Semi-weekly herald., 1907-10-03
ST.L0UIS
TODAY
President Roosevelt Is
Given Great Ova=
tion in Missouri

st. Louis, Oct. 2.-Welcomed by the
screaming of whistles. the changing OF
bells, the laundering intonations OF
bursting bombs and the huzZahs from
thousands OF human throats. the pres
ident land at 9:45 O'Clock on schedule
time, making the first stop of his
voyage down the Mississippi river
will attend the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep
Waterway annual convention Friday
The mean features OF the presidents s
z address this noon, which was the
event of the day, was the Mississippi
river and controlling all transporta-
ton:
1t is a very real pleasure to address
this body of citizens of Missouri here
in the great city of St Louis. | have
often visited st. Louis before, but
always by rail. Now | am visiting It
in the course of "A trip by water. a trip
runs past your very doors-a highway
once so important, now almost aban-
doned. which | hope this nation will
see not only restored to all its for
mer usefulness, but given far great
er degree of usefulness to correspond
with the extraordinary growth in
wealth and population of the Missis-
sippi valley We have lived in an
era OF phenomenal railroad building.
AS routes for merchandise, the iron
highways have completely supplanted
the old wagon roads, and under their
competition the Importance of the wa
ter highways has been much dmin.
ished. The growth OF the railway
nrstem has been rapid all over the
tWorld, but nowhere so rapid as in
the United States. Accompanying this
there has grown in the United States
II tendency toward the practically
complete abandonment of the system
o: water transportation. Such a ten
dency is certainly not healthy and
am convinced that it will not be per
manent. There are many classes OF
commodities, especially those which
are perishable in their nature and
where the value is high relatively to
the bulk, which will always be carried
by rail. But bulky commodities which
are not of perishable nature will
always be specially suited for the con
ditions OF water transport. To illus
trate the truth of this statement it
would only be necessary to point to
the use of the canal system in many
countries of the Old World; but it
can be illustrated even better by what
has happened nearer home. The
Great Lakes offer a prime example of
the importance of good water high
way for mercantile traffic. As the
line OF traffic runs through lakes, the
conditions are in some respects differ
ent from what must obtain on even
the most important river. Neyerthe
less. it is well to remember that a
very large part of this traffic is con
ditioned upon an artificial waterway
canal-the famous 500. The com
merce that passes through the Soc
far surpas.ses in bulk and in value
that of the Suez canal.
From every standpoint II is de
sirable for the nation to join in i'm
proving the greatest system of rive
highways within its borders, sys
highway afforded by the Great Lakes
the highways of the Mississippi ant
its great tributaries, such as the Mis-
souri, and Ohio. This river system
traverses too many states to. rende
II possible to leave merely to tn
states the task OF fitting ii for tn
greatest use of which it is capable.
Is emphatically a national task, 10
this great river system is itself on
OF our chief national assets. With
the last few years there has been a
awakening in this country to the nee
OF both the conservation and the d.
velopment of our national resource
under the supervision of and by tn
aid of the federal government. TIL
is especially true of all that concern
our running waters. On the mou
tains from which the springs sta
We are now endeavoring to preser'
the forests which regular the wat
supply and prevent too startling vari
tions between droughts and freshet
Below the mountains. in the high d
regions of the western plains, We g
deavor to secure the proper utilizati'
of the waters for irrigation. This
at the sources of the streams. Earth