The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-13
Convention Will be Held in
 Montgomery Tomorrow
MANY TOWNS INTERESTED
Prominent men Tn the State and Ma. tlon VIII Be Present to Discuss the Fossil
 billties.
BY HERvEY W. LAIRD.


 bama Rivers Convention to be held here l Monday will result in great and lasting good to the commercial interests of not only this state, but adjoining territory. is general, and a large crowd of repre- sentative men are expected to be in at- 1 tendance. In addition to the commer- eial men of Alabama the members of the United States Board of Engineers on Rivers and Harbors will attend the meet ing and hear what the citizens along the Alabama and Coosa rivers desire and have good reason to think they have a right to expect from the government Delegations will be here from Selma, Wetumpka and Mobile, and the best posted men of the state on river needs will address the convention. The United States Engineering Board is making d tour of the country looking into the needs and Investigating the pos abilities of the rivers of the country The members were at Houston, Tex, this week, and will come here from there This board is made up of It. Col. Daniel D. Lockwood of Washington; It. Col Richard l.. Hoxie of Baltimore; Mai Edward Burr of Washington Barracks; Major Solomon Roessler of Washington Arriving in Montgomery they will be ta- ken in charge by Capt. J. B. Cava- naugh of the local United States Engi- neer's office, and given every opportunity to look into the situation in Alabama.
 Want Six-Foot Channel.
 The object of the meeting of the AL abama Rivers Convention is to secure such attention to the Alabama and Coosa rivers by the United States congress as will give 10 them a six foot channel all the year around. Millions upon millions of resources are undeyeoped along the banks of these streams because they are not sufficient in navigable possibilities to handle commerce of any considerable amount. Minerals and timber on the Coosa are in such amount as to sur prise the world, while the agricultural possibilities of the Alabama are beyond conception with the present experiences. With the Coosa emptying it's barges and steamboats into the Alabama and the states aamesalxe floating them easily and safely twelve months in the year to tide water at Mobile the greatness that could come to the state in commer- cial way is not yet appreciated.
 Governor Presides.
 The convention will be called to order by acting Governor R. M. Cunningham, who will be chairman, at Il a. m. Mon day with invocation by Rabbi A. J.. Messing, of the local Jewish Synagogue. Mayor Thomas H. Carr will speak the welcome of the city, to which Hon. T. s. Caldwell, mayor of Camden, will re- spond Following these will come the following programme of speeches and papers,
 Necessity for Appropriations for River Improvement" W. r. Vandiver, wholesale grocer. Montgomery.
 Neglect of the Alabama Rivers in Past Congressional Appropriations" Sydney J. Bowie, congressman from the Fourth district.
 Appropriations; How to Get Them" John H. Bankhead congressman from the Sixth district, and ranking democrat on the House Rivers and Harbors Com mittee of congress.
 the Alabama," Ex-Mayor Mcleod of Selma.
 Alabama River; Past Present and Flu. ture.' A. A. Wiley, congressman from the Second Montgomery district
 Mobiles Interests in the Alabama River Trade" Erwin Craighead, editor of the Mobile Register and r. II. Brom- berg
 Tourist Traffic on the Alabama Riv- er," F. Lloyd Tate, Wetumpka.
 Delegates Coming.
 Besides the gentlemen on the pro- gramme the following representatives oi 1 citizens have announced intention to be here:
 Commercial Club of Mobile, John Quill riverman and owner of boats on the Alabama river; D. R. Burgess, president of the Mobile Cotton Exchange; FerC | .f, I1 T,I,, McAndrew broker and z. M F. lnge attorney.
 Mobile Cotton Exchange, J. c. Bush wholesale grocer; D. P. Bestern, lawyer and j. A. Waters.
 Camden-T. s. Caldwell, mayor; s. D Block, T. J. Beck, W. c. Jones, J. P Benson, Jr., A. V. MeMillan. w. J. Bon | ner, F. G. Hollister, S. D. Moore, Jr. T. B. Parrish. Judge William Henderson w. R. Afford. l.. b. Bryant, J. F. Foste and J. S. Hunter.
 Wetumpka City Council. J. M. Jenkins J. R. Gamble, D. D. Askew and Mayo | F. B. MeCasky. Commercial and busi ness men Judge Cabot Lull, A. Ho henberg. F. L. Tate. B. K. McMorries | J. J. Johnson.
 Selma will send a large crowd, headed | by W. R. Peacock, as chairman. Traffic on the River. Dnring the recent past there have beei | in service on the Alabama river sevel boats with registered tonnage from 2O9 t a20. They draw three to five feet loade, and ten to thirty inches empty. The. run from Mobile to Montgomery ant from Mobile to Selma. The trafh handled during the fiscal year of 190 the last for which figures are obtaina ble, amounted to 145,44S tons. exclusiv of timber, with a valuation of BIO. ,OOC to which is added timber movements val ued at $3,j00,000. This is not anything like comprehensive statement of tn l traffic on the river because there is m way of securing the figures save by tn reports of boat men and river interest | and these are very slow about sendini | them in and never accurate. There ar millions of feet of lumber logs and woo' | passing up and down the river ever. | year that are not kept track of. It i | safe to say that the traffic of the Ala bama every year is not far from twent. | million dollars. and could be increase' | to tremendous proportions if the prope | kind of work Is done
 | The first appropriation for the Ala | bama river was secured in 1878, whel congress gave s25.0O0. A little has beei | coming long each year until the tota | to this time is $4l5,0O0. The unex | pended balance on July l, 1903, was $13, l ESQ net which has been used as though | best during the present year. In his re port of last year Capt J. B. Cavanaugh | in charge of the Montgomery office O | the United States Engineers, says tha | S176,251 is required to complete existing | projects, and that in addition to his bal Nok1 fr