The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-11-01
In Interest of the Birmingham
 Waterway Project
ENTHUSIASM IS GREAT
Commercial Club Holds Special Meet ino-Resolution Calling for conven- tion To Be Held Here-Mr. Van
 Hoose Committee Chairman.

mercial club yesterday afternoon.
 The club meeting was called to order by President Sterling A. Wood Secretary Babb read communication from John Craft, president of the Mobile Conner cial club, suggesting that convention l be held in Birmingham in the interest of waterways.
 T. H. Motion discussed the importance of calling a waterways convention here He had attended conventions held in tae interest of Mississippi river improvements and save it as his opinion that it was time for Birmingham to act. He said he
 made no mistake in attending the con-
 venton in Memphis. because there he l was impressed with the importance of or ] ganization. If" said MT. Motion. ethe i Mississippi valley country can stir up i Congress to appropriate $2O0. 900 GOO for the i Improvement of the Mississippi and it's
 tributaries it should be easy for us to get i $20,0OO.0OO to construct the Van Hoose canal. A waterways convention in Bif-
 mingham would be of great benefit 10
 this section of the country and hope it will be held"
 1 The chair called on E. W. Barrett to
 express an opinion on the advcisabilty to 1 calling a convention. Mir Barrett said l he thoroughly approved of the idea and i indorsed MT. Molton's remarks 1 w. D. Nesbitt said he agreed with Mr 1 Motion to the advsablity of calling
 waterways convention here, but he sug- l gested that the agricultural sections be especially invited to participate, as they,
 like the whole state, would be benefited.
 MT. Nesbitt dweled on the importance of
 organization. He said that if we were i to start this waterways or canal project
 off all right We must be thoroughly or
 ganized to press the matter before Con
 gress.
 | MT. Motion moved that the waterwals 1 convention be called for November 19. and
 that the club invite representatives from Alabama, Mississippi Tennessee, Georgia and Florida
 J. A. Van Hoose, on being asked by the chair to speak one the subject of the proposed waterways said in part: T am heartily in favor of calling this | convention. A few years ago the late l Senator Morgan, one of the greatest thinkers and statesmen this country has ever had, held a conference of prominent l citizens at fhe Hotel Hillman for the l purpose of impressing on us the impor- l tance of a waterway from Birmingham l to the gulf The Senator said there were 1 three propositions or ideas to be borne in mind. First-You have never asked | Congress for canal Second-Nobody is l coming to make us ask for it. Thrd-You | will never get 1t until you ask for it. Senator Morgan went on to say, You
 may not be walking in your sleep, but | you are talking in your sleep He said that no matter what it might cost that 1t would have to be done.
 | T do not like to say anything against a man who is not present." continued | MT. Van Hoose, but will say that 1 Congressman Underwood does not seem to | have been impressed with the importance | of a waterway from Birmingham to the | sea" MT. Underwood said Mr. Van | Hoose, should take up this matter and | lend an active and helping hand to the project which is now absorbing the atten- 1 ton of the south.
 The way to get anything is to go after it." said Van Hoose. He referred
 
 aid had given the canal enterprise. He said that for years this paper had ad- vocated intelligently and with marked fidelity an open waterway to the gulf. | Referring again to the late Senator Morgan. MT. Van Hoose said that the great statesman at the conference held here lifted his finger In warning and speaking with all the fervor of his soul, said: "I say to you men, don't let a town start opposite to Birmingham on the Warrior river. It is too late now to discuss whether Birmingham should have been built on the Warrior Your shops, your banks your business en- 1 terprises your life blood are already here, but if you allow rival to start on the Warrior you will regret it to your dying day. A great city on the Warrior would be the Pittsburg of the south.'
 Quit fooling about this matter" said Van Hoose. "Go to work. Joseph Rip ley, the famous government engineer, said to me in 1895 that if the govern ment would make the appropriation he could connect Birmingham to the gulf in three years time"
 MT. Van Hoose said that the Pitts burg canal has been financed by the government at a cost of $7000 900, and that that enterprise had whipped Ala bama coal out of New Orleans. We sat In our sleep and took the whipping that Pittsburg gave us.
 Now, if we will take off coats and go to work you will get the ap- prop riation from Congress necessary to do the work in question" said Van Hoose. "Other sections are poking us in our ribs and poking fun at us. We sit smiling. Some do not believe in the practicality of the waterway they think it is all moonsh inc, but 1t is not moonshine. When 1 was down in Pan- anna recently l asked Engineer Ripley if he still believed that Birmingham could be connected with the gulf at a reasonable cost and within three years. He said that if he had to make his report of 1895 over again he would make it still stronger.
 "Gentlemen, I am talking roughly and even angrily to you. l am doing it for purpose. I want to get you so aroused that you will go to work. I want to arouse you from your sleep. I heartily favor the resolution for the calling of a convention" tGreat ap- plause.)
 MT. Barrett said that he. too, was present at the conference with Sena- tor Morgan He remembered how strongly the canal project was present. ed but he said that if anything was to be done it must be by earnest and concerted effort. It cannot be done by