The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-09
RIVERS AND HARBORS
BALTIMORE CONVENTION
I"I LARGELY ATTENDED.
CHAIRMAN BURROWS ADDRESS
.ry-rIyE CITIES REPRESENT
ED BY 200 DELEGATES.

-.-,,,,n of the River and Harbor
r,,,nittee of the House Discusses
49,, subject of Appropriations for
s.h work in Very General Terms
..ar He says, to Appropriate for
aIities where Traffic Is AL
sdx established Than Where Its
no~eIopment Is Uncertain or
-a,,,.mnticaI - PiecemeaI Work
Gives Poor Results.
poI+inore. Oct S.-More than 200
ties from the various boards of
10 and commercial bodies in the
.rincfnal cities in the United States
F4ha,.d here to-day for the purpose of
s,,o,ssing the propriety of appropriate
TO nublic moneys for the improve
-, erts Of the rivers and harbors in the
Tr,ited States. They will remain in
snssion for two. and perhaps three
Jaws. during which they will be hand
somelv entertained by the local board
~ trade. Twenty-Five cities are repre-
sented by the delegates present.
The purpose of the congress Is per-
hons hest explained in the speech of
CONGRESSMAN Theodore Burton, chair
non If the River and Harbor Commit
zoo If the House of Representatives,
who made the opening address to the
delegates to-day. He said in part;
This gathering is the first of its
lind and the scope of it's undertakings
r,ust in great measure be determined
%Ia ~ fhic
meeting. 1 take it the movement
which led to this convention was
prompted by a desire to awaken gem
aral interest in river and harbor i'm
movements and to bring the CONNER
cial bodies which are represented here
into closer touch with legislation upon
This subject. | am informed it is not
desired that any specific project shall
he advocated here, but at the same
time YOU consider the improvement of
the navigable channels and
ports of the country as essential for
our development and that these ports
and channels require the fostering care
and assistance of the national govern
ment With this view it is in your
power to educate public opinion and
to organize efforts for the enactment
of legislation which shall he national
in its scope and for the benefit OF the
whole people. The influence of this
assembly should be exerted for liberal
appropriations for rivers and harbors.
but liberality should always be cou-
pied with discrimination. Apropria-
tons should not be denied. because
large amounts are required to secure
the best and promptest results, but
there should be equal care to prevent
waste or the adoption of unworthy or
impractlcable projects. There should
be no advocacy of a policy of compro
mise in selecting localities for appro-
priations; but careful consideration
should be given to all claims from all
parts of the country-to large and
small projects alike.
BurtOn's Wise Words.
In view of necessary limitations in
the amounts appropriated in river and
harbor acts and the pressing need for
deeper channels and improved facili-
ties along established lines of traffic
it is better to appropriate for localities
where traffic is already established
than where its development is uncer-
tain or problematcal. In case of a
plurality of claims, even if equally de-
serving, when money is not available
for ALL it is more businesslike to finish
one and obtain results from it than to
make piecemeal appropriations upon
ALL"
The following officers were elected:
President. George r. Bristol, Phila-
dephla; secretary, William H. Fore,
Baltimore; assistant secretaries, E. B.
SharWood Philadelphia; George H.
Lord, New Orleans, and F. A Scott,
Cleveland.
German Wants Large Canals.
feature of the afternoon session
was an address by ex- United States
senator A. P. German of Maryland. The
subject of the senator's address was as
follows:
The necessity for the Improvement
ana development of our commerce was
never greater that it is now. The only
way TO meet the keen competition of
foreign countries is to offer equal IA
ciilIes for the immense steamships
mat are now engaged in the ocean
uade' We want harbors all along the
coast that will accommodate the
Hagest ships that cross the ocean,
we must have in addition steam
snip lines that will reach from one end
OF the country to the other without the
necessity of taking such a long round
ABOUT way. l mean that we need some
large canals connecting the various
haVagable bodies Of water"
other addresses of a similar tenor
were delivered by members of the va
rous delegations