Page 24: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1984)

AWO (continued from page 25) ment and deepening of ports, flood control, shoreline protection and water supply projects. On its long voyage to the House floor, the bill passed the full House Public Works

Committee by a vote of 49-0. Once on the floor, it was approved by an overwhelming vote of 259 in favor, and 33 against. There appeared to be a consensus in the national in- terest that something needed to be done to rebuild the crumbling in- frastructure of the nation. There appeared to be a consensus among our elected representatives that a vital need would be fulfilled.

Yet, the morning after the bill's passage, more than one newspaper carried stories which freely char- acterized the House as having once again dipped into the "pork bar- rel" in its legislative deliberations.

On the news pages, the term "pork barrel" was used interchangeably, and wrongly, as a common syn- onym for "water project."

In George Orwell's now-famous essay "Politics and the English

Language," he suggests a few rea- sons why tired, worn out political phrases should be dropped from usage. First of all, phrases such as "pork barrel" pick up such diverse meanings over the years that their usage becomes inaccurate, and therefore misleading. More impor- tantly, such cliches quickly be- come a writer's easy substitute for careful thought and analysis. When a writer must choose between con- structing a carefully crafted para- graph, or getting by with a catch- all phrase, the pressure of dead- lines and expedience often result in the latter.

So, flood control, water supply, irrigation systems, hydroelectric power, fish and wildlife enhance- ment, land reclamation and water- based recreation become "pork," and useful national policy becomes something to be flippantly deni- grated. The use of such a reference had a place, perhaps, in the politi- cal columns of H.L. Mencken, or the musings of Mark Twain, or in a political cartoon depicting ro- tund politicians dispensing special favors. It has no place, however, on the news pages.

If historic and legitimate con- cern for maintenance and im- provement of the nation's infras- tructure—which includes waterway systems—is to be maligned and lumped into a dead cliche, under the guise of serious journalism, then every President and Con- gress who ever served would have to be counted among the conspira- tors in the national interest. The development of water resources produces enormous economic and social benefits that extend far be- yond the local community.

There are, certainly, many de- batable points regarding water re- sources legislation. For years, the center of controversy over federal water projects has been the ques- tion of who will pay what portion of the cost of such projects. This debate is valuable, essential, in the national interest, and is the process by which our federal leg- islators decide issues of national policy.

I suggest, however, that the term "pork barrel" used in a news story benefits no one, that it has long outlived its usefulness, that it is deceptive, ambiguous, and that like the phrases "know-nothing party," "Tammany Hall," "Smoke- filled Room," and anything with the suffix" .... gate," should be relegated to the dustbin, where they belong.

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