The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-10-23
THE DEEP HARBOR CONVENTION.

The call for deep harbOr convention
somewhere along the coast of Texas, which
was issued some little time ago, duly found
its way to Utah and was appropriately re-
sponded to. Some delegates were desig-
mated by the governor of this territory to
attend the sessions at Topeka, Kansas, and
we believe one of them responded
and put in an appearance. That,
so far as THE HERALD has learned, was
the extent of their mission and all that they
accomplished. OF course they were as
good as other members; in fact from per-
sonal knowledge of the gentlemen selected
and the one who attended, and a general
understanding regarding the others, we are
prepared to state the delegate from this
territory was fully up to the average and de-
cidedly superior to many who composed
that rather remarkable gathering. How
ever that may be, they accomplished moth
ing worth recording, not because they were
not men of ability and capable of doing this
or any similar class of work, but because
there was nothing for them to do. 1t was
not from the first intended that there
should be. There were 700 delegates all
told, and the result of their meet" is east
est told in stating the real cause of their
getting together.
1t is an open secret that the entire Con-
gressional delegation of Illinois is pledged
to support the project referred to in return
for resolutions, and subsequently of course
votes, supporting Chicago as the location
for the COLUMBUS fair of 1892 This undoubt-
eddy means in the long run an immense ap-
preparation by the government. And apart
from the apparent iobbery. the scheme is
not de stitute of commendable features. AS
was stated by the chairman of the conven-
ton, Congressman MANsUR, of Missouri,
in his opening address, more than five hun
bred millions of money has already been
spent in the improvement of harbors, in
which the central third of the nation has
received but drop, and on its hundreds of
miles of seaboard there is not harbor in
which the vessels of our country can find
shelter. The sixteen states west of the
Miss sippi all lie nearer the gulf coast
than they do t. the Atlantic by hundreds
of miles. And these states comprise the
store-house of the world, supplying bread
and meat to the rest Of our great nations
The hour is at hand when nature must be
aided to give US a proper harbor on the
gulf coast. The greater portion of the ex-
ports are the products of the farmers. The
cost of transportation to the Atlantic sea
board absorbing the greater part of the
profits, they were then, he said, to solve
the problem of shorter route to salt water.
This is all proper enough and good enough.
CHI no
nearer outlet for the products of the mid
die and western states than by the At
lantic seaboard which is the principal one
now, or by the Pacific, which is seldom
used Like everything else that springs
up uader the Republican dispensations,
however, it cannot be carried through
without ha wing a little job assert itself in
connection with the plan. An administra
ton that could not take necessary steps for
keeping the rebellious southerners in the
union and prosecuting war to that end,
without permitting almosta great an army
to fatten and become enrichedin the rear as
was opposing the enemy in front, could
scarcely be expected to engineer and bring
to a successful issue a scheme for deep
harbor, or for anything else, without being
Liberal with the boys" So that, without
questioning the desirability of the deep
harbor in the south, or some sort of harbor
by means of which something nearer
equality in the matter of shipments as be-
tween the sections will be maintained, it is
only natural that all sides of the question
be considered and that whatever colored
gentleman may Turk between the logs in
the woodpile be brought out and exhibited
TO the rude gaze of the public.