Bismarck daily tribune., 1908-11-26
RIVER
Is the Subject Of Enthus-
iastic Meeting Of
Local Men
". A. Campbell Tells Of Ef-'
forts Being Made for
River Navigation
Local Organization Formed.
to Boost for MisSOufi's
Improvement

At the Commercial club rooms
Wednesday noon, Will "A. Campbell
of the Omaha Bee who is promoting
the interests of the Missouri River
Improvement congress, addressed
those present on the plans for
keeping the matter before the ma
tional congress.
The cities on the lower part
of the river are much interested
and are now pushing for the inn
provement of the Big Muddy all the
time 1t is desired to interest the
upper river cities by forming aux
iliary associations at every city and
town. Helena, Fort Benton and
Williston already have associations.
Mr.. Campbell suggested that Bis
marck form one at once. He is go
ing to Mandan to try have one orga-
nized there, and also to Washburn
to form one for Mclean county. By
these auxiliaries in the river towns,
information will be gathered and
spread abroad and when action is
necessary to prod our congressman,
these societies can be called on to
do the business. The membership
fee is one dollar and this is used to
print the literature, pay expenses of
conventions, ct cetera.
The next Missouri River Improve
ment congress will be held at Yank-
ton, and in 1910 it will probably be
held in Bismarck ...
MFR. Campbell's Address.
There was representative gather
ing of business men at the CONNER
cial club rooms when President
Conklin called the meeting to order.
He then introduced Mr.. W. A. Camp
bell, who, after a few words of
greeting, spoke as follows as to his
mission:
First, I suppose should tell you
why 1 am here. 1t is certainly not
to tell you about the Missouri river
and it's navigability, for I could not
tell you anything that you do not
know. I find men here, who, like
the old man at Fort Benton, came
into the countrp by steamboat when
the tracks of Lewis and Clark were
fresh in the mud and -ssWhiskey"
Brown had just drawn the plans for
Square Butte, but I might tell you
something of what the Missouri
River Navigation congress is doing,
and that 1 believe the improvement
of our inland waterways is the firm
est fixed in our federal policies -
surer even than tariff revision.
ST am here to carry out one sec
tion of the constitution of the organi-
zation which 1 represent. When
Governor A. B. Cummins of Iowa re-
ported at the first meeting of the
congress, as chairman of the reso-
luton committee, one section of his
report said: -.-,
"'The object of this association
will be to secure the improvement Of
the Missouri river, the collection,
preparation and presentation to con-
4 gress of the United States statistics
and other information bearing on
the nature, extent and necessities OF
the Missouri river commerce and
navigation
| Digging Out the Facts.
| s'My presence here today shows
! that the organization is carrying
| out its original plans. have been
in Montana to get the facts, to get
an idea of what the boats will car
Try and the expansion of business and
| conservation of resources which will
follow a cheaper means Of trans
portation than the railroads will ever
i be able to give us.
so far as my ability goes I have
i gone to the places where tonnage
loriginates and have found out hat
1.-THE tax is which you are paying for
| transportationa surer tax than tar
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