The Washington times., 1908-02-26
Report on WATERWAYS
Accompanied by
Message.
Railroads Drove Ship
Ding From Missis-
sippi, He Asserts.
lntOIerable Monopoly
Threatened by the
Power Concerns.

day to congress was:
To the Senate and House Cs Represent
atives.
/ transmit herewith a preliminary re-
port from the Inland Waterways Com
mission. which was appointed by me
Interest and demand from the people.
The basis Of this demand lay in tds
general and admitted inability Of the
railroads TO handle promptly tho traffic
OF The country. and especially the crops
OF The previous fall
This report is wen worth your atteu-
ton. It Is thorough, conservative, sane
ana just II represents the mature
/ judgment Of a body of men exception
ally qualified. by personal experience
and knowledge Of conditions through
out the United States, TO understand
and discuss the great problem OF how
pest 10 use our waterways In the inter
est of all the people Unusual care has
been taken to secure accuracy ana bal
ance or statement II the report errs
at al It is by Over-cOnserVatism It
contains findings or statements OF fact,
number OF specific recommendations.
and an account Of inquiries still IN pro
greSs, and IL IS based IN part On sta
LiStlCS and other information contained
IN Voluminous appendix. The subject
with which II deals IS OF critical i'm
poIJanc3 both TO the present and the
future Of our country.
Our river systems are better adaNted
70 the needs Of the people than those
of any other country. In extent, dis
tribution, navigability, and ease Of use,
they stand first. Yet the rivers q no
other civilized country are so poorly de-
velOped, so little used. or play so small
a part in the industrial life OF the ma
tion as those of the United States. In
view Of the use made of rivers else
where, tho failure 10 use our own is
astonishing, and no thoughtful man
can believe that It viii last The ac-
COmpanying report indicates clearly the
reasons Tor II and the way 10 end II.
Roads Destroyed River Commerce.
The commission finds that it was un-
regulated railroad competition which
prev vented or destroyed the development
Of commerce on our inland waterways.
The Mississippi, our greatest natural
highway. Is a case in point. At one
time the traffic upon it was without a
rival in any country. The report shows
that commerce was driven from the
mississippi by the railroads While pro
ction was limited, the railways, with
their convenient terminals. gave quicker
and more satisfactory service than the
waterways. Later they prevented the
restoration of river traffic by keeping
down their rates along the rivers. re-
coupling themselves by higher charges
elsewhere. They also acquired water
fronts and terminals to an extent which
made water competition impossible.
Throughout the country the railways
have secured such control OF canals and
steamboat lines that today inland water
way transportation is largely In their
hands. This was natural and doubtless
inevitable under the circumstance. but
81 should not be allowed 10 continue IN
less under careful Government regula-
ten.
Comparatively little inland freight is
.s4H- ia
part Of its journey by rail also As
the report shows, the successful develop
~ eut and use of our interstate water
ways Sill require intelligent regulation
Of the relations between rail and water
traffic. When this is done the railways
and waterways viii assist instead Of In
JUriug each other Both viii benefit, but
the chief benefit viii accrue to the peo-
Die in general through quicker and
cheaper transportation.
Use Streams in Various Ways.
The report rests throughout on the
fundamental conception that every
waterway should be made to serve The
people as largely and in as many off
ferent ways as POSSIBLE. 1t Is poor
business TO develop a river for naviga-
ton in such a way as to prevent its use
Tor power. when by little foresight It
could be made to serve both purposes.
We can not afford needlcssly to sacri-
flee power 10 irrigation, or trrfgat1 ~ to
domestic water supply, when by taking
thought we may have all three.
Every stream should be used to the
utmost. No stream can be so used un-
less such use is planned for in advance.
When such plans are made we shall
md that, Instead OF interfering, one
use can often be made to assist another.
Each river system. from it's headWaters
IN the forest 20 its mouth on the coast,
IS a single unit and should be treated
as such Navigation of the lower
reaches OF stream can not be fully de-
veloped without the control of floods
ana low waters by storage and drain
age. Navlgabl6 channels are directly
concerned with tho protection of source
waters. and with soil erosion which
takes the materials for bars and shoals
from the richest portions OF our farms.
The uses OF a stream for domestic and
municipal water supply, for power, and
in many cases for irrigation, must also
be taken into full account
COnserves National Resources.
The development Of our inland water
ways will have results far beyond the
immediate gam 10 commerce. Deep
channels along the Atlantic and Gulf
coasts and from the Gulf to the Great
Lakes viii have nigh value for the ma
tIOual defense. The use OF Water-poWer
VIII medSuFdDly reheNe the drain upon
our diminishing supplies of COAL and
transportation by water instead OF rail
only viii tend 30 conserve our iron.
Forest protection, without which river
Improvement cannot be permanent Will
at the same time help to postpone the
threatened timber famine, and viii Sc
cure us against total dearth of timber
by providing for the s5aTpetuation Of the
remaining woodlands. Irrigation viii
create the means of livelihood for mil
lions OF people. ana supplies OF pure
water will powerfully promote the pub
lie health.
II the policy Of waterway improve
ment here recommended is carried out,
Il viii affect for good every citizen
OF the Republic. The National Govern
ment must play the leading part in Sc
curing the largest possible use OF or
waterways; other agencies can assist
and should assist, but the work is es-
sentially national in its scope.
The various uses OF waterways are
now dealth with by bureaus scattered
through four Federal departments. At
present therefore. Il Is not possible to
deal with q river system as a single
n-oblem- But the commission here