The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-06
FOR DEEPER WATER
CONGRESS WILL APPROVE 2s-Foor
Project AT NEXT SESSION,
GAYS CONGRESSMAN LESTER.
WILL PROVIDE THE MONEY
TO CARRY PROJECT OUT.

swnuuah COngress
Western Trip and Washing
80, Assured That savannah VIII
-. Desper Water--He Has Been on
n,r of the West with the Mem
=. If the River and Harbor
committee-NO Doubt About the
.nnropriatiOn for Savannah.
poo.eveIt Wants to Come to Geor-
,o-His Policy an Uncertain
ouantity in Col. Testers View.
col Rufus E. Lester, representative
a. congress from this district, after an
ahsance from the city covering more
I'm three months, during which time
- has travelled over the entire west
-r half of the country, returned to
eavannah yesterday morning. He
t,ropeht with him the cheering an
nouncement that the project giving
eovannah twenty-eight feet Of water
trom the western wharves to the sea
:. certain to receive the approval of
congress at the next session.
"The bill will pass" said Col. Lester.
an my opinion there is no DOUBT on
tho subject. The project which is to
rive the harbor twenty-eight feet Oh
Syatar will be approved by Congress
and the bill approving it Will carry
q sufficient appropriation to make the
s,ccass of the project assured. The
nroiect to be provided for in the bill
tbot Congress will pass is that APP
rroved bY the chief of engineers some
time ago. The present channel is not
onlv TO be given depth of twenty eight
feet from the city to the bar, put IL Is
IN he yidened considerably in accord
ance with the project.
Col. Lester spoke with every con-
hdence. and he ought to know WHEREOF
he speaks. He has just returned from
a trip to the seaports or the racine
coast, made with a number or .otner
gamblers of the River and Harbor
COMMITTEES of Congress. The harbor
announcements on the other side OF the
continent were carefully inspected ana
there is little reason to doubt that
those on this side were just as care
fullv discussed. Col. Lester did not
saw from what source he was enabled
TO speak with so much confidence, put
II is only reasonable to suppose that
he has the assurance of the members
of the committee that the project for
the Improvement of this harDor VIII
have their hearty support.
Indeed, the project was approved ana
favorably reported by the committee
at the last session or Congress- II
nassed the House and would have
passed the Senate had it not been for
the vocal gymnastics of Senator
Carter, of Montana, who stood up IN
his place in the senate chamber and
talked the bill to DEATH
who up and down his awkward
arm did sway
And calmly spout and spout and
spout away,
I'm one weak, washy, everlasting
food"
Col. Lester says the bill will pass and
that Savannah will get the water that
its growing commercial and maritime
Importance give it a right to demand.
While he was in Washington, few
days since, Col. Lester had talk with
President Roosevelt. 1t was then, as
has been announced in the Morning
News, that he extended the President
an invitation to be present at the
centennial celebration of the organi-
cation of the Savannah Volunteer
Guards Battalion, that will take place
next May.
President Roosevelt told Col. Lester
that 1t was impossible for him to say
what he would be able to do so far
ahead and that he could not make
positive promises. He said he would
visit the South, and Georgia especially,
before the end of his term, but that he
could not say just when it would be.
Col Lester has a high admiration
and respect for the President and
believes the South has nothing to fear
from his accession to the chief magis-
tracy of the nation. He thinks that
President Roosevelt will do absolutely
and to the best of his rare ability
what he believes will be for the best
interests of the whole country.
Il don't know just what his policy
is going to be-" said Col. Lester. "All
he has said on the subject is that he
is going to carry out the policy Of
President Mckinley. and don't know
what that means. / fancy that If he
means what he says he will find the
effort a matter of considerable diff
hculty and that if the country tries TO
predict results it will undertake a
hopeless task"
There were some OCCASIONAL changes
in the policy of the late president"
Why, so there WERE" said Col.
Lester.
Col. Lester will be in the city until
the next session of Congress which
viii convene on the first Monday in
December and Col Lester will leave
savannah a few days before that
Time so as to attend meetings of COM
mlttees of which he is member. He
has been away from the city since
June 3.