The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-12-07
INLAND WATERWAYS.

Taken with reference to the long
futcre what he says about our inland
waterways is the most important part
of the Presidents message. The diff
ficulty with corporations is for the
most part psychological, like our re-
current panics. In creating these for
midable agencies we were little more
ingenious and powerful than we
thought we could be. We grew afraid
of our own handiwork and have not
yet quite recovered our equanimity;
but that will come in time Some
Aladdin will presently find lamp
which need only be rubbed on the rim
and the corporate Jim will obediently
serve the country which they now
threaten to ruin. When our judges
find way out of the enchanted for
est of technicalities where they wan
der, the legal troubles with the syndi-
Gates will disappear like morning mist
Lack of common sense lies at the
basis of most of our difficulties with
internal waterways are among those
material things which lie at the basis
of civilization. Upon them depend the
increase of population and the security
of human welfare or this continent.
From most new devices in the realm
of mechanics people expect too much
This was emphatically true of rail-
roads. When the country began, to be
reticulated with iron tracks it was be-
lieved by everybody that the day of
inland water transportation had gone
forever. The old Chesapeake and
Ohio Canal fell into disuse. The Mis-
.sissippi steamboats, were left to rot at
the forsaken wharves and the towns
along the great river which had
thriren on the trade Of the boats were
almost deserted. The chanenl of the
river became clogged with sandbars;
the water, forced out of the banks in
along the lower reaches, while the de-
struction Of the forests along the upper
river Intensified and fastened the pro-
cess OF universal ruin. What was the
use of spending time and money to
rectify the river? The day of its use-
fulness was gone forever The navi-
CATION of the Mississippi had passed
into history and was of no further in
terest except in Mark Twain's books.
Then came the awakening. The
country discovered all at once that il
was impossible to carry its internal
commerce on the railroads. The svs-
tem of railroad transportation which
had seemed adequate for all time
broke down. 1t was perceived that we
must either develope the water traffic
once so 1espised or forever dwarf the
growth of the country. Mr.. Roosevelt.
with his usual foresight, was one of
the first to see the dimensions of tho
internal waterway problem. and he
mas consistently advocated a broad and
scientific scheme of DEVELOPMENT This
scheme would include the improve
ment OF river channels and The con-
struction of canals The rivers to he
improved are naturally in the first in
stance the Mississippi. with its trfbu-
tari"s, and the Columbia. BIT the
President wisely recommends that the
. main channels shall he mace navieable
FOR deep draft vessels before the trihu-
taries are attempted
The first step in improving the chan
nels OF the Mississippi and Columbia
rivers viii naturally be. to reforest
tneir banks. This will put a stop 10
the wash of soil, which builds the
sandoars and renders dredging mere
wasteful palliative. The Mississippi
contains no rapids from the falls of St.
anthony TO the Gulf. except the rather
negligible ones at the mouth of the
Rock river. But with the Columbia
the case is different. To have a navi-
gaeie channel from the mouth 10 the
head of boat navigation there must be
at least canal at Cello. so that this
canal is really part of the Improve
ment OF the river channel Along the