Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-04
RIVERS AND HARBORS
Fourth Annual Convention
Opened Here Today.
HUNDREDS OF DELEGATES
Opening Address by the Secretary
of State.
MATTER OF PUBLIC POLICY
Speaker Says American People Stand
Squarely Behind the Improve
ment of the Waterways.

ment of the Waterways.
| With every state in the Union, as we'll
as Alaska and Hawaii. represented. and
with the broad object of promoting the
improvement of inland waterways. the
fourth annual convention of the national
rivers and harbors congress was opened
| for three days session here today. The
meetings are being held in the ballroom
of the New Willard Hotel. and the ca
pacity of even that great hall is taxed to
afford accommodations for the hundreds
OF delegates in attendance. Fully 15OO
members Of the congress were assembled
In the hall when President Joseph E..
RansdelIs gavel fell for the opening at
1887 o'clock this morning, and more are
coming into the city on each train today.
1t is expected that fully 5000 delegates
will be registered and participate in the
discussions and the adoption Of resolu-
tons looking to the extension of the OBJ
| jects of the convention.
Delegates from subsidiary ORGANIZATIONS,
from trade associations and civic bodies,
all seeking expression Of their views on
the national policy regarding the Work OF
providing navigable streams and deep
| water harbors to accommodate the ship
world, mingled with the individual dele
gates and formed part OF the gathering
| that crowded the New Willard. Tine
movement Is national in scope. and has for
larger appropriations for the improve
ment Of the inland waterways of the
United States. Mot less than $50, 600. 600
| a year for waterway development Is the
| Particular emphasis was laid on this
object Of the association by President
| RansdeI in a brief address at the open
! ing Of the convention.
Railroad Interests Represented.
Railroad interests are represented in the
congress by James J. Hill Of the Great
Northern railroad and w. W. Finley of
| the Southern railway. Governors Hoke
Smith of Georgia, Cummins OF Iowa,
| Johnson of Minnesota, Deneen of Illinois,
| Folk of Missouri, Warieid of Maryland
and Dawson of West Virginia also are on
| the list of speakers. Other governors who
dresses are Glenn of North Carolina, Cut
| Ter of Utah. Mead OF Washington Gill
| !ette of California, Kibby of Arizona,
Guild of Massachusetts, and Cobb OF
Maine.
The Washington Chamber of Com
| merce is represented in the convention
| by the following delegates: President
Robert N. Harper Norman Galt, Gnapih
| Brown. John Weaver and Allen u Al,
bert. Delegates from the local Board
of Trade include NJ. !. Weller. chair
man; Thomas w. Smith, Scott +. Bone
| and e. d. Shaw.
this morning STATE Tsfs e u ~
serand, the ambassador of France;
Francis G. Newlands, United States SEN
ator from Nevada, and member OF the
inland waterways commission; Joseph
E. Ransdell, representative from. Louis
Martin S. Knapp. chairman OF Tie IN
| terstate commerce commission.
Gavel for Presiding Officer.
Before the congress formally convened
President Ransdell was presented with a
silver-mounted gavel by the Upper Mis-
sissippd Improvement Association. Presi-
dent Ransdell in opening the congress
referred to the work of the national ad-
ministration In promoting trade relations
between America and foreign countries
particularly those countries lying TO the
In complimentary terms to the achieve
mepts of Secretary Root of the State
Department in promoting those relations
He then presented to the congress the
Secretary Of state.
Secretary Root was received with great
applause, the delegates rising to greet
him.
"It is a great pleasure to me to extend
TO you a. welcome Lno ildt!Oudi dus
ministration," Secretary Root said. land
L pleasure to note your entrance upon
the duties you have to perform In the
National capital. can assure you OF
the sympathy and support of the admin
'straaon for the great interests you are
seeking to subserve. The attitude of the
administration toward rivers and har-
bors has been 9 subject OF much mis-
understanding. It seems that the inhabi-
tants of each section of the country un-
derstand but little the needs OF other
sections. Ideas are taken from the most
cursory glances at the headlines OF the
newspapers.
Now it is time that something should
be done. Something positive and COM
polling public attention. Making the pub
lie understand that this movement Is no
mere bartering of interests between poll
ticians. but is a great matter Of public
policy"
Prepared Veto Message.
Secretary Root related an Incident of
rivers and harbors bill Of which he had
prepared veto message. while he was
Secretary Of War. That bill was not
passed. but was talked to death in the
Senate. He said that If the measure had
been vetoed 1t would have been not be-
cause the proposed improvements were
unjustifed,' but because of the proposed
Improvement of certain mountain streams
| which President Mckinley believed was
not warranted. This irrigation scheme,
| the Secretary said, was sought under
color of river and harbor improvements.
He felicitated the convention on the fact
that the river and harbor bills Of this
day were relieved of temptations OF the
kind referred to. He spoke Of the able
and devoted work Of Representative Bur-
ton of Ohio, the chairman Of the rivers
and harbors committee, whose achieve
ments had been OF the most able and
painstaking character.
| Continuing, the Secretary said that the
policy followed by the United States must
be considered truly as a policy and not as
project. He referred to the construction
of the Panama canal and to the improve
ment Of the Erie canal as instances show
ing that the American people stand
squarely behind the improvement of wa
terways, and he expressed the hope that
they would assert that policy in the fu-
ture.
Time to Cross Bridge.
"In your last convention Secretary
Root added there was some reference
that we should not cross bridge until we
reach It. We now have reached the bridge.
There Is no greater achievement than the
transportation of articles which are value
less at one point to another point where
they are valuable. The railroads Of the