The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-10-02
favors the Improvement of
The Great System of River
Highways, Declaring 1t Is
A National Task.
THIS GREAT SYSTEM
is A NATIONAL ASSET.
Does Not Plead for an Exten-
sion of Constitutional Pow
er But for the Application of
What We Already Have.

ST. Louis, Oct. 2-Perhaps the most
spectacular feature Of the visit of the
president here today was the great
water pageant early this morning in
his honor. The best class of river
boats had been gayly decorated and
steamed up the river to escort the
president to the city. His coming was
announced by the booming of cannon
and the burst of martial music.
The visit of the president is link
ed with the festivities of a weeks
carnival and will mark the great eli
max of the program. The carnival
feature alone has attracted thousands
and the added attraction of the presi-
dent resulted in one Of the greatest
crowds ST. Louis has ever entertain
ed. The city's experience in handling
the worlds fair crowds resulted in
systematic arrangement of details for
today.
Every precaution was taken to
guard the person Of the president
from possible injury. Aside from the
companies the president, the police
department arranged to throw about
the distinguished visitor a double
guard at ali times.
In his speech the president did
what it was hoped he would-advO-
cate Improvement of the Mississippi
river In part he said:
Favors Waterway Improvement.
1t is a very real pleasure to address
this body of citizens of Missouri here
in the great city Of st. Louis. I have
often visited ST. Louis before, but al
ways by rail. Now l am visiting it in
the course of a trip by water, trip on
the great natural highway which runs
past your very doors-a highway once
so important, now almost abandoned,
which l hope this nation will see not
only restored to all its former useful
ness, but given a far greater degree Of
usefulness to correspond with the ex-
traordinary growth in wealth and pop
ulation of the Missippi Valley. We
have lived in an era of phenomenal
railroad building. AS routes for mer-
chandise, the iron highways have COM
pletely supplanted the old wagon roads,
and under their competition the i'm
portance of the water highways has
been much diminished. The growth
of the railway system has been rapid
all over the world, but nowhere so rap
i'd as in the United States. Accompa-
nying this there has grown in the Unit
ed States a tendency toward the prac-
tically complete abandonment of the
system of water transportation. Such
a tendency is certainly not healthy
and l am convinced that it will not be
permanent. 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 a perishable nature will al
ways be specially suited for the con-
ditions OF water transport. To illus
would only be necessary to point to the
use Of the canal system in many coun-
tries of the Old World; but it can be
illustrated even better by what has
happened nearer home The Great
Lakes offer prime example of the i'm
portance of a good water highway for
mercantile traffic. AS the line of
traffic runs through lakes. the condi-
tions are in some respects different
from what must obtain on even the
most important river. Nevertheless,
1t is well to remember that very
large part of this traffic is conditioned
upon an artificial waterway, a canal
the famous 500. The commerce that
passes through the 500 far surpasses
In bulk and in value that of the Suez
canal.
From every standpoint it is desirable
for the nation to join in improving the
great system of river highways within
Its borders, system second only in
Importance to the highway afforded
by the Great Lakes; the highways Of
the Mississippi and its great trubuta-
ries, such as the Missouri and Ohio.
Tnis river system traverses too many
states to render it possible to leave
merely to the states the task of fitting
it for the greatest use of which it is
capable. 1t is emphatically a national
task, for this great river system is it.
self one of our chief national assets.
Within the last few years there has
been an awakening in this country to
the need of both the conservation and
the development of our national re-