Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-01-22
River lnoprovenent.

God in his infinite wisdom and good
ness never vouchsafed to any other
people such magnificent and extern
sive system of waterways as we pos
sess. In the Mississippi valley alone
there are 10000 miles of navigable
rivers capable of bearing upon their
bosomS the commerce of the world.
The failure to properly improve them
is an ineXplicable mystery and comes
within a Georgetown Craze of being
national disgrace. The dream of the
statesmen of every age has been to
improve water transportation. The
chances are that il Napoleon had been
left to his own devices after the treaty
of AiX-laC hapelle he would have con-
nected the Mediterranean and the At
lantic by canal, the building of which
the time he could snatch from war In
projecting and perfecting those inter
nal improvements which, next to his
CODE are his clearest titles to imper-
ishable renown. Among the things for
which the present German kaiser will
be most gratefully remembered by fu-
ture generations of Germans are the
canals constructed and the rivers i'm
proved during his reign and under his
guidance and supervision. If railroads
had never been invented, every foot of
the 10000 miles of rivers in the Mis-
sissippi valley would now be navigat-
ed safely and proftably, but with the
introduction Of the steam car people
seemed to conclude enormously and
prematurely that they would have no
need for water transportation. Now
they are waking up gradually to the
fact that water transportation is rail-
road rate regulation" Even if another
pound of freight or another passenger
were never transported by river, the
money would be well spent in making
rivers navigable in fact as we'll as in
theory, for the very fact that they
could be navigated safely would drive
the railroads into cheapening rates.
Various propositions are pending for
river improvement. Some urge the is
sue of bonds; others say pay the bills
Of expense out of the current revenues,
but all agree that system for COM
prehensive and continuous improve
ment should be devised at once. We
are spending vast sums in constructing
the Panama canal, which is well, but
while doing that it is supreme folly to
neglect the Mississippi, the Missouri
and their tributaries. If Holland own
ed the Missouri she would, If necessa-
ry to render it navigable, build a gran
lite dixie on both sides of 1t from Alton
to Fort Benton and In so doing incl
dentally reclaim from overflow enough
of the richest land in the world to
make state as large as Indiana,
thereby making homes in the heart of
the continent for, several millions of
American citizens. The people of the
Mississippi valley should rise up as one
man and demand in way to command
attention that congress shall do its full
duty in the premises. Systematic ac-
tion-a long pull, Il strong pull and a
pull together-will accomplish the de-
sired end, and nothing short of that
will suffice. Year in and year out the
Missouri and the upper Mississippi
swallow enough rich land to constitute
state as big us Massachusetts. Why
not save that precious land for our
children and our children's children ?
We spend millions on irrigation prof.
ects. IT we can spend money to get
water on TO land, why can't we spend
money to get water off other land!
That is a question which. though fire.
quently asked has never been salts
factorily OF adequately answered. Sure
ly it is up to congress to answer it.