New-York tribune., 1907-12-06
ASKS FIFTY MILLIONS
Continued from first page.


good While the traffic Of this country Is iic 80
inc at the rate of y per cent annually the apiiI'
of the carriers of that traffic IS increasing IN.
% per cent annually. 1t would be necessary Iol
US to build Immediately seventy-fve thousand iiiiie
of new railroads in order Adequately to hee' ~
traffic conditions of the country
Mr. Hill said that such task, In present cohu
tions would be almost impossible, on account OF
the difficulty in obtaining proper terminals anu
the money and labor to build the roads. II "d'
evident he said that more poil is of export were
needed and that these could be Obtained ohiy
through the utilization of waterways lie peheFeu
that the construction Of a ship channei oet"ee"
the lakes and the Gulf would do more toward re-
Having +he traffic congestion of the Northwest than
any other thing.
Calling attention TO the fact that In the iast ie"
years the increase of railroad mileage In tnls couh
try had been 227 per cent. while the increase or
| traffic had amounted TO 1854 per cent, MI Hiii
said the wonder was that the entire business OF the
country had not been paralyzed because the rail-
| roads had nearly exhausted their resources tor
public service He pointed out, also, that frelght
rates were continually declining, while wages ana
| operating expenses were increasing This he be-
lieved was the reason for the withdrawal OF much
capital from railroad building. and he said II wouio
| be necessary I'm some way TO remove this lack OF
confidence before much could De done 10 ptonio'e
railroad construction.
IN seeking relief he said, I'VE naturally must
turn to the waterways Of the country, and l be-
/ lieve that they about 10 emerge into an era
Of great usefulness. The overtaxed raiHoads must
| be supplemented by every possible method OF
| water transportation. Nature has indicated that
| the commerce of the great Middle west shoud oe
carried to a large extent. by the Mississippi RIVER
| and this highway constitutes the most natural
| exit out of our present transportation dilemma
| Mr. IIiu said It would be necessary to provide
q sufficient channel for the carrying OF vessels of
| large capacity.
| mo craft that floats" said he. which carries
| only ono thousand tons compete with box
0f
| situation is mastered. There will be plenty OF
| business for both waterways and ralroaos- tno
| alleged jealousy of the railroads OF the "alei
| ways is q myth and IS only part OF tho yeiio"
| ideas that have been fOstered in recent years
You may be assured OF the hearty support OF the
| railroads in the construction OF the lesiuiha'e
| waterways OF the country c,.X
ON account OF the Illness OF Charles Emory smith,
| or PHILADELPHIA he unable 10 deliver the aa-
dress assigned TO him. his place on the programme
| being taken by ]. Hampton Moore. also OF Pnlla-
deiphia lie spoke particularly OF the project ioF
the construction canal from Boston to Beaufort
y G and thence to Florida BY this route he
borea IN see the time when the circle OF commerce
| would be completed and that Of the East would
moe, that Of the West and Northwest in the waters
OF the Gulf OF Mexico
ADDRESSES BY GOVERNORS.
| Governor A. b. Cummins of Iowa declared II 10
he evident that the United States must either stop
doing business or must bring to the railroads the
mighty help OF the waterways
Il, is not a part OF the scheme OF the American
| people" he said Ito quit business. and conclude
that the American people propose 10 improve their
waterways from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
| from the lakes 10 the Gulf.
| Referring to MIR Eills statement that capital
| was hestating go into tho business OF railroad
| construction. Governor Cummins said that people
with money hesitatng to put their capital
| into railroads because the railroads over
| capitalized.
People with money" said he. 'in the future will
insist that they shall receive real value-real prop
erty-for their money. and not merely works OF art
| from printing presses in the form OF beautifully
decorated certificates of stocks and bonds
Arthur Knox of New York, spoke the trans
portaton problem.
| Governor Conner OF Alabama spoke OF the develop
ment OF the Mississippi River project of ma
tlonal Importance and said that the people Of the
South stood cordially behind the work Of this con-
gress.
Lieutenant Governor Davidson Of Texas spoke on
necessity increased transportation facilities
in his state. I'VE have covered the State of
Texas" said he. with railroads from north "a
south and from east to west: yet they are made
quate to meet needs We therefore here
TO demand that a policy be adopted. We
never have had any trouble as to the Improvement
of our harbors, but difficulty has been in Sc
curing such development of the streams OF the
would reduce FREIGHT rates and open
fields of industry. We demand that these i'm
provements of the internal waterways be made In
order that may get the products of our great
state reasonable terms to the markets OF the
world"
GEORGE CLINTON SPEAKS.
In introducing George Clinton of Buffalo, Presi-
dent Ransdell referred to the Erie Canal as the
greatest piece of constructive craftsmanship ever
undertaken by a single state. He spoke of Mr.
Clinton the grandson of the original promoter
OF that great waterway which the State of
New York is expending so1, ooo00o.
! Mr.. Clinton said Japan was reaching out in all
| foreign her state
mon were among the brightest in the world and
that they had pointed TO the failure of America
dealing adequately with the question of delivery
! of American products to tidewater He said It was
evident from this criticism that should not await
the coming of commerce before preparing for its
| transportation.
Give us our waterways" he said and the tom
! mage will come. Are to await the building up
OF city until the transportation facilities are fur
nished. we to supply the transportation in
| an effort 10 build up the city? That is the meat
| of the problem before US
| Mr.. Clinton urged the adoption of general poll
| icy in the development of the waterways OF the
| country and he pointed out that the development
| of the Erie Canal has acted a regulation of
! freight charges not only between the East and
| the West but between the North and the South
| New York he said ewas asking for anything
| except a just proportion of the appropriations
| made for harbors. but it realized that there must
be a unity Of plans and unity of construction of
| inland waterways. and that therefore. the work
| must be done under the supervision of the national
| government
Governor Johnson of Minnesota pointed out that
! the traffic of this country already had overbur-
| dened the railroads. and the only relief was
| through the medium of water transportation The
development OF American waterways would solve
| the problem.
Governor Dawson of West Virginia said his state
| was particularly interested in the improvement of
| inland waterways.