The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-11-29
MUCH INTEREST IN IN.
RIVERS AND AAR-
BDRS CONGRESS-
Second Only To
U. S. Congress

Fairmont people are greatly inter,
ested in the National Rivers and Har.
bors Congress which meets in Wash.
ington, d. c., in d few days and the
reports of the convention will be Gag.
erly read by our people. This meet.
ing OF representative citizens OF our
nation is second In importance only
to the Congress Of the United States.
Below We give a few extracts Of
speeches that were made at the last
National Rivers aud Harbors Congress
held last December in Washington.
In a speech to the twelve hundred
delegates of the National Rivers and
Harhors Congress who called on Pres.
ident Roosevelt at the White House on
December !, 1906, the President said
In part: X.
u have come to feel growing
sense of the Importance Of establish.
ing far.reaching coherent plan for
the general improvement OF the wat.
er ways OF the country. have had It
brought striklnsly to my attention but
recently how much We suffer at pres.
ent because Of the inadequate trans.
portation facilities OF the railroads for
moving the great grain crops and cat
tie crops Of this country. We necd,
and must have. further facilities for
transportation. and, as has been well
pointed out, one Of the effective meth.
dds OF regulating railroad rates is to
provide for a proper system Of water
transportation.r
Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, speaker OF
the House OF Representatives, in a
speech to the delegates OF the Nation.
al Rivers and Harbors Congress OF last
year, said:
ITO the life of commerce, production
j. the first ~ ccsiiy,..rr withGhi 10
duction there would be no comemrce.
The second requisite is transportation
facilities by railway and by water, in.
Guiding the coastwise waters, the
Great Lakes, and our internal water
ways. We have built canals and deep.
ened our rivers and harbors, and our
railway mileage alone now amounts
to one-half Of the railway mileage OF
the world. These great things have
been worked out by the labor and by
the enterprise. the courage and capac.
itS of our people. But the demands
for the transportation Of the com.
merce OF our country, extending. as It.
does, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and from Canada to the Gulf OF Mexi.
co. are ever growing. and We have as
yet but scratched the surface in the
development of our possibilities"
Hon. T. E. Burton, chairman OF the
Rivers and Harbors committee. House
OF Representatives, addressed the dele
gates thus:
we have been spending twenty mil.
lions per annum on rivers and harbors
as aaginst one hundred millions on
our navy. I believe there will be n
change in that particular. l believe
the building OF light houses, the deep.
ening Of our channels. and improve
ment of waterways. the development
of our harbors, will confer benefit
greater than that Of ,battleships and
Of bristling bayonets in making this
country prosperous. great, and su.
preme among the nations OF the
earth."
Mr.. Richard H. Edwards, editor OF
the Manufacturers Record. Baltimore,
thus tersely expressed himself to the
delegates:
Shall American development be
halted because OF our inability to pro.
vide the facilities for the trade that
awaits our people? To help meet
this problem It is incumbent upon the
National Government to begin a policy
Of the fullest utilization Of the great
rivers and waterways with which ma.
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