that
 this survey must be made upon its own responsibility. Therefore, the Senate