Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-04
Views Of Ambassador Juserand.

ina ginary foes, we should spend 1t fol
the Improvement Of the waterways Of the
country"
i Views Of Ambassador Juserand.
i President Ransdell introduced Ambas.
! sador Jusserand, who spoke, in part a.
j follows:
/ I'VE hold the record for the present.
You will hold it in your turn when the
great Panama canal Is finished; we turned
the first sod; you will turn the last. and
no one will applaud more heartily than
your predecessors"
The ambassador then reviewed the his
tory Of the efforts made by France In the
improvement Of waterways and the re-
sultant benefits to commerce. The am
bassador said that the greatest era Of
canal building in France is the present.
He added that the aim has been to COM
plete, to unity and to cheaper. The rule
now is to have throughout France free
canals. as they have free roads.
| Another great work done in France, the
ambassador said, has been the unifying Of
all the waterways such as the depth and
breadth Of canals and uniformity of dis
lance between locks. The thirty or forty
canals, he said, are now like one single
canal conveying goods to all parts Of
France and to all her principal seaports.
the the
marked, 'the total length of our canals is
4,675 Kilometres; the total expense has
been about two billion francs, and far
| from considering that 1t Is too much, we
know quite'well that 1t Is not enough, and
we add new sums from time to time.
Investment Is Valuable.
The investment Is valuable because of
what 1t yields, Of what it helps and also
Of what it prevents. The best thing 1t
prevents is the railroads raising their
tariffs too high. AS soon as the railroad
companies raise their tariffs, quantities Of
goods find that they can very we'll afford
water route. Our canals act, In a way. as
a kind Of rate bill, a self-regulating one.
Another great question with which we
have had to cope Is that Of rivers" Mr..
Jusserand continued. 1--WE have a NUM-
Der Elm France: but mostly shallow and
| irregular. We have done much to improve
| their courses and have yet much to do;
plans are being laid for ample improve
| ments. Here comes in a consideration of
paramount interest for you. as for every
| other Countrywide question of forests
| TT is an absolute principle-no forests,
| no waterways. Without forests regulating
| the distribution Of waters. rainfalls are
| at once hurried to the sea, hurried, some
times, alas. across county,.
Forming Public Opinion.
Senator Newlands spoke of the power
| Of such meetings as the rivers and har-
bors congress in forming public opinion
He ALSO reviewed the work Of the inland
waterways commission. The senator
reused the meeting to enthusiasm
when he explained the principles OF a
bill which. he said. he will introduce in
the Senate this afternoon.
| The bill will provide for an inland
| waterways fund" he explained, land
will make an immediate appropriation to
this fund of $50. 900. It will provide.
| when this fund falls below $4,000, 600
that the President will have power to
| issue bonds to make up the deficiency.
1T provides that the President shall
| cause an examination of all projects
now under way, such as forestry. ir-
rigation. swamp land reclamation, clar-
| if1cation Of streams and utilization of
water power, so that all the work may
be co-ordinated. The commission
charged with the disbursement Of the
| fund will have authority. with the ap
actual construction work without fur
Their action by Congress"
Chairman Knapp of the interstate COM
| merce commission spoke of the problem
moving of its products. 1t will be
| physical fmpossibility, he said. for the
railroads to increase their facilities to
keep pace with the demands of the future.
The convention adjourned until 2:3O
o'clock this afternoon.
early AfT1ValS.
Delegates arrived on all incoming trains
yesterday. and from the size Of the par
ties and the news they brought from
cities and towns throughout the
states it is confidently predicted that
the convention. extending over today.
Thursday and Friday. will be the largest
in the history of the Organization. EST.
mates made by the force of willing work.
ers at headquarters in the New Willard
this morning placed the probable number
Of delegates to the congress at $500 or
more.
Among the early arrivals yesterday
were the Louisiana delegation. about
LOO strong; Mayor Reardsley Of Kan
| leading business men of his city;
part of the Georgia state delegation.
as. we'll as a number Of members Of the
| commercial bodies Of Savannah. and a
St. Paul. MINI. Assistant Secretary
] George H. McGovern of the Wilmington
| Board OF Trade wrote to headquarters
| that his organization would be repre-
sented by thirty Of the leading citizens OF
/ Wilmington. Representative H. r. Bur-
ton and r. ]. Mclean. president of the
Wilmington Board OF Trade. Will be the
guests Of ]. Hampton Moore at a dinner
at the Raleigh tomorrow evening.
| j. F. Ellison, secretary and treasurer
of the congress, stated yesterday after
noon that delegations had arrived from the
states of Washington. Oregon, California,
Texas and North and South Carolina.
| Many of them were not expected until
this morning. '
Official Program.
The official program for the three days.
including the formal opening by President
Joseph E. Ransdell. and the other feature
addresses of this morning. is as follows:
| Wednesday. 10 a.m.-Prayer. Rev Earl
Cranston bishop NJ. E. Church.: address,
Elifiu Root. Secretary of State; report,
Joseph e. RansdeIl- Of louisiana, presi-
dent national rivers and harbors con-
eress: addresses byAmbassador Jusserand.
Senator Francis G.. Newlands and Chair
man Knapp, interstate commerce COM
mission. $50
| 900 "A rn-Addrosaes NV INrrus p Wal.