The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-26
PETITION
 PRESIDENT South Wants Chance at
 Business. CONFERENCE ON PANAMA New Orleans Meeting Addressed by
 Senator Blackburn. W. ,. Oliver Prophesfed that werk- men On Isthmus would Not stand for DfctatoriaI Methods of
 Army omcers.

New Orleans. March 25.--Delegates from a large section of the South as- sembled at the Southern States and Gulf Coast Panama Conference here today. adopted the following resoolu- tiuns:
 First--The natural economical route for a large part of the United States for passengers and materials intended for Panama is via the ports of the Gulf of Mexico.
 Second--The Isthmian Canal Com mission has been operating what is practically a Government-owned, steam saip service from New, York to Pan anna and this exclusive service via New York places the industries of the South, the Gulf States, the Mississippi, Ohio. Missouri, Alabama and Georgia valleys and contiguous territory at a prohibitive disadvantage
 Thfrd-The Southern States and Gulf Coast Panama Conference represents to President Roosevelt that at least two of the Governments steamships should be operated out of gulf port. because of its closer proximity by some 500 miles to Colon than New York.
 Fourth--we strongly protest against the determinations of the purchasing department Of the Panama Railroad Steamship Line. whereby the large ma jority of orders are confined to the Eastern States. We see in this virtual monopoly of present canal trade thu gravest danger to future prosperity of sections of the United States. partic- ularly the Southern and Gulf Coast States, as the persistent diversion of trade to Eastern ports will have the certain tendency to establish and main- tain a channel of commerce in that di- rection from and through the Panama Canal when 1t shall have been com pleted. thereby cutting of the natural ports from successful competition.
 Petition President.
 The resolutions concluded by peti- tioninE President Roosevelt for the government controlled ships and also to investigate the reason why the count of the Panama steamship lknei are made in the Eastern States.p
 Former Senator Joseph Blackburn of Kentucky, member of she canal comission and representative of Sec retary of War Taft at the meeting said that if the government did not main- tain it's own line of steamers as at present the United States would be at the mercy of two foreign owned lines in transporting supplies to the isthmus. He said also that the steamers could not be divided between New York and gulf port without im- pairing the service to the detriment of the workers on the canal. He said there is no discrimination against the South.
 At tonighes session W. J. Oliver. the contractor, made the following criticism of the canal work.
 Tt Is greatly to be regretted that the administration has decided to place the construction of the Panama canal in the hands of army engineers instead of committing it's fate to con- tractors,
 "No matter how capable The army engineers may be, their training has not been along the lines of construc- ton on a large scale. they are to- tally without organization to draw from and will always be wound up In costly red tape. Army methods will not avail for a civilian always has one more right than soldier-he can quit and the high spirited Amer ican citizen will certainly exercise that right when he comes to face the arbitrary, dictatorial methods of army officers"
 Tonight's session was merged with a smoker given by the Progressive Un- ion. About half an hour was spent in Progressive Union business matters, after which Governor Blanchard, of Louisiana took charge of the meeting
 In addition to the governors speech Senator Blackburn repeated his speech of the afternoon and said that he had been commissioned to attend the meet ing to listen and learn whether the gulf states had just grievance in the matter of Panama canal trade. J. W. Porch and W. J. Oliver also spoke.