The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-12-06
NOTHING DOING NOW.
Cannon Tells Water Boomers Appro-
priations Can't Be Rushed.

Washington, Dec. GA committee
of so delegates to the recent conven-
ton at Memphis of the Lakes and the
Gulf Deep Waterways association, led
by President w. K. Kavanaugh, called
on Vice President Fairbanks and
Speaker Cannon at the capitol and
presented to each a memorial adopted
by the convention praying the support
of congress to the project for ship
canal from the great lakes to the Gulf
of Mexico through the AtlaH tic coast
states, and recommending an annual
appropriation of $5O,000,000 for har-
bors and waterways improvement as
proposed by the rivers and harbors
congress.
In receiving the memorial the vice
president said he would take great
pleasure in presenting it to the senate
and in referring it to the proper COM
mittee at the earliest possible mo-
ment.
speaking for myself personally"
the vice president said, 81 want to say
that the movement for the improve
ment of our great navigable water
ways has my heartiest and most ar
dent support and good will. I am not
a recent convert to this general propo-
sition. For a good many years in In
diana we have been advocating and
urging more liberal appropriations for
the improvement of the Ohio river
and all of it's navigable aff1uents.
think among the questions which en-
gage the attention of the people today
there is not one of greater Importance
than this. 1t affects every citizen of
the republic.
1.-THE Importance of the subject has
been overlooked. think we have not
taken it up early enough. do not
see how there can be any opposition to
such a movement as this. do not un-
derstand where it can come from. 1t
is so wide in it's benef1cent scope"
Speaker Cannon greeted the com
toll ut To
the point of asking whether the
memorial recommended a bond issue
for the proposed expense. Mr.. Malone
of the committee replied that, while
ton expected such a recommendation
to be made 1t had been omitted.
st wanted to see," said the speaker,
''if you had specialized. I was under
the impression that resolution was
adopted that looked toward the i'm
provement in a business like way of
the waterways of the United States and
II there was any specification then 1t
was the waterways should join the
unsalted seas with the Gulf of Mexico,
which by inference If not by construc-
ton, was indicated as the important
and probably the most important thing
to be done.
ct would hesitate long-and that is the
reason ask you the -Questton-to vote
to issue a thousand million or 500 mill
lion or 100 million, or million dollars
OF the Securll1eS OF the government Tor
Improvement of rivers and harbors. I
am not sure that the sober second
thought of the country would approve
It and I am glad you left it out of your
recommendations because, in my judg-
ment, choosing the most practical pro-
5ectS, this great country must survey
the field before getting ready to COM
mence work-this country which grows
and grows and grows, whose appropri-
ations including the permanent appro-
priationS for public service are over 300
million dollars for the current year and
gentlemen, the expenditures will be
within the revenues and something left.
We have already got 240 millions of