The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-12
RaiIrOad Magnate Is Disap-
 pointed At Apathy Shown
BIG SUM SHOULD BE RAISED
Continuous Work On a Large Scale Is Plan Suggested By Yoakum and Congress Is Urged to Take
 Action.

St. Louis, December 11.-B. F. Yoakum, chairman of the executive committee of the Rock IsIand-Frisee lines, tonight gave the Associated Press the following state ment relative to the inland waterways movement:
 "If the newspaper reports from Wash 1ngton are correct, am disappointed at the attitude of the commercial bodies of St. Louis and Chicago in their work for governmental appropriations for improve ment of inland waterways. I presume they hesitate to ask for larger sums on account of the past policy of the gov ernment in dealing with this question of national importance.
 What can we expect to accomplish in our country's growth with the in significant sum of $75J0.0OO to be followed bq the inadequate sum of $5O,OOO,Oo0 am nually to be dribbled out over the next ten years. Any plan that does not con- template continuous work on large scale means in the future what we have had in the past-no substantial improve ment.
 "The construction of canals and the deepening of our rivers and navigable streams is contract work and if handled in an unbusiness like manner the result will be just the same whether it is the peoples money entrusted to Congress and other federal officers as trustees. or whether the money comes frorN private capital and is wasted through misman- agement.
 ''I regret to observe that some of our leading men in public are indorsing the policy of the governments improvement of our waterways on the theory that t would be an instrument of regulation Of the railroads. Such views are narrow and inconsistent with the facts. It is not problem of rate regulation but of traffic facilities. If the government undertakes the work it will require from 10 to To years to gain the benefits which We should have. In the meantime the coun- try will continue to grow and unless the farmers and manufacturers served by the railroads can have their traffic promptly handled at inland ports the loss must fall upon the farmer, the man. ufacturer and the merchant alike.
 'If this country Is to go forward as it should, the government must permit a fair return to private capital in vested in railroad construction and put in motion the money to expend $16,- 0O0. 900 annually for 10 years on water ways and expanding and our national irrigation system.
 "The improvement of the inland waterways is a big project. The work should be permanent. The marine ave- nues will be important, even necessary accessories of transportation rendering invaluable service to more than half of the United States.
 'In order to realize the extraordinary object sought the present plans must be cooperative the arrangement thor ough, a paltry expenditure would be waste. not improvement and the pub lies money would be disbursed in stupendous undertaking that would end in financial commercial governmental failure.
 ''The appropriations must be on scale commensurate with the work and ob- iects. It would be better not to at tempt than to fail. Public money should not be sunk.
 eff the government wishes to make a success of deep waterways let 1t use enough money to produce results"