“Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. The tendency to undue expansion is unquestionably the chief difficulty. How to do _something_, and still not to do _too much_, is the desideratum. Let each contribute his mite in the way of suggestion. The late Silas Wright, in a letter to the Chicago Convention, contributed his, which was worth something; and I now contribute mine, which may be worth nothing. At all events, it will mislead nobody, and therefore will do no harm. I would not borrow money. I am against an overwhelming, crushing system. Suppose that at each session, Congress shall first determine _how much_ money can, for that year, be spared for improvements; then apportion that sum to the most _important_ objects. So far all is easy; but how shall we determine which _are_ the most important? On this question comes the collision of interests. _I_ shall be slow to acknowledge that _your_ harbor or _your_ river is more important than _mine_, and _vice versa_. To clear this difficulty, let us have that same statistical information which the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Vinton] suggested at the beginning of this session. In that information we shall have a stern, unbending basis of _facts_--a basis in nowise subject to whim, caprice, or local interest. The pre-limited amount of means will save us from doing _too much_, and the statistics will save us from doing what we do in _wrong places_. Adopt and adhere to this course, and, it seems to me, the difficulty is cleared.