The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-07
CANNON RECEIVES
 WATERWAYS MEN Twenty Delegates Visit Him to
 Discuss Plans NO REAL AID IS PROMISED Speaker Cannon Gives the History of Rivers and Harbors Legislation
 and Closes By Telling of
 Other Expenses.
NO REAL AID IS PROMISED

Washington, December 6.-Speaker Can non today received committee of 20 of the vice presidents of the Rivers and Harbors congress who had, through the president of that body, Representative Ransdell of Louisiana presented a reso- lution in behalf of 36 states urging the American Congress to adopt at its pres ent session d broad, liberal and compre- hensive plan for the improvement within the next 10 years of all the truly meri- torious and deserving waterways in the union which have been approved by the engineering department ot the army or may be approved.
 In presenting the resolution MT. Rans- dell said:
 We do not mean to attempt to present the Congress a plan, but we say that if Congress in its wisdom should from time to time authorize the issuance of bonds in order to supplement funds in hand avail able for this work we would be solidly back of that move"
 In replying Speaker Cannon said:
 Your resolution will be presented un- der the rules of the house to that body and given appropriate reference to the committee of rivers and harbors l am more than gratified at this great move- ment having it's genesis, perhaps in it's present form, most largely in the middle west but commanding, I am sure, the full harmony of the far Pacific coast and the near Atlantic.
 Tn the period following the civil war and up to 1882 I invariably stood against the appropriation of public moneys for the improvement of rivers and habors be- cause thought that something else need ed doing before we entered as a nation into that policy.
 'It was when MT. Arthur was president that the Congress passed the first rivers and harbors bill, very good one, though some people thought it sinned in the grea tness of it's size. President Arthur vetoed it and we passed 1t over his veto, I being among the members who so voted. Applause. I have no doubt that in the years to come Congress will make progress along the lines as laid down and so successfully carried out in the devel- Opment and improvement of the countys harbors and rivers. There is now in the United States treasury available In large part or in whole for these purposes the surplus of $240 900, 900 and we have also the incoming revenues that will care substan- tially for the great public service which grows by leaps and bounds. That surplus, more than possibly, would be expended during the lifetime of the present Con- gress in carrying out these works. Our wonderful growth in population, in wealth, in development or resources, com- pels us to make all Improvements of our waterways and our harb1s' to the end that we may produce re-economically and care for our expanding commerce.
 This is a representative government and every man in the senate or in the house is quite as anxious to voice the de- nands of his respective constituents as they are to have them voiced along these lines. In the last analysis after the plans you present have been given full discussion and scrupulous consideration. they will by the members of Congress be vitalized very thoroughly"