The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1905-11-14
For the Waterways Convention
at Cairo.
Only Few Delegates VIII Attend
Many Matters Of Interest 10
Come Up.
THE ASSOCIATIONS WORK

craft, Capt. Henry Smith, Capt. Jas.
Roger, Mr. A. w Wright. of the
Ayer-Lord Tie company, and possibly
others leave tomorrow morning at
e:30 o'clock for Cairo to attend the
annual convention of the Ohio Val
ley Improvement Association. They
will have to pay. their own expenses
unless the city arranges TO do IL,
which It has thus far refused to do.
IL was hoped that a large delegation
of river and business men could and
would be sent, but the city has APP
parently taken very little interest in
the convention.
Much interest should be taken in
the meeting which will be held We'd
nesday, Thursday and Friday of this
week.
Delegates from every city in the
Ohio Valley will attend the meeting
and congressman and legislators
from the states in the valley will also
be present. The primal motive OF the
association is to secure "A nine-foot
stage for the river from Pittsburg to
Cairo, and TO do this the lawmakers
must be interested and ths much
needed Improvements must be eS-
planned to them in order that the
proper appropriations may be secur-
eA.
This association has already Sc
cured appropriations of more than
$4,000. 900 for the work on the Ohio
river, but as It is proposed to spend
more than sGO.000.OOO in controll-
ing the water of the greatest stream,
SIS work has scarcely begun. The
proposition TO make a nine-foot chan
mel from Pittsburg to Cairo is foster
ed by rivermen and business men
alike. The open channel will mean
lower freight rates. as the rates along
the river valley are governed largely
tjnsthe river shipments. The millions
Of bushels OF coal. which are annually
shipped out of Pennsylvania, will at
ford commerce in Itself as great as
any stream in the world. and II is the
purpose of the association to make
the Ohio the greatest river on the
globe
, Annual meetings of the association
have been held for the last three
years. and the interest has grown 10
such an extent that the last appro-
prlation made by congress for work
on the Ohio river was largely due 10
the work of the association. The pres
ent meeting is to be held just prior
to a great waterways COW ntion 10
be held in Washington just before
the opening of congress. The o. v l..
Association at the Cairo meeting. ex-
poets to formulate plans for the prop
er presentation OF the needs OF the
Ohio Valley to this convention, and
later 10 the rivers and harbors com
mittee of the house of representa-
tivec.
Paducah has always been allied
with the improvement work and
more interest should be taken in the
coming meeting than ever before.
from the fact that the first step in a
nine-foot stage has always been the
securing OF a workable channel. which
might be navigable at least ten
months out of the year. This has just
been assured between Louisville and
Evansville, possibly between Louis
VILE and Cairo.
The war department has promised
TO construct a new dredge boat TO be
kept in the lower waters. This prop
osition will be taken up by the asso-
citation and. If necessary. any posi-
BILE assistance in securing the boat
will be given.