Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1908-10-15
WATERWAY ENDORSED
Second Day Of tie Great Waterway
Conference Addressed By Colonel
Bryan ard Others.


Chicago, Spec;al.-Addrcsses by
William j. Bryan and Clifford Pinchot
'he latter being chairman of the ma
ional conservation commission, the
:eadlng of letter from James j.
hui, short addresses by delegates,
md big reception at the Coliseum
1t night were the features Of the sec
md day Of the convention Of the
.nkes-to-the-Gulf Deep Waterways
Association. Mr.. Bryan, who spoke
earnestly in favor of deep waterways.
'ot only from the lakes to the gulf
but in all other parts of the country.
where increased transportation facil-
ties were needed, was an enthusiastic
,ally received, as was William II.
Taft when he opened the convention
.he previous day.
MIR. Bryan's Address.
In addressing the convention Mr..
Bryan said in part:
You cannot give the people too
good facilities fer transportation Of
heir merchandise. If YOU tell me
you want to improve the Mississippi
| tell you that is all right. | will help
sou improve it just as far as YOU
please, and Inakc the canal as wide
IS you please and rs deep as you
please, and when You get to improv-
ng the Mississippi i will start out all
alone II necessary to improve every
1ver that empties into the Mississip-
ol. Water transportation is the nat
lral transportation. God made the
1vers, man made the railroads. When
fou finish river sufficiently deep for
commerce, or a canal upon which
BOATS can Heat, you make 1t possible
FOR man with small capital to act
while the railroads make it possible
Tor men with large capital to act
Where there is a river any man who
IAN build a boat can engage in trans
portation, and if he cannot build a
Dig boat he can build little boat and
If You have large number of little
boats the big boat will have to meet
the rate that the little boat fixes. You
will find ii much easier to regulate
rates on water than on land because
competition can be much more active
on water than on land We are an
exporting nation. We send our agri-
cultural products to foreign markets.
| and when our wheat or our cotton
reaches the London market its price is
fixed there by the competition which
1t meets. If bushel of wheat sells
for dollar in London and il takes
ifty cents to get it from the farm to
London the farmer gets fifty cents Ia
bushel for his wheat. If YOU can so
improve transportation that the FAR
mer can get his wheat from his farm
to Liverpool for twenty-five cents You
have added twenty-five cents to the
farmers price for this wheat. 1t is
fact that is admitted that the rail
road cannct carry freight as cheaply
as the boat can, and therefore every
| farmer is interested in establishing wa
ter communication wherever water
communication is possible.
Believer in Waterways.
81 believe in improving the water
| ways everywhere, no matter whether
| these waterways are the rivers that
| run down the mountainsides into the
ocean and the West or the WATERWAYS
that converge in the Mississippi val
ley and carry their floods to the gulf.
believe that it is the duty Of those
charged with the business Of govern
ment to develop these things upon
which a nation g prosperity depends.
"If the work should be done, and !
believe that it should, then you peo-
pie who believe 1t should be done
should agree upon the best methods
by which to do it. But l repeat that
you must not be frightened because
it may require an investment. At st.
Louis last fall they resolved that
$5O0,000,000 spent in improving the
waterways of the Mississippi valley
would bring an interest in the way
of decreased cost of transportation
I amounting to $1SO.O0O,OOO a year
Why, my friends, if it only saved
$50,000,000 a year it would be ten
per cent. interest on the investment.
81 believe that the plan should be
commenced now. l believe that it
should be a comprehensive plan, that
it should deal with the entire sub
ject and that it should be a perma-
nent plan; that we should begin now
10 lay the foundation for the future
greatness Of this country, in the
development of these natural re-
sources, these God-given water courses
Of ours"