The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1907-10-04
APPROVES THE PLAN !
President in Favor Of Deep Wa.
terway From Lakes to Gulf.
POINTS OUT MANY OBSTACLES
Endorses UnequivocalIy the General
Principle Involved, but Is Careful to
Assent to Any Particular Scheme.

Say That He Does Not Give His
Assent to Any Particular Scheme.
Cairo, ILL.,, Oct. 4.-When President
Roosevelt stepped ashore here at 8
a. m. he manifested every evidence of
having spent a comfortable night on
the steamboat Mississippi and his
spoken word confirmed the impression
made by his appearance. He retired
about midnight and there was little to
disturb his rest except two or three
demonstrations on the shore which,
though violent while they lasted, were
necessarily of brief duration.
Quiet as was the after half of the
night for the country's chief mag.
istrate the first portion of it was fully.
occupied. He was the guest at dinner
on the steamer Alton Of the Business
Mems league of st. Louis and with
that entertainment and the speech
making and conversation that followed
the dinner his time until almost -
O'Clock was fully taken up. The din
ner was regarded by all as an event
Of rare occurrence and when the pres
ldent had said his final farewell not a
few were heard to remark that it
would become historic. The important
feature was the fact that the scheme
of ship channel from the Gulf to the
Great Lakes received an impetus
IL nl, oil
wards insuring the earnest pressing
Of that enterprise. The occasion was
also notable in that in addition to the
president it was attended by no fewer
than fifteen governors, the members
Of the inland waterways commission
and several representatives of the
business world OF st. Louis.
The dinner was presided over by
President Smith of the Business Mems
league and President Roosevelt was
the principal speaker. He requested
that his speech be not reported, but
consented that the statement might be
made that he had announced un-
general principle involved in the
scheme for the creation of a ship
channel up the river and to the Great
Lakes. AS he stated the case he
would have a loop in the Gulf at New
Orleans that would practically create
an arm of that body Of water to the
Great Lakes. At the same time he
was most careful to say that he would
not give his assent to any particular
scheme of Improvement. He also
Pointed Out Many Obstacles
in carrying into effect any plan of such
vast proportions and involving so
much expense and while promising
all the assistance he could give he
told his hearers that the only way to
make success certain was so thor.
oughly to prepare themselves as to
render their arguments unanswerable.
The speech was greeted with pro.
longed applause and this endorsement
took the shape of words When Govern
ors Folk, Deneen and Blanchard spoke.
All of them pledged their utmost ef
forts in furtherance of the enterprise.
While the dinner was in progress the
president was presented with an oil
painting Of a section Of the Missis-
sippi under present conditions and the
companion piece to represent "condi.
tons after the completion of the wa
terway" was promised for the future.
The Mississippi was escorted down
the river from St. Louis all the way to
Cairo by ten other boats and it was
met early in the morning by a huge
excursion steamer from this city,
which carried not only several hun,
dred passengers of both sexes but
also vociferous steam caliope, which
for the time monopolized the noise
making on the middle stretches of the
Father Of Waters.
On arrival here the president and
party drove to St. Marys park, where
a great crowd was assembled. Mayor
Parsons introduced Governor Deneen
of Illinois, who in turn introduced
President Roosevelt.
Before beginning the reading of his
speech at Cairo the presi-
dent again INDUCED in some extern
poraneous remarks, which on this oc.
casiOn consisted of the outlining of
his position on the deep waterways
project along the lines of the speech
made at the banquet on the Alton. At
the conclusion Of his speech the pres.
tdent left for Memphis.