DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE FLORIDA CANAL 315

 The result is, Mr. President, that this project finally was inaugurated by an
Executive order on September 3, 1935, when the President segregated $5,000,000
and dedicated it to the commencement of the canal adventure. Since then, I
believe, there have been two small additional allocations, $200,000 each. If that
be correct, the sum total that has been taken out of the emergency relief fund
to build the Florida canal is $5,400,000. But that comparatively inconse-
quential sum is used as a springboard from which to commit Congress to
spend the other $195,000,000 subsequently.
 This afternoon is the last time the Senate will have a chance as a free agent
to decide whether or not it wants that.process to proceed. This is the Senate's
last chance to decide whether it wants to build the Florida canal, because
if Congress upon its responsibility once makes one appropriation in this direc-
tion I will freely agree hereafter with the able Senator from Florida that
Congress is under moral obligation to continue and conclude the undertaking.
 Up until this moment the Congress is a free agent; up until this moment
the Senate never has had a chance-and never dreamed that its power was
going to be used to put it in the position which it now finds itself-and the
Congress never had a chance to say whether this thing should be done. This
afternoon the roll will be called to find out whether it should be done; and, I
repeat, I find myself in the difficult position of undertaking to present to the
Senate the reasons why it should not be done, whereas the Senate ought to
be relying upon reports from the experts. However, this adventure is not
being proceeded with in the way the waterway projects are usually provided
for and carried on. The Senate is proposing action outside the ordinary and
traditional precautions. So here we are, and the question is, Should we
proceed?
 Let us not have any doubt whatever about the fact that it is a totally extraor-
dinary procedure by which the Florida canal gets its conception; there is no
doubt about that whatever. I quote from a letter to me from Gen. G. B.
Pillsbury, Acting Chief of Engineers of the War Department, dated December
25, 1935:
 "The customary procedure for the authorization of river and harbor projects
has not been followed in the authorization of this canal."
 That is bad enough, but worse-and this is highly significant-from the same
letter I quote: "The review of the Board"-
 He is referring now to the Board of Rivers and Harbors Engineers-
 "The review of the Board has been deterred at the request of local interests
desirous of submitting additional data."
 In other words, the traditional precautions not only have been abandoned but
the attempt to pursue even a pretense of traditional precaution has been inter-
rupted at the request of the proponents of the canal themselves. This phase of
the matter would be funny if it were not so sinister.
 Now let me submit another exhibit upon this point-and it all fits into the
argument made an hour or so ago by the able Senator from Missouri [Mr.
Clark] and justifies every sentence he uttered. General Markham, Chief of
Engineers, sent me recently a confidential-mark that word-a confidential
abstract prepared from the reports of the special board of Army engineers on
the Florida canal. I propmtly asked him if he would not permit me to make
the abstract public. He answered me under date of February 11, 1936, as
follows:
 "I regret that I am not in a position to authorize the publication of the
abstract in question. The reports of this Department are prepared for Con-
gress, and, under a long-standing rule, have been considered as confidential and
not for publication until submitted to that body."
 So, Mr. President, we are in the further and final anomalous position of being
 required, through our failure to follow the usual precautions, to decide whether
 or not this $200,000,000 canal shall be approved before we even can have the
 benefit of a report which waits this afternoon in the pigeonhole of General
 Markham. If that is not an amazing way in which to proceed in respect to the
 fiscal responsibilities of the Senate, then I am uterly mistaken.
 Mr. KING. Mr. President, would it interrupt the Senator if I should ask a
 question?
 Mr. VANDEiNBmG. No; I am glad to yield.
 Mr. KINo. I am amazed at the statement made by the Senator. I assume the
 committee which had this matter before it must have had reports from the
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