The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-01-23
r1nEs on coMMERcE To SEA.


The house rivers and harbors CON-
mittee is evidently controlled by in
huences hostile to the development OF
the water transportation lines of the
Mississippi valley. 1t has been at
work, by various committee room ex-
pedients. to minimize the claims of
the western rivers in the rivers and
harbors bill now in preparation, and
above all to pevent the adoption Of
any comprehensive plan for securing
permanent deep channels in the Mis-
sissippi river and its main tributaries.
The committee is more than willing
to provide a bigger congressional bar
rel of pork for distribution among all
the members, and to pour thousands
lavishly into Bitter creek, Skowhegan
hollow and Catfish slough, but draw
the line at a depth of more than 8
feet in the Mississippi, the greatest
continental river of the western hem
isphere. Awkwardly for the purposes
offthe committee. a competent board
or government engineers and a COM
mission, at the close of 1905, after
long and careful practical examina-
ton, reported favorably on the FEAST
bility and cost of a 14-foot channel
between st. Louis and the Chicago
drainage canal. No engineering diff
culties were found and the cost was
placed at about s31 100000. In Or
der to destroy the force of this valu-
able report the rivers and harbors
adopted the original
scheme of sending the scientific data
of an actual survey to a reviewing"
board of engineers. These reviewers
are compelled to admit that the IA
foot channel is sound as an engineer
ing proposition, and that the estimate
of cost is correct, but, assuming to be
commercial prophets, say the pros
pective traffic would not warrant the
outlay.
On this point the merchants, man
and business men gener-
ally Of the Mississippi valley are far
better judges than any reviewing
board of engineers the committee
could organize to furnish 1t with such
advice as will suit its predictions.
The engineers whose long and thor
ough investigations were in favor of
he 14-foot channel are among the
most experienced connected with the
government And the reviewers. as
engineers, agree with them, though
going outside into the question of
'uture commercial growth. AS a
natter of fact, the ruling spirits of
he rivers and harbors committee are
lot afraid that the business on the
4-foot channel would be too little. |
They fear its greatness. One of the
pokesmen of the committee says the
ide of commerce has been running |
last and west so long that it is not
advisable to disturb it, Such argu-
nents are vain. Conditions of ma
ional growth assert themselves in |
pite OF old tendencies and selfish in
erests. Already the tide has set to-
ward the southwest, and 1t will run
more and more strongly in the direc-
ion to which the Mississippi points
he way. There are the isthmian
anal, Mexico, Central America. the
Vest Indies and South America. AS
art of the new world they are more
ttractive than AN attempted Jump /
cross the Pacific to the crowded
of eastern Asia.
An enormous traffic would spring
p over the Mississippi II its channel
'ere deepened to the IA feet the
ctual surveying engineers say can
e constructed for what is compare
lively moderate sum- The Missis-
ippi valley is the earth's greatest
enter of production and its present
opulation is immense. Reaching
lto more than half the states and
arritories, and forming the natural
utlet of half the Canadian domain
S business prospects are much too
asst for the vision OF a reviewing
GARD anxious to adjust its views to
ne wishes Of committee with a pow
rful bias against any comprehensive |,
yer improvement. If the Mississip-
valley gets anything from the
ouse rivers and harbors committee
now constituted. a vigorous, de-
'rmlned fight is necessary, and one
lat viii force conclusions.-Glob