The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-10-04

/ them. IL Is evident init InelF mOSl diSeht
need is a farsighted and comprehensive
| plan, dealing nor with navigation alone,
nor with irrigation alone, but considering
our inland waterways as a whole, anu
with reference 10 every use to which they
can be put. The central motive OF such
/ a plan should be to get from the streams
of the United States not only the fullest
but also the most permaneit service they
are capable of rendering TO the nation as u
whole.
The industries developed under the
stimulus of the railroads are for the most
part permanent industries, and therefot }
| they form the basis for future development
But the railroads have shown that they
alone can not meet the demands of the
country for transportation, and where
this is true the rivers should begin to
supplement the railroads, to the benefit
of both. by relieving them of certain of
the less profitable classes of freight. The
more farseeing railroad men, | am glad
to tell you, realize this fact, and many
of them have become earnest advocates
of the improvement of the Mississippi, so
that ii may become a sort of inland sea-
board. extending from the gulf far into
the interior, and hope ultimately to the
Great Lakes An investigation of the prof.
posed lakes-to-the-gu1f deep waterway is
now in ogre under an appropriation OF
the last Congress-. We shall await its re-
suits with the keenest interest. The deci-
sion Is obviously of capital Importance to
our Internal development and scarcely less
so i'll relation to external commerce.
This is but one of the many projects
which 1t is time to consider, although a
most important one. Plans for the i'm
provement of our inland navigation may
fairly begin with our greatest river and
its chief tributaries, but they can not end
mere. h lands which the Columbia
drains include a vast area of rich grain
fields and fruit lands, much of which Is
not easily reached by railways. The re-
moval of Instructions in the Columbia
and its chief tributaries would open to
navigation and inexpensive freight trans
portation fully 1900 miles of channel.
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers
with their tidal openings into San Fran
cisco Bay are partly ~naYigable now. Their
navigation should be maintained and i'm
proved. so as to open the marvelously
rich valley of California to inexpensive
traffic, in order to facilitate both rate
regulation and the control of the waters
for other purposes. And many other rivers
of the United States demand Improvement,
so as better to meet the requirements of
increasing production from the soil, in
~creasing manufacture, n a rapidly
growing population.
while thus the Improvement OF inland
navigation is a vital problem, there are
other questions Of no less consequence con-
nected with our waterways. One of these
to the purity of waters used for
the supply of towns and cities, to the
prevention of pollution by manufacturing
other industries, and to the protection
of drainage areas from soil wash through
forest covering or judicious cultivation.
With our constantly increasing population
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Ing, because the health and saftey OF great
bodies of citizens are directly involved.
Another important group of questions
the irrigation of arid lands, the
of floods. and the reclamation
Of swamps. Already many thousands of
homes have been established on the arid
and the population and wealth of
States and Territories have been
argeiy increased through irrigation. Yet
his means of national development is still
In its infancy, and 1t will doubtless long
to multiply homes and increase
he p-roductiveness and power of the nation. |
The reclamation of overflow lands an6
marshes, both in the interior and along
coasts. has already been carried on
admirable results, but In this field,
scarcely more than a good beginning
yet been made. Still another funda-
mentally important question Is that of
water power. It's significance in the future
development of our whole country, and es-
OF the West, Is but just beginning
be understood. The plan of the city of
Los Angeles, for example, to bring water
Tor its use n distance of nearly $50 miles |
perhaps the boldest project of the kind in
modern times-proW SEES not only to achieve
It's purpose. but in addition to produce a
power sufficiently valuable to pay
arge interest on the investment of over
23 900, 900.
Hitherto such opportunities for using
water TO double purpose have not always
been seized. Thus 1t has recently been
that enough water is flowing I'M
lsed over government dams, built to i'm
prove navigation, to produce many hun
of thousands of horsepower. 1t is
computed that the annual value of the
AVAILABLE but unused water power In the
States exceeds the annual value
If the products of all our mines. Further
more, 1t is calculated that under judieious
the power of our streams may be
to pay for all the works required
or the complete development and control
If our inland waterways.
Forests are the most effective preventers
If floods. especially when they grow on
The higher mountain slopes. The national
forest policy, inaugurated primarily %
ivert or mitigate the timber famine which
s now beginning to be felt, has been eff
also In securing partial control of
Hoods by retarding the run-off and check !
ng the erosion of the higher slopes within
he national forests. Still the loss from
soil wash is enormous. 1t is computed
one-hfth of a cubic mile in volume, |
lr one billion tons in weight of the rich |
est soil matter of the United States, is
gathered in storm ~rivulets, wash
ed into the rivers, and borne into the
sea. The loss to the farmer is in effect a
lax greater than all other land taxes COM
oined. and one yielding absolutely no re-
turn. The Department of Agriculture Is
now deVising and testing means to check
this enormous waste through improved
methods of agriculture and forest man
lgement.
''Cit.zens CT all portions of the country
are coming to realize that, however i'm
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may be, it Is only one of many ends to be
kept in view The demand for navigation
hardly more pressing than the demands
for leclaiIning lands by irrigation in the
arid regions and by drainage in the humid
Or for utilizing the water power
nov running to waste, or for purifying
the winters so as to reduce or remove the
tax CT soil waste, to promote manufae-
lures and safeguard life. 1t is the part
OF wisdom 10 adopt not a tumble of un-
related plans, but a single comprehensive
scheme for meeting all the demands so
the same means. This Is the reason why
the Inland Waterways Commission was
in March last, largely in response
10 petitions from citizens of the interior,
Including many of the members of this
Broad instructions were given
to tie commission in accordance with this
policy that no plan should be pre-
pull pose without carefully consider
ing, and so far as practical BILE actually
PROVIDING for, the use of that stream for
every ether purpose.
plans for navigation n power should
with special care for sites and
presen. but also for the future. 1t is be-
cause Of my conviction in these matters
that l am here. The Inland Waterways
Commission has a task broader than the
is an intimate relation between our
streams and the development and con-
of all the other great perma-
nent sources of wealth. 1t Is not possible
to consider the one without the
other. No study of the problem of the
which failed to consider also the remain
ing factors in the great problem of con-
serving all our resources. Accordingly,
| have asked the Waterways Commission
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