Willmar tribune., 1907-11-06

The presidents trip down the Mis-.
sissippi river, and his notable utter
ances in reference to deep water
way from the lakes to the gulf, with
the announcement that he had COM
m!tted himself to the general prin-
c1ple involved in the project for A.
foot channel from Chicago to New Or
leans, have given the project boom
which it is predicted will not subside
until the dream of the middle west
has become reality.
The present crusade for the deep
ening and improvement of the chan
nels of our inland rivers is no new
born scheme. The subject has been
agitated with more or less energy at
intervals for many decades past. How
ever, several circumstances have late
ly combined to enforce more serious
attention to the matter on the part of
the whole country than has heretofore
been accorded it. For one thing, as
q result of the agitation regarding
excessive railroad rates, the people of
the Ohio and Mississippi valleys have
naturally been tempted to turn for re-
lief to the great highways for water
borne commerce lying practically neg
lected at their DOORS Even more
potent as factor in arousing senti-
ment on the subject is the growing
realization of the possibilities open
to such system of waterways as a
feeder" of the new Panama canal
commerce. With adequate channels
for our inland waterways, steel from
the mills at Pittsburg, wheat from the
farms of the middle west and manu-
factures from the shops at St. Louis
could be delivered in the markets of
the orient at cheaper prices than
could be quoted by the merchants of
any rival nation.
The possibilities of the field and the
pressing need for action led President
Roosevelt some months ago to ap-
point the inland waterways commits
sion, the members of which accom-
panied him for personal inspection
of their new field of labor. The chair
man of the commission is Congress-
man Theodore E. Burton, of Ohio,
who has been for years past chair.
man of the rivers and harbors com
mittee of the United States house of
representatives and who is probably
the best posted man in the world on
the whole subject of river and harbor
improvement. Associated with him
are Senator Newlands, of Nevada:
Herbert Knox Smith, United States
commissioner of corporations; Sena-
tor Warner, of Missouri; Gen. Alex
ander Mackenzie, chief of engineers
of the United States army (now in
charge of all government river and
harbor Improvement work.; Senator
Bankhead, of Alabama; w. J. McGee;
Clifford Pinchot, head of the United
States forestry service and expert on
water supply, and F. H. Newell, whose
wide experience at the head of the
United States reclamation service
especially qualities him to grapple
with such problems.
That the mighty Mississippi and it's
principal tributaries must be improved
is the edict of Uncle Sam but just
how this is to be carried out is yet to
be determined. Indeed, to devise ways
and means is one of the duties of the
board of experts. The supreme ques-
ton concerns the depth of channel
that is to be striven for. Some of the
most optimistic advocates of the i'm
prOvement of our inland waterways
are clamoring for navigable channel
IA feet in depth, throughout the great
er portion of the Mississippis length.
Especially is this deep channel