The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1907-03-21
THE WATERWAYS
COMMISSION
Is APPOINTED BY PRESIDENT
ROOSEVELT
TO IMPROVE RIVER SYSTEM
The Purpose is to Make Various
Streams Available for Transports
ton Purposes-Burton of Ohio is
Chairman Of Board.

Chairman Of Board.
Washington Complying with pc
tTtions presented by numerous com
mercial organizations of the Missis-
sippi valley, President Roosevelt has
decided to appoint an inland water
ways commission, whose duty it will
be ITO prepare a comprehensive plan
Tor the improvement and control Of
THE river systems of the United
States. Eight public men have been
asked ITO serve on the commission and
Representative Theodore e. Burton
OF Ohio, chairman of the rivers and
hanbou,s committee in the last con
Sress, is to be chairman.
IN a letter, which he has addressed
to each of these persons, the president
sets out that he is influenced, in GREAT
ing she commission, by considerations
OF national policy; that the railways
are no longer able to move crops and
manufacturers rapidly enough to Sc
cure prompt transaction Of business,
and that there appears but one COM
plete remedy-the development of a
complementary system of transporta-
ton by water. The president s DETER
IN full is as follows:
Numerous commercial organiza-
tlons of the Mississippi valley have
presented pe'titions asking that I ap-
point commission to prepare and
present a comprehensive plan for the
improvement and control of the river
systems of the United States. / have
decided to comply with these requests
by appointing an inland waterways
commission and | have asked the fol-
lowing gentlemen 10 act upon it.
shall be much gratified If you will
consent to serve: Hon. Theodore r.
Burton, chairman; Senator Francis
G. Newlands, Senator William War
ner, Hon. john III. Bankhead, Gener-
al Alex Mackenzie, DIR. w. J. Nc
Gee, Mr.. F. H. Newell, Mr.. Clifford
PInchott and Hon. Herbert Knox
Smith.
In creating this commission, I am
influenced by broad conditions of ma
tlonal policy. The control of our ma.
vigable waterways lies with the feder-
al government and carries with it
corresponding responsibility and OBJ
legations.
THE energy Of our people has hi.h-
erto been largely directed towards in
dustrial development connected with
field and forest and with coal and iron
and some of these sources of mater
lal and power are largely depleted !;
while our inland waterways as whole
have thus far reached scant atten-
tion. 1t is becoming clear that our
streams should he considered and
conserved as great natural resources.
Works designed to control our water
ways have thus far usually been I'M
dertaken for single purpose, such
as the improvement of navigation,
the development of power, the irriga-
ton Of arid Lands, the protection Of
lowlands from floods, or to supply
water for domestic and manufacture
ing purposes. While the rights of the
people ito these and similar uses IF
water must he respected, and the
time has come for merging local pro-
| jects and uses of the INLAND waters
in comprehensive plan designed for
the benefit of the entire country
Such plan should consider and IN
clude all the use ITO which streams
must BE- put and should bring togeth-
er and coordinate the points of view
of all users of water. The task in
volved in the full and orderdly devel-
opment and control of THE river sys-
TENS of the United States >is great
one, yet it is certainly not too great
for us to approach. The results
which it seems to promise are even
greater
lit is common knowledge that the
roads of the UNITED States are no DON
ger able to move crops and -manufae-
tures rapidly enough to secure the
prompt transaction of the business Of
the nation and there us small prospect
Of immediate relief. Representative
railroad men point out THAT the pro-
iects of the nonthern interior states
have doubled in ten years, while the
railroad facilaties have increased but
one -eightll and lthere is reason to
doubt whether any development Of
the railroads, possible in the near fu-
tuae will suffice to keep transporta-