The Washington times., 1907-10-02
Declares Control of In
IerState Railroads Inn
portant Question
to Nation.
Advocates the lmme-
diate Improvement
of transportation
Along MiSSis-
sippi River.

In his address at st. Louis to-
day the President said:
1t is a very real pleasure to ADDRESS
this body of citizens OF Missouri mere IN
the great city of St. Louis l nave oiteh
visited ST. Louis before, but always by
rail. Now 1 am visiting II in the course
of a trip by water, trip on the great
natural highway which runs past your
very doors-a highway once so impor-
tant. now almost abandoned, whlch 1
hone this nation will see not only re-
stored TO all i1s former usefulness, Du'
given q far greater degree Of usefulness
10 correspond with the extraordinary
Growth in wealth and population OF the
Mississippi valley.
Growth of Railways.
We have lived in an era of phenomenal
railroad building. AS routes for mer-
chandise, the iron highways nave CUM
pletelv supplanted the old wagon roads,
and undor their competition the impor-
tance Of the water highways has been
much diminished. The growth or the
railway system has been rapid all over
the world, but nowhere so rapid as IN
the United States. =.
"A
the United States a tendency toward the
practically complete Abandonment "a
Inc system OF water transport "a Il0Il. M
such a tendency is certainly not hedlIly
ana 7 am convinced that II will not be
permanent. There are many classes Ol
commodities, especially those Wnhch az q
perishable in their nature and Where % the
value Is high relatively 10 the Dulh'
uybich will always be carried by ran.
Puf buikv commodities which are not OF
a perishable nature will always be spo-
cially suited for the conditions OF water
To illustrate the truth Of this state
11ent il would only BE- necessary 10
point TO TIE use Of the canal system IN
many countries Of the Old. WoTlo, pu,
a can be illustrated even better Dy WhAl
has happened nearer home. Inc OIed'
Lakes Offer a prime example OF the lln-
portance of a good water highway lOI
Az tba line of traffic runs through
laTes. the conditions are in some re-
soects different from what must oDIaln
on even the most important river. New
ertheless. it is well to remember lnaI s1,,i Z
very large part Of this trafhc Is conul-
toned upon an artificial waterway d
canaI-tho famous 500. The commerce
that passes through the 500 1ar SUI
passes IN bulk and in value that OF the
Suez canal
Improve Waterways.
From every standpoint it Is desirao
for the nation to join in improving the
greatest system Of river highway
within its borders. a system second only
i'm importance to the highway AFFORDED
bv the Great Lakes; the highways o.
the Mississippi and its great tributaries
such as the Missouri and Ohio
This river system traverses too man!
States to render il possible 20 leave
merely to the States the task Of fittini
n for the greatest uss of which 1t L
capable. It is emphaucally a natona
task. for this great river system is itsel
one Of our CHIEF national assets. Witnll
the last few years there has been al
awakeuinr in this country 20 the neeS
of both the conservation and the deVel
oDruCnt CT our national resources und6
the supervision Of and by the ala OF IN
Federal Government. This is espeCla!l!
true OF all that concerns our ruhhihl
or the mountains from which tn
sprinRs start we are now endeaVorinl
"a preserve the forests Wh1ch regulat =
the water supply and prevent 100 start
Ing variations between droughIS ah'
Below the mountains, In the high DIR.
REGIONS of the Western plains, we en-
de5tvor to secure the proper UTILIZATION
of the waters for irrigation. Ihls Is
the sources Of the streams
Build Levees.
Farther down, where they be
come navigable, our aim must b.
TO try to develop policy Whicl
shall secure the utmost adVantag
from the navigable waters. Finally