Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-10-29


@ And then, again, another dificulty
might be solved. because Ii improve
ment on the Missouri was such as to
keep the old Missouri lii bounds, then
the electors on election day would
know on its boundary whether they
were in Iowa voting for Cummils or
in Nebraska voting for Bryan.
daughter and applause.) 4
There is one river that we have
that does not appear on that map, in
fact, that is true of good many of
the rivers Of North Dakota. laugh
teri Why, we have one river that
flows down from Canada some sixty
or seventy miles, and then apparent
" disguised with the neglect and
the Indifference of the American peo-,
pie, it flows back again into Canada.
4 daughter and loud cheering.)
Red River Valley Easily Fixed
Then we have the great Red River
of the North. It does not look very
big upon that map, if it is there,
but have seen it twenty miles wide.
1T thaws out in the spring of the
year at the southern end (laughter)
aud then the waters start to flow
north and it runs out over the top
Of the ice and out over the country, i
and because the banks are higher
than the surrounding country there
is the great Red river valley some
times submerged in water. Very lit
tie expense would turn the Red River
of the North into the Minnesota
river and down into the Mississippi
and thus give us a waterway from
North Dakota down to New Orleans.
(Applause.) And again, very little
labor and expense would turn the
Red Lake river that joins the Red
river at Grand Forks into chain
Of lakes that would connect us with
the great shipping points at Duluth.
Then the Missouri river-of course
we are interested in the Missouri
river-but we up in North Dakota
understand that if. we are to have
river Improvement we can only get
it by broad, comprehensive, liberal,
unselish policy, not in the interest
of any stream (applause). not in the
interest of any state, but in the in
terest of the navigation and the
| transportation problem Of the nation.
(Renewed applause.) We understand
that, but if we could have some little
Improvement on the Missouri river
for local traffic-at the present the
Missouri river is sand stream worse
THAN the Mississippi, and the result
is that there is a bank on one side
and a sand bar on the other. You
/ cannot land your boat on the sand
/ bar; you do not dare to land oppo
site the bank because the bank Is
sand and is liable to fall over on
your boat and to sink it.
t And so, if the United States gov
i eminent coud spare from this grea1
project that you have in hand here
an appropriation to fix us some per
/. manent shipping and terminal points
4 we would be satisfied for the present
Of course we want the Missouri i'm
provement, but we are willing, il
it is in the interest of the nation
that the improvement of the Missouri
river should begin at New Orleans
| Cloud cheering and applause). and
then as far north as we can possibly
need it. d
I do not know what depth of a
| channel may be necessary. Fourteen
feet may be necessary. l know moth
ing about that, it is question of
engineering, but l want to see the
channel deepened so that the ocean
liners can go to Chicago and take
the products of the Mississippi valley
down the Mississippi and on to the
markets of the world. (Applause.)
And, if it will take a fourteen foot
channel to do that then I am in
favor of the fourteen-foot channel.
Now, my friends, the northwest
cannot wait long for the completion
of this project. We cannot stop rails
!