The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-05
CONVENTION
 IS AT WORK Interesting Addresses Made yterday. FOURTEEN rATEs PRESENT Days ss n One of Speaking and
 Organization. All speakers Urge The Necessity of Fourteen Foot ChanneI--Need of
 a Generous National
 Policy.
FOURTEEN rATEs PRESENT

Memphis Tenn. Oct. 4--w. K. Kay- anaugh, of St. Louis. president of the Lakes to the Gulf Waterways Associa- tion. called the second annual meeting of that body to order here today. Dele- gates from all sections of the South, North and West were in attendance and several notable addresses were made. The slogan fourteen feet through the valley. has become popular and every speaker went on record for a deep wa ter channel up the Mississippi River.
 Among the delegates are Governors of fnnrteess States ,Hisfted tiiteda States Sen- ators and Representatives. Today's sessions were taken up with organiza- ton and speeches Besides the ad- dress of President Roosevelt, w. K. kavanaugh. of St. Louis. Lyman k. Cooley. of Chicago and Congressman Joseph E. Ransdell. of Loufsiana, de- livered speeches. Mr. Ransdell. who is of the National Congress, said that the deep channel was of necessity, but the only way to get 1t isto build up gen. erous national policy of public improve ments. which will rapidly develop to their utmost capacity all our water ways, on the seaboard. on the lakes and in the interior
 Water transportation has always been most valuable auxiliary to rail. and it is now indeed proper that the administrative branch of the govern ment should give attention to the im- provement of our national resources. for if the railroads can barely handle the traffic of today, what may be ex- pected in ten years, when this traf- fic. if not stopped in it's development. will easily be double the traffic of to- day. Railroads are not antagonistic to the development of the country's re- sources.
 The conditions of great delay in the movement of the commerce of the country has affected all sections, North. East. South and West. We therefore do not have to point out that river reg ulation is rate regulation. that any economical arguments that could be set forth for the reason that 1t appears that we have almost reached the limit Of the raflroads capacity Of today and 1t Is fairly evident that the growth of the country cannot be taken care of by them.
 A Great Awakening.
 "A great awakening, therefore. has come to the people of this country and while we only requested assistance of the powers at washington, requested assistance in the development of our great natural resources and of our in- land water ways the people now have come to demanding in no uncertain terms that these improvement be made at once. By turning towards. the gulf the flood of export grain and other bulky articles, the lakes to the gulf deep water way would relieve eastern terminals of the oppressive traffic and enable them to handle their shipments with reasonable dispatch and economy, and another essential point to be con sidered Is that every dollar saved in the transportation cost is added wealth, directly to the people.
 National Issue.
 'sThe question Is shall we go on pay fus double and treble freights on our raw materials? Let us unite in our de- mand and ask that the officials of this government no longer delay the great projects which are so dear to the hearts of the people of the central west and n it is necessary, let us make na- fional issue, for I believe for one that the day soon will come when no man can be elected President who does not favor a broad national policy regarding tha deepening of our harbors and the improvement of our internal water ways. Let these great projects which must develop our commercial resources be handled in a businessiike way.
 .Why should there not be depart ment of public works having turisdic- tion over all of the great projects which are and must of necessity be fostered by this governmentT
 The Night Session.
 The night session was devoted to speeches Those who addressed the were Governor Charies De neen, of Illinois; Governor A. B. Cum mins, of low .aEIon. F. F. Noel, Demo cratic nominee for Governor of Missis- sinpi. J. T. Harahan, of Chicago, and Isham Randolph. The su5pect Of GOV ernor Cummins's adress was The Inn portance to the commerce of the United States of Improving the Upper Missis- sippi River
 He spoke in part as follows:
 'HThe undertaking Is so great that 1t will not be adequately entered upon or intellinRently arried out until the people are aroused, their Judgments conyinc- ed and their desires recorded. when the maiestics voice of the voter ts heard then. and not till then. will there be deep waterway from the Lakes to the Gulf from St. Paul % New Orleans.
 We must destroy the generally ac- cepted notion that 1t is the duty of ev- cry Congressman to secure part of the in the rivers and harbors hill. These natural channels will nev- CT bear the traffic that Is awaiting them unIess we can surround the enterprise withs the same intense appreciation of inc public good that impelled the gov ernment to undertake the Panama Canal
 If every community is to have it's inherent right in thes truggle for pro- rress and supremacy, 1t must reach markets and the markets must reach 1t upon just terms as compared with other communities engaged in the fight. This right our governments by their Iaws insure. but to enforce those laws we need more than any other one thing the deep channel of the Mississippi Riv- CT as an ally.
 The. Panama Canal will lose its chief significance, and will fail In its chief mission, if the Mississippi River does not bear toward 1t the trafic of the West.