The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1877-10-25
ARIZONA.
Hiram s. Stevens.
IDAHO.
Stephen S. Fem.
MONTANA.
Martin Maginnis.
wYosISa.
William c. Corlett.
IMPROVING THE MISSISSIPPI.
Resolutions Adopted by the st. Paul Con-

Resolutions Adopted by the st. Paul Con
ventions
WHEREAS, The Mississippi River has, from
i the earliest settlement of the country, beer
\ recognized by all treaties with foreign ma
| tons and by Congressional and State legfsla
| ton as a great national common highway
and Is, in tact, the great national artery o.
| commerce Tor vast area of country, its con
verging water courses draining the whole OF
/ part of Is great states of the Union and inter
secting the most fertile agricultural valleys
/ of the West and south, which seek this as the
natural and cheapest outlet TO the markets OF
| the world; and,
WHEREAS, The lessening of the cost Of
transportation between the producer and
consumer is one of the greatest problems OF
the age, the General Government having al
ready commenced the improvements OF this
great natural highway by the construction oil
the jetties at the mouth of the river and OF
the Des Moines Rapids Canal, and of various
other improvements leaving comparatively
small expenditure necessary to thoroughly
improve the navigation of the river from St
Paul to New Orleans; now, therefore, be 1t
ReSOtred, That we, as representatives OF the
agricultural, manufacturing. commercial, in
dustrlal and navigation interests OF the val
ley of the Mississippi, in convention assem-
bled, urge upon Congress the pressing neces-
sity of passing such acts and making such
appropriations as Will, in the shortest posi-
BILE time, give, in the most economical man
ner, in all seasons of the year, a good naviga-
bic stage of water from st. Paul to the Gulf
of Mexico, and, if practicable, as appears by
the recommendation of the Senate Commit
tee on transportation Routes to the Sea-
board, and by the various reports of distin-
guished and able officers of the engineer
corps of the United States, give n minimum
of about five feet from st. Paul to st. Louis,
about eight feet from st. Louis to Cairo, and
about 10 feet from Cairo to New Orleans.
SecOad-That we respectfully and urgently
request Congress to adopt such legislation as
will best and most speedily secure the end in
view; and we ask and insist shat in all acts
providing for the appropriation OF money for
oil ont ilnorNr ~
the navigation OF the Mississippi River be
kept most prominent as a distinctively ma
tional work, and of equal if not paramount
Importance to all others, as it will result in
the saving of millions of dollars both to pro-
ducers and consumers annually.
Third-That the President of this Conven-
ton select an executive committee OF nine,
whose duty it shall be to prepare memorial
to Congress setting forth more in detail the
views of this Convention upon this subject
and the necessity of this Improvement, to call
future conventions if they deem 1t eXpedient
to do so, and to collect and publish statistics
bearing on this subject for the information of
the people and of Congress, and in general to
be charged with the work of securing unity
of purpose and harmony OF action among
the States, communities and localities inter
ested herein and to use all proper means to
procure early and favorable action upon this
subject by Congress.
FOurth-That we recognize the ability and
distinguished services of the officers of the
engineer department of the United States, in
anu ldDOI1OuS surveys anu
estimates looking to the improvement of the
navigation of the Mississippi River in the
past, and while we regret that the appropri-
ations heretofore made have not been suf
ficient to carry forward needed improve
ments and have greatly crippled and retard-
ed the work, we recognize that much has
been accomplished in preparing the way and
placing the necessary data at the disposal of
Congress. We urge upon Congress the neces-
sity, propriety and economy of making
prompt appropriations for this work, in ac
cordance with the estimates of the engineers
in charge thereof, appropriating the amount
required to complete and utilize the improve
ments, section by section, in accordance with
their detailed estimates and plans for such
improvement.
FJth-That in the prosecution of the i'm
provements of the Mississippi River as re-
quested in the above resolutions, due regard
should always be had to the production and
conservation of the manufacturing interests
of said river, and to their legitimate develop
ment.
Sirth-That the Secretary of this Convention
cause printed copies of these resolutions to
be transmitted to the President CT the United
States, Members of Congress and heads of de-
partments, and that all newspapers of the
country be requested to publish these reso
lutions.