The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1907-10-03
ROoStvELTAT ST. LOUIS
tcoacloded from FRS, Page,

policy which shall secure the utmo
advantage from the navigahle water
Finally. on the lower courses Of III
Mississippi the nation should do II
full share In the work OF levee bull
ing; and. incidentally to its purpos
OF serving navigation, this will ais
Il prevent the ruin OF alluvial bottom
flciently far advanced to enable me I
speak definitely as to the plans whic
should be adopted but let me say ion
word OF warning, The danger OF e2
| !tering on any such scheme lies IN tn
adoption of impossible and undesi'
able plans. plans the adoption O
which means an outlay OF money es
travagant beyond all proportion Z
the return. or which, though feasible
are not, relatively to other plans, o
an Importance which warrant the!
adoption. II will not be easy to Sc
cure the assent of fundamentally
cautious people like our own to the
adoption OF such policy as that
begin to follow out such policy II
certainly will not be persevered in II
IL is found to entail reckless extrava-
gance or to be tainted with jobbery.
The interests OF the nation as a whole
rust be always the first nonsidera-
\ ton.
This Is properly national move
! ment, because all interstate and for
eign commerce., and the improvements
and methods of carrying II on. are
subjects for national action. More
over. while OF course the matter of
the Improvement of the Mississippi
River and its tributaries is one which
especially concerns the great middle
tween the Alleghenies aud the Rock
les, yet 1t is of concern to the rest %
the country also, for 1t can net toc
often be said that whatever Is really
beneficial to one part of our country
is ultimately of benefit to the whole
Exactly as X Is good thing for the
interior of our country that the sea
ports on the Atlantic and the Pacific
and the Gulf should be safe and com
modious, so it Ii to the interest of the
jewellers on the coast that the inter-
Tor should possess ample facilities for
the transportation OF its products Our
interests are all closely interviewer
and in the long run 1t will be found
that we go up or 20 down together,
The Panama Canal.
Take, for instance, the Panams
Canal II the Mississippi il restored
to its former place OF Importance as
highway of commerce. then the
building OF the Panama Canal will be
felt as an immediate advantage to the
business Of every city and country dis
trict in the Mississippi Valley. think
that the building of that canal win be
of especial advantage to the states
tnat lie along the Pacific and the
states that lie along the Gulf; and yer,
after all, feel that the advantage will
be shared In an only less degree BY
the states OF the interior and OF tn
Atlantic coast. In other words, it Is
a thoroughly national work, under
taken for and rebouHling to the all
vantage of all of us-to the adyaat-
tage of the nation az whole. Thera
fore / am glad to be able TO report To
you how well we are. doing with the
canal. There is bound to be a GER
tain amount of experiment. certain
amount OF feeling our way. In task
so gigantic-a task greater than any
of its kind that has ever hitherto been
undertaken in the whole history of
mankind; but the success so far has
been astonishing, and we have not
met with single one of the accidents
Or drawbacks which freely confess I
expected we should from time to
time encounter. We, in the first place
laid the foundation for the work by
securing the most favorable possible
conditions as regard the health, com
fort. and safety of the men who were
to do 1t; and now the Canal Zone Is
in point of health better of than the
average district OF the same size at |
home. Then we went at the prob |
lem of the actual digging and dam
building. For over a year past we
have been engaged in making the dirt |
fly in good earnest. and the output of |
the giant steam shoyels has steadily /
increased. II is now the rainy sea
son. when work is most difficult on
the Isthmus. yet in the month of An. |
gust last we excavated over a million !
and two hundred thousand cubic yards |
of earth and rock. greater amount
than in any previous month II we
are able to keep up substantially the
rate of progress that now obtains We
shall finish the actual digging within
FIVE or six years; though when We
come to the great Gatun dam and
locks. while there is no question as
to the work being feasible. there are
several elements entering into the
time problem which make II unwise at
presnt to hazard a prophecy IN refer
enco thereto.
Strong Navy Needed.
Now. gentlemen. this leads me up to
another matter for national consider
alton. and that Is our navy. The navy
5 not primarily of importance only -