Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-10-09
FAIRNESS 1O ROADS
IS PLEA Of SHONIS
President of Glover Leaf Tells
Waterway Convention Lines
Are Not Hostile
THEIR INTERESTS ARE MUTUAL
Shonts Delivers Principal Address to
Convention on Closing Day-Hostile
Legislation Must Cease Before Per-
manent Prosperity Can Come, He
Declares.

Chicago, Oct. 9.-Theodore p Shonts
president of the Glover Leaf-Alton sys-
item, was the principal speaker at the
closing session of the deep waterway
convention here today. His subject
was "The Future of Rail and River
Transportation" He said the !construc-
tion of a lake-to-the- gulf waterway
was not looked upon with unfriendly
eyes by THE railroads, because they
realize that with the work completed
the commerce that is sure to follow the
establishment of national prosperity
can not be handled by the railroads.
Shoms declared that the greatest
obstacle steam railroads have to over
come, if they are permitted to operate
and expand as the traffic of the coun-
try goes, is providing adequate ter
animals, and the opening of this water
way would greatly add in the solu-
tion of this question He continued:
Il think that we will all agree that
our future as a nation depends, more
than any one thing, on the character
and extent Of the cost of service our
transportation lines render, and that
we have already shown the interest of
the rail and waiter lines are insep-
arably linked together, so that what
ever Injuries one will to a greater or
less extent cripple the other"
Shonts expressed himself in favor of
necessary laws which provide for wise
regulation of railroads. He said the
faces today was the physical operation
of railroads by commissions and de-
clared that because of hostile legisla-
ton and the fear of owners of rail-
road securities that they will not be
allowed to manage their own proper
ties, railroad development OF the coun-
try Is at o complete standstill He fur
ther said ttllat there can be no return
of prosperity that will stay with US un-
til the railroads are fairly treated.
What Others Have Accomplished.
John A. Ockerson, member of the
Mississippi river commission, also ad-
dressed the convention. He said in
part:
"As stated by your chairman, had
the honor Of appearing as an official
delegate of the United States at the
eleventh international congress Of
navigation held at st. Petersburg last
June. The Mississippi river commits
sion was particularly desirous Of as
certaining what was being done in the
way of construction and operation Of
dredging plants of great capacity, ana
particular attention was paid to this
subject. Nature has not done for Eu-
ropean waterways what it has for us,
and yet they have been developed and
improved until they have become most
factors in economical trans
portatfon.
zone waterway visited, has been en-
larged and deepened four times to keep
pace with the increasing demands Of
commerce until now they have a depth
of twenty-seven feet. The Kaiser Will
helm canal, but "a few years old. has
already been found inadequate and a
project has been adopted to double
the width and increase the depth to
forty feet at a cost of a million dollars
per mile.
Berlin is ambitious to be seaport,
from the Baltic sea is under way.
Brussels, Ghent and Bruges are en-
gagged on similar projects. Russia has
an elaborate project in view for en-
larging the waterway from the Baltic
sea to the Caspian, a project not un-
like our own from the lakes to the
guilt
Germany, France and Austria are
devoting their energies to the construc-
tion of canals and the Improvement Of
their streams. Great Britain has a
royal commission appointed for the
purpose of ascertaining the feasibility
OF developing an elaborate system Of
waterways which will involve an ex-
penditure; larger than the total amount
expended on our rivers and harbors
up to date.
Here we have the Mississippi sup
by the Great Lakes consti-
tuting reservoirs of such vast proper
tions that the volume diverted to the
gulf for purposes of navigation can
BILE extent. With such decided advant-
age we would fall far short of our duty
did we not project a waterway of such
great proportions IlldI IL WOulu 1ully
meet all requirements for many years
to come.
"The work of developing an adequate
channel will be gigantic, but the ben
fits to accrue will also be great. 1t is
q great work worthy of the earnest
of great nation and you
may feel sure that the American en-
gineer will not fall behind his Eu-
ropean brothers, but will carry to sue
cessful completion such project for
deep waterway as congress may
adopt"
New Orleans Next Year.
The old officers We're reelected. ex-
cept D. r. Forganat retiring in favor
Of E. S. Conway, of Chicago, on the
board Of governors. New Orleans Sc
cured the next convention. Resolutions
were adopted. demanding that a def
mite vigorous policy of waterway i'm
prov~nent, beginning with the lakes