Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1908-09-15
RIVERS AND
HARBCRs CONVENTION
Committee Engaged In SECURING
Good Speakers.

ers and Harbors congress will not
meet until December In this city,
officials of the congress are busily
engaged in securing representative
men to deliver addresses during the
three days the congress will remain
in session. And It can now be
stated that the efforts of the presi-
dent of the congress, Hon. Joseph f.
Ransdel. of Louisiana, and the sec
retary, Captain J. r. Ellison, OF Gin
cinnati, Ohio, in securing eminent
speakers for the National Rivers and
Harbor5 congress, give promise OF
making the Forthcoming convention
the most brilliant in the history OF
this great national movement.
The Chinese. minister, DR.. Ting.
Fang, will address the congress at
one of its sessions. the precise date
not having been decided upon,s his.
subjectSbeing Canals ana watefl
ways of the Flowery Kingdom"
The canals of China extend all
through its valleys and are morenu-
merous than the roads in our most
populous states, their construction II
some cases, especially In Ningpo,
dating back to 400 years b. G.
Investigation shows that the prir
| cipal canals in China were natural
| outlets from lakes and swamps, the
! soil being allucial, the same as the
great valley OF the Mississippi;
thence the first canals in the coun-
try which Minister wu represents In
Washington, were like the bayons OF
Louisiana, their flow In the river be.
ing obstructed by dams at the
mouth.
AS to the extent of trade by these
canals, which touch nearly all OF
the farms in many OF the districts, Il
Is difficult to ascertain, the Chinese
government not having made any
systematic effort to collect transpors
tation statistics so far as Is known
to the Consular Bureau OF the State
Department.
Ambassador Mr.. Joaquin Nabuco,
of Brazil, Is another eminent for
eigner who will speak of the water
ways OF Brazil" an intensely interest
ing subject and one with which Mr..
Nabuco is thoroughly familiar.
Into Brazil you could put the
whole OF the United States and still
have room for the German Empire
Amazing as II is, out OF the Amazon
river every morning there flows fivt
times as much water as is discharged
from the mouth OF the Mississippi
according to Mr.. Lohn Barrett, d.
rector-in-ciief OF the Internationa
Bureau of American Republics.
While our setaIners have difficulty
In going rp as far as New Orleans
vessels as large as the "Lusitania'
can go a thousand miles up the Am
azon and find there city OF sixt!
thousand people equal to any towi
in the United States OF the same pop
ulation and with all the modern I'm
provements and Developments tina
characterize city OF that size here
In the port of Rio Janeiro, Bra
zil's beautiful capital. the great re
public has spent twenty-five millio'
dollars In making harbor improve
ments and concrete basins and dock
that WIN surpass anything In tn
United States and rival any othe
harbor In the world
at Para. near the mouth OF tn
Amazon and almost on the equatol
they have commenced ehann'
dredging and dock construction this
Iwnl cost $4,000. 900. and provid
for them docks and basins equal I
the facilities of any harbor in ~
rope" said Mr.. Parrett in recei
, interview.
In this connection II is interestin
to note that five OF the Latin-Amer
can countries to the south of us
Brazil. Uruguay. Argentina. Chill
, and Mexico-haye now under WI
. harbors and channel construction u
: which direct appropriations OF NJ
less than 800. 900. 200 have bee
made. and these same governmen
, announce that they have only bes'
vast Tcheme of waterway improV
ments which they contemplate W