Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-27
ST. PAUL IS AROUSED
Waterways Commission Starts
Its River Trip Today.
OLD SHIP CHANNEL PROJECT
River Freight Line Scheme Is Now
Revived.
WILL PICK UP THE PRESIDENT
Lake Shore Cities Hope They Will Be
come Seaports in a Short
Time.
OLD SHIP CHANNEL PROJECT
WILL PICK UP THE PRESIDENT


| inland waterways commission arrived in
| St. Paul from Duluth this morning and
were at once taken to the Commercial
| Club where breakfast was served.
The commission was scheduled to arrive
, he-e from Duluth last night and some
was planned. at which formal addresses
were to have been delivered by ]. ]. HILL
Archbishop Ireland and other prominent
| men. This was upset by inability of the
| commission to get here, and the program
was hastily arranged to suit breakfast ap-
petites and conditions.
The party was met at the union station
by Representative F. c. Stevens, President
F. Y. Locke of the Commercial Club, Post
master Vanish and F. G. Waterous. At the
| Commercial Club fourteen tables were
arranged in the main dining room, at
| which the members of the commission were
distributed among the large gathering of
prominent business men and politicians
Seated at table were Representative
Burton, President F. Y. Locke, ]. ]. HILL
Archbishop Ireland, w. G. Nye, Joseph
| Strolge, Frank Schljck, A. B. Stckney
| and Tams Bixby.
After the meal brief addresses were
| made by ]. J. Hill, Archbishop Ireland and
| Others and then the commission was es-
/ corted to the Sibley street dock where
they boarded the steamer Col A. Mac
| kenzie for the trip down the river
Great Trip Projected.
| Today the members of the inland water
| ways commission started from this port for
their first trip on the Mississippi river, to
| meet President Roosevelt at Keoxuk 1t
Will be the largest gathering of men of
! prominence and power in public affairs
which has ever occurred on the river. When
| President Roosevelt joins the party it Will
be the first time that a President of the
! United States has ever travelled on the river
| for the purpose of learning of It's possibili-
| ties The trip promises important results
| for on its outcome largely depends i'm
| portant river Improvement work in the
| future.
| The party met in St. Paul this morning
| for the down-river TRIP. leaving on the gov
| ernment steamer Mackenzie, named after
| the chief of engineers of the army, WHO is
member of the party. The other members
are Chairman T. E. Burton of Ohio Sen
ator Newlands of Nevada, Senator Warner
| of Missouri, Senator Bankhead of Ala
| bama Secretary w MCGEE of the commits
| sion, f. H. Newell chief of the government
reclamation service; Clifford Pinchot chief
! of the forestry service; Herbert Knox
| Smith, chief of the bureau of corporal ons
| Department of Commerce and Labor and
| Gen. Mackenzie, chief of engineers, United
States army.
Supplement Rail Lines.
Secretary McGee points out the impor-
| tance of the trip in calnlg attention to the
fact that with their utmost efforts the rail-
ways cannot keep pace with the growth
of commerce. Waterways, he asserts, must
give the avenues of transportation which
! are SO urgently needed. He points out the
extreme Importance of the DEVELOPMENT of
the Mississippi in connection with the
building of the Panama canal, the COM
| pletion of which will make the Mississippi
an exceedingly important channel OF dis
| tributon and a supplemental artery of
commerce for the distribution of traffic
| through the canal to inland destinations
| Speaking further of the purposes of the
commissions trip, Secretary McGee in an
| interview says:
st. Paul in five years will be seaboard
| city. Conditions just ripe for such a
| thing in my Judgment. We think the Mis-
| sissipDi should be made freely naviga BILE
! from the gull to the head of navigation at
| ST. Paul. We think there should be one
igable-channel up the Illinois river to
| Lake Michigan at Chicago. We think the
! Missouri should be navigable from its
| mouth to Portage Coulee, 2,G5O miles from
| the gulf Traffic Is increasing more rapid,
! than railway facilities. The development
| OF navigable rivers Will do much 10 re-
| lieve the pressure felt at present in TIE
handling of the commerce OF the country"
Future in the Balance.
Upon the commissions trip depends in a
very large degree future governmental ac-
ton In making the Mississippi once more
the great north and south channel of
transportation, and the information gath
cred by the commission and by President
Roosevelt will, 1t is believed be of ex-
treme Importance to the future of AL the
Mississippi valley states.
The members of the commission have
been entertained by commercial organiza-
tions of this city and its departure from
the head of river navigation upon its trip
will be made an event of Importance.
President to Be Greeted by Fleet.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
BURLINGTON, Iowa, September 27-
When the President reaches Keokuk Tues
day to begin his journey down the Missis-
sippi he will be greeted by a fleet of boats
that constitute a flotilla of vast propor-
tions. Every mechanically propelled yes
sci in the harbor here for miles up and
down the river has been pressed into serv-
ice, and will sail for Keokuk Monday
morning. At keokuk the fleet will he aug
mented by many other craft, both large
and small, and a gorgeous river pageant
will be formed to escort the President
southwark on his journey.