Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1907-10-02
.FAvORS GOVERNMENT
CONTROL OF ROADS
Believes All Business Between
States Should be Under Federal
SuperviSiOn---C Corporations
Are Also Included In His
General Theory.

st. Louis, Mo-, Oct. 2.-Welcomed
by screaming whistles, changing bells,
laundering of bursting bombs, and
ouzzas from thousands of human
throats, President Roosevelt landed
at st. Louis at 9:47 today marking
the first stop of his voyage down the
Mississippi river from Keokuk to
Memphis, where he will attend the
Lakes to Gulf Deep Waterway asso-
citation convention Friday. The
cruise is the presidents active re-
sponse to a general invitation from
the governors of the state along the
Mississippi river, given in the belief
that he will be so impressed with
the enormous waste of freight carry
ing energy that Ne will exert a pow
erful influence to favor committing
the. government to act with definite
ana larger spirit toward deepening
the great inland channels for navi-
cation by the ocean going craft.
When the president landed he was
greeted by the governors of fifteen
states congressman and city digni-
taris. The line of procession was
quickly formed for the drive to the
Jaf Alai building in the western por-
tion of the city, five miles from the
river, where the president delivered
a speech.
An, audience which completely
crowded every available inch Of
space heard the president and he
was interrupted by frequent ap-
plause. He spoke as follows:
Presidents Speech.
lit is a very real pleasure to ad-
dress this body of citizens of Mis-
Louis. l have often visited ST Louis
before, but always by rail- Now
am visiting it in the course Of a trip
by water, a trip on the great natural
highway which runs past your very
doors-a highway once so important,
now almost abandoned, which l hope
this nation will see not only restored
to all its former usefulness, but Civ
en- far greater degree of usefulness
to correspond with the extraordinary
growth in wealth and population Of
the Mississippi valley. We have liv-
ed in an era of phenomenal railroad
building.
Accompanying this there has
grown in the United States a tenden-
cy toward the practically complete
abandonment of the system of water
transportation. Such a tendency is
certainly not healthy and 1 am con-
vinced that 1t Will not be permanent
There are many classes of commodi-
ties especially those which are per-
ishable in their nature and where
the value is high relatively to the
bulk, which will always be carried
by rail. But bulky commodities
which are not of a perishable nature
will always be specially suited for
the conditions of water transport.
A National Affair.
THE improvement of this river is
properly a national movement, be-
cause all interstate and foreign COM
merce, and the improvements and
methods of carrying it on, are sub
jects for national action. Moreover,
while of course the matter of the
Improvement of the improvement of
the Mississippi river and its tribu
taries is one which especially con-
Germs the great middle portion of our
country, the region between the Allie
ghenies and the Rockies, yet it is of
concern TO the rest of the country
also for ii can not too often be said
that whatever is really beneficial to
one part of our country is ultimately
of benefit to the whole.
The Navy.
"Now. gentlemen, this leads me up
to another matter for national con-
sideration, and that is our navy. The
navy IS not primarily of importance
oniy to the coast regions. 1t Is every
bit as much the concern of the farm
er who dwells a thousand miles from
sea water as of the fisherman who
makes his living on the ocean, for 1t
is the concern of every good Ameri-
can who knows what the meaning of
the word patriotism is. This country
Is definitely committed to certain
fundamental policies-to the Monroe
doctrine, for instance, and TO the
duty not only Of building. but, when
it is built of policing and defending
the Panama canal. We have def
nitely taken our place among the
great powers, and Ii would be a sign
of ignoble weakness, having taken
such a place, to shlrk its RESPONSE
blities. Therefore, unless we are
willing to abandon this place. to
abandon our insistence upon the
Monroe doctrine to give up the Pan
anna canal, and TO be content to ac-
knowledge ourselves a weak and tim
"a nation, we must steadily build up
and maintain a great fighting navy.
In Home Waters.
I'm a couple of months our fleet
Of great armored ships starts for the
pqcific. California, Oregon and
Washington have a coast line which