The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-19
ROOSEVELT ID SAIL INLAND WATERWAYS Goes Down Mississippi With Commission in October WRITES TO THE GOVERNORS Will Start From Illinois Point and Land at Memphis to Acquains :
 Himself With the
 Work.
WRITES TO THE GOVERNORS

Washington, May 1s.-President Roose- welt intends, if possible, to make a three
 or four-days' trip next fall down the Mis- sissippi river from some point in middle Illinois or Iowa to Memphis. It will, if
 made, be with the members of the inland
 water ways commission, of which Repre-
 sentative Burton of Ohio is chairman,
 and who. like the President will be the
 guest of the Lakes to Gulf Water as- sociation. President Roosevelt will leave his summer home at Oyster Bay in time to be at Canton to attend the dedication of the Mckinley monument September 10.
 and the voyage down the Mississippi river
 will, if nothing prevents immediately fol- low that event.
 The President has been strongly urged
 to make the trip because of the oppor-
 tunty 1t will afford to acquaint himself
 personally with the importance of the
 work the inland water ways commission
 has in hand Recently he received an ur-
 gent invitation to do SO from a number
 of governors in various parts of the country.
 Responsive to the invitations from the Sldlc t&tCuliNtSt lut fIcSiucnl ildS Stlll to each one an identical letter promis- ing to make the trip outlined unless something unforeseen occurs to cause him to alter his plans. The following. ad-
 dressed to Governor Cummings of Iowa,
 is a copy:
 washington. D. C., May IS, 1907. My Dear Governor:
 "I have received the invitations kindly
 sent me through the governors of Arkan-
 sas. Florida, Illinois. Iowa. Kansas. Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska
 North Dakota. Oklahoma, Oregon. South
 Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin asking me to accompany the inland water ways commission for trip on the Mis-
 sissippi so that I may personally familiar 1 ze myself with certain features of the | situation, which the commission has been 1 appointed to consider I deeply appre- i ciate the invitations. Let me say spe- ] cial word of appreciation of the invita- | tions which come from the governors of | Maine, Florida and Oregon, all of whom, although the states of which they are | governors are not on the Mississippi river. | show their realization of the enormous | importance of improving this great nat ural highway because of the benefit that I will mean to all the union and because l they believe that the improvement of the l Mississippi river and It's tributaries will | tend to bring about the improvement of | the other navigabe waters of the coun- l try as factors in commercial and indus 1 trial development and affording one of the | best possible methods of regulating raii- l way rates. Others of the governors, who I have written me, show that the people of | the west show peculiar interest in the | project of the improvement not only of ! the Mississippi. but of the navigable rivers fitted to be public highways of com 1 merce because they think that such inn | movements will help toward the solution l of many of the problems attaching 10 | railway transportation. The basin of the | Mississippi taken as whole from the l gulf to the great lakes, from the Ale | ghenies to the Rockies. constitutes the greatest agricultural empire that men f ever cultivated, and an equally great l system of water highways is needed to | supply any inadequacy of land carriage l for the products of this region.
 :, Unless something unforeseen occurs to make me alter my plans, intend to ac- | company the members of the inland water ways commissions on a three or | four-days' trip at the beginning of next ! October down the Mississippi from some l point in middle Illinois or Iowa to Mem l phis I feel that the problems of the com , mission concern vitally not only the neo-