Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-11-08
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
Acknowledgment From Mrs. Garfield
River Convention-Buying the Water

| @AOAnOWACoS uuOnt to" MIS- 06Tu0Au-
River Convention-Buying the Water
Works.
At the meeting OF the Chamber of Com
merce yesterday, the following letter was
| read:
MENTOR, Ohio, Nov. 2, 1881.
Hon. FL. II. Sibley, chairman committee on
| resolutions of the chamber of commerce,
of st. Paul, MINI:
DEAR SIR: l am directed by Mrs. Garfield to
return her sincere and heartfelt thanks to the
members of the chamber of commerce, at St.
Paul, Mimi, for the manifestations of sympa-
thy and regard shown to herself and family
in the resolutions adopted by that body.
| Yonrs, with respect,
| c. o. ROCKWELL.
| A letter was read from W. D. Washburu,
announcing his extreme sorrow that he had
been prevented, owing tn absence, from sup-
plying passes as far as Burlington to the dele
| CATION to st. Louis.
Mr.. McClung submitted the following re-
| mort. which was accepted and fled
To the President and directors of the Chamber
of Commerce:
The st. Paul Chamber of Commerce,
| through its committee of ten on the Missis-
sippi river, having had the honor to call the
river improvement convention, which met at
| St. Louis on the Goth of October, it seems APP
propriate that the same committee should
make some report concerning the success of
| that convention,
| About twenty states and territories were
represented by some 600 delegates, includ ing
| the state of New York from the remote East,
and the territory of New Mexico, from the
| extreme Southwest. The convention was the
largest river convention which has vet been
held, and was composed of more distinguished
| and representative men. Minnesota was rep
1 Al L., IL
honored by being rendered the presidency of
the convention.
| The large number of delegates sent from our
city and state helped to swell the number of
| delegates to the convention, which made it
| the imposing assemblage it was, and gave to
| it the influence and the power for good which
| will clothe its recommendations with the sane
| ton of public opinion, and give to it its best
passport to the favor of congress. So that,
| in the language Of Col. Taylor, of the river
commission, in his address TO the convention
"This great convention will he sensihly felt
| in the legislation of congress and in this great
| work of improvement. The convention itself
speaks louder than any words it can utter.
| The presence in this city of this vast body of
| representative men is The great mountain in
| the landscape, which affects by the breadth of
| its base and the suhlimlty of its heighth-and
you might go home and say nothing, feeling
| in vain"
The great benefits expected to result from
| this convention are the education of a public
opinion upon the improvement of our water
ways, and the creation of sentiment among
| the masses Of the people which will operate
| as an outside pressure upon congress which
| they cannot resist. Each convention which has
| heretofore been held has proved to be the thin
END of the wedge which has been driven home
to the attention of congress-, by subsequent
memorials and subsequent conventions, re-
suting In larger appropriations at each ses-
| sion of congress, and promising soon to clean
| a highway through the bed of the great river
! TO the markets of the world The fact that
| only S25 600, 900 have been appropriated for
| the Mississippi river and it's tributaries, while
S100, 900, 900 in cash and 5000, 900 in lands
| have been appropriated for the Union Pacific
and other railroads, show how great was the
need of agitating this subject among the peo-
| pie and through these conventions to arouse
| the public sentiment of the country and secure
| the attention of our representatives IN con-
gress.
Congress will only move as they are moved
upon. Our representatives are only beginning
| to learn that there is Mississippi river. The
appropriations voted for its imprOv, ment have
been given in scanty measures, and in grudg-
| ing spirit, as presents to sfepchIld, while
in our own state of Wisconsin for schemes of
merely local importance. and for canals of CHI
| merical character, over the amount voted for
the upper Mississippi river from Rock Island
to st. Paul.
The state is losing over 81 ,000, 900 annually
bv this neglect Ofs our representatives to I'M
derstand their duty to the people of the state
The action of the chamber of commerce for
the past four years, in insnguratng the first
convention which rannnpi7pd the Mis-
sissIppi river and following up the work
which resulted in subsequent conventions,
which have been the means of obtaining large
ly increased appropriations, illustrates the
good which may be done in the primary as
sembages of the people IN rousing attention
to this subject, and opening the hearts of our
congressman and the purse of the nation. 1t
of such local bodies as our chamber of COM
merce, and should encourage their organiza-
ton and cooperation until This great work,
now barely commenced, shall have been
pushed forward to complete success.
There are other conventions which must
yet be held, and other fields yet to conquer,
before Minnesota and ST. Paul, her great
metropolis, will reap the full fruits Of the i'm
provement of the Mississippi river. Con-
grNss and the people of the United States
| must be further educated and made to under
stand that this is not the small end of the
river. They must be taught that for 800
miles northwest there spreads out like fan
a vast and fertile area of tillable land, almost
unlimited in extent, and destined TO be the
granarv of the continent-the Egypt WHERE
the children of all nations are even now
coming for corn and the staff of life; and
when they have fully comprehended this idea,
they must be further taught that when millions
| are appropriated for the southern end of the
river, thousands will not answer for the
northern end.
Congratulating the chamber upon the work
so far accomplished, and upon the quiet but
efficient part which we have been able to bear
IN it, this report is respectfully submitted
J. W. MCCLUNG,
Chairman Committee on Mississippi River.
THE WATER BONDS.
Mr.. Somers called attention to the way the
tickets were printed for voting upon the ques-
ton of issuing bonds to buy and extend the
water works. He thought people wonld be
deceived, and would not understand how to vote
against the measure. Mr.. A.. Oppenheim ex-
planned that Mr.. Somers desired it to he de-