The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-12-05
Delegates Form Most Notable Assemblage.
EVERY STATE REPRESENTED
Address of French Ambassador
 Made Marked Impression.
Secretary Root, on Behalf of the Gov ernment, Extended the Congress Hearty Sympathy In Its
 Work.

Washington. Dec. 4.-Prominent off cials of the national government, gov ernors of States. representatives oi foreign powers, members of the Sen ate and House of Representatives and leaders in all walks of civil life In America participated today in the open ing of the convention of the National Rivers and Harbors Congress.
 Nearly 2.Oo0 delegates representing every State were present. 1t Is not ex' action in promotion of the projects ad. vocated by the congress will be taken but it Is hoped that the work of the convention will so impress the nationa Congress as to induce it to make ade. quate appropriations for rivers anc harbors of the country. It Is the de sire of the delegates to secure such ac. ton by the Congress of the United States as will promote the, trade ano commerce of America.
 It is not a special project that the convention has in view, but the adop- ton of a policy by the government looking to the extension of the trans l portatton facilities of the United States On behalf of the national admins tration. MT. Elinu Root, Secretary ol State. extended to the Congress heart,
 
 undertaken and gave assurance of thu support of the administration In thu conclusions arrived at by the delegates | The congress will be in session fol three days and the body will be ad' dressed by some of the most prominent | publicists ana economists of the United States
 Conyeution Opens.
 The convention was formally opened | at 10 o'clock this morning. Represep' | tative Joseph E. Ransdeii, of Louisia ra presiding. and J. F. Ellison, of Cincin- nati, officiated as secretary. The ses. | sion began with prayer by Earl Grams. I ton. Bishop of the Methodist Episcopa | church.
 vened, President RansdeIl was present ed with silver mounted gavel by tn, ! Upper Mississippi Improvement As scciation prSsidsnt Rahsdeil in open ffag the Congress, referred to the worl of tho nationai administration in pro noting trade relations between Amert | ca and foreign countries, lying to th' | South of the United States and referred | in complimentary terms to the achieve ments of Secretary Root. of the Stat' department. in promoting those rela | tions. He then presented to the Con l gress the Secretary of State. | Secretary Root Speaks. | Secretary Root was received witi great applause, the delegates rising to greet him.
 Tt is a pleasure" said secretar, Root, ITO extend to you the interes and hearty support of the Nationa 1 Administration in your great work. I has a subject of much understanding and depreciation and even of derison
 Our people are SO busy that the in habitants of one section of the coun' try understand little of what is goins on in the other sections. The people get their ideas of the national situa. tion from the headlines of newspapers and. fin the nature of things. the news papers represent that which is of tn, most sensational interest to the people | Every abnormal thing is accentuated murders. suicides. entertainments, ar, prominently presented to the readerl of the newspapers each day. In tn. national course every abnormal thing of the rivers and harbors bill has beer I made the most of and we have gotter into the habit of talking about tn, pork barrel" It is time that W, have thought aud consideration in thii matter so that the people of the Unite, States may understand that the river and harbors work is a matter of grea public policy"
 Secretary Root related an inciden l uI FtN0TS anu WHICH he had prepared veto message whii, he was Secretary of War. That >bil was not presented but was talSet to death in the Senate. He said tha | if the measure had been voted it woul, have been not because the propose, | Improvements were unjustified. but be cause of the proper improvement O certain mountain streams which Pres ident Mckinley believed was not war ranted.
 Ts Not a Project.
 Continuing, the Secretary said tha the policy followed by the Unite, States must be considered truly as policy and not as a project. He re ferred to the construction of the Pan anna Canal and to the Improvement O the Erie Canal as instances showinI that the American people stand square ly behind the improvement of water ways and he expressed the hope tha they would assert that policy in tn future.
 Tn your last convention" said Sec retary Root. there was some refer ence that we should not cross a brIdg until we reacbed It. We now hay reached the bridge. (Applause. Ther is no greater achievement than tn transportation of articles which ar valueless at one point to another poin l where they are valuable. The rail roads of the country no longer are abI to carry the traffic of America and tn one avenue open to such traffic Is wa ter transportation. We must nov forward or we will go back wards. mi particularly appeals because am in terested in the promotion of the for eign commerce of America | SC American production handicapped b. two things:
 | First-The great cost of getting tn
 goods to the seaboard. and
 Second-The absence of an America
 merchant marine.
 At the conclusion of Secretary Root
 address, Joseph E. Ransdell. Preslden
 of the Congress. presented in an ad
 dress a report of the work of the Con
 gress during the past few months. 1T
 then introduced NJ Jusserand the Am
 bassador of Franco to the United State,
 who spoke in part as follows:
 France Holds Records
 we hold the record for the present,
 said Ambassador Jusserand.
 You will hold 1t in turn when tn
 great Panama Canal is finished W
 turned the first sod, you will turn tn
 last, and no one will applaud nor
 heartily than your predecessors" | The Ambassador then reviewed tn