Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-02-29

Fnteled ~ the Postofllce Mt Marshalltowi
Iowa. sssecond-ciassmail matter.
the RENAISSANCE OF THE RIVER.
The completion OF the Panama ca
mai may and indeed is likely to bring
back much of the old-time importance
Of the Mississippi river as highwa,
of freight traffic. The river towns
which have held to memory and hope
are likely to have their dream of flu.
kure greatness come true when the
mississippi becomes u feeder for the
traffic of the big ditch and the com
merce in non-perishable articles leads
down the channel of the Father OF
Water to the grouped vessels of the
world at the isthmus. 1t is predicted
that the trade center of the United
States will shift to the Mississippi val
ley and its factories crowd to take adj
vantage of the long water haul to for
1ign ports of entry.
An article by Charles NJ. Harvey
published in the February number OF
the Worlds Work calls attention tc
these probabilities and that the natu-
raj outlets for the productions of the
mississippi valley on the gulf ports. He
notes that the center of the countrys
cotton growing today is In the state OF
Mississippi. few miles from Jackson
The center Of the production of the
most important cereals-corn, wheat
eats. berley, rye and buckwheat-taken
In the aggregate, is In Illinois. few
miles north of Quincy. Flour and grist
-milss, following the raw materials, are
valley, too is the center OF the produc-
ton of iron ore. coal, lead. zinc, to-
bacco. timber, petroleum and other inn
portant commodities. The center of the
country's manufactures is In Ohio and.
like the confer of population, which is
In Indiana. it is moving in the direc-
tion of the great river. The Mississippi
valley is the industrial and social heart
of the United States 1t is the most
populous watershed on the globe and
the richest in natural resources. For
decades past it has been the country's
political center. In this fight for in
dustrial and commercial supremacy.
he declares. it will be practically in
vincible.
The Panama canal is destined to be-
come the busiest waterway in the
world. the point of contact for the COM
merce of the four quarters OF the
globe. Mr.. Harvey predicts that IT wilt
ultimately exceed the 500 canal In ac-
= as much MS the 500 surpasses
3Suez. Thru it will flow all the
commerce from Europe and our At
lantic seaboard and the Mississippi
valley bound to the western coast OF
the United States and of South Amer
lea, much of that to Australia and
Asia, and traffic from the western coas.
OF the United States with the Atlantic
border of the United States and of
South America. Thru 1t also most of
the east coast and the west coast OF
South America will communicate with
each other. as we'll as the two coasts
Of Canada. The Mississippi valley is
the gateway of this commerce, with its
easy slope for trunk lines to the gulf
and its river capable of carrying the
commerce of worlds. THE canal" con-
tinues Mi. Harvey. will not only
strengthen our hold on Hawaii. the
Philippines and our other islands OF
the Pacific. but it will give us an i'm
Eerntive reason for insisting on the
preservation of the open door in China.
and will make the United States a
power in the politics of Asia. With
the focus of its social and political ac-
tivities permanently fixed in it's great
central plain. the American republic,
before. the close OF the first quarter OF
the twentieth century, will be filling a
larger place in the worlds affairs. than
Spain did in the sixteenth"