Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-10
BOATS SOON, SAYS WATTLES
Traffic on Missouri Before Long, in
Mind of Banker.
HOME FROM WATERWAYS MEET
Ecnects Sentiment of That Gathering
in Chicago of Big Business
Men from Many
states.

81 believe Il viii not be long before
there Is a boat line on the Missouri river
said @. w. wattles. who returned Friday
morning from Chicago. where he attended
the meetings Of the Lakes to the Gulf Deer
Waterways association.
THE people are really aroused and the
meeting az Chicago has given impetus TO
the movement. Some very sound things
were said before the meetings by some
sound business men. It seems to me the
policy has been mapped out right by both
James J Hin OF the Great Northern and
William II. Taft. Each stream should be
taken up and impToved-or converted into
a navigable water way by a commission
and the powers delegated to the chief exec
utive lust as they have been in handling
the Panama canal work.
"As to the Missouri river. some one is
going to put a boat or two on the river
soon. 1t will be an experiment, OF course
and will cost someone money. It does not
seem quite right that the government should
take the stand that boats must be running
on the river before the rivers and harbors
mmitt will recommend that appro-
pr,atlons be made for making the stream
navieablc. 1t appeals to me as being I'M
fair. quite as unfair as requiring that n
railroad be run across a section OF the
country without a track to ascertain
whether or not a railroad is needed. But,
IL a boat line will pay now, how much
more win 81 pay II the Missouri is kept
free from snags and crossings and a chan
mel kept open"
Tart and Bryan.
There was a marked contrast between
the addresses Of Mr.. Taft and Mr.. Bryan,
according to Omahans who attended the
meeting. Mr.. Taft did as ne was expected
to do, laying down a definite way in which
to improve the waterways, stating a fixed
policy and suggesting how the money
could be raised. This was Mr.. Taft's
principle:
"Commonweaths and communities can
stand to. pay the tax necessary to improve
the waterways, but commonwealth and
communities cannot long stand the tax
Of waste, indifference and incompetence
Mr.. Bryan on the othc- hSnd, said the Sc
curing of money for waterways improve
ment was only a secondary matter, he
did not care how the money was to be
raised nor did those f~svoring Improvement
of waterways need to worry about the
money-it would come alright.
Mr.. Taft made an address in which he
told just how the waterways should be
Improved, systematically. as one great en-
terprise, just as the Panama canal has been
treated. While Mr.. Taft was advocating
such a method of handling the streams
from the platform, the secretary of the
Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterways asso-
citation had on his desk the paper Of James
]. Hill advocating the same sound policy.
Crowd Comes East.
The republican candidate for president
spoke to the delegates the first morning
of the meeting. the police excluding the
general public. This gave Mr.. Taft a
rather small crowd as compared to the
auditorium OF people who greeted Mr..
Bryan. 1t. was a police order to admit
only those who wore delegate badges as the
Chicagoans expected almost enough dele
gates to make the room comfortably full.
But the delegates did not come in such
numbers and when Mr.. Bryan spoke the
police threw open the doors and a large
crowd gathered to hear Mr.. Bryan, the
general public having been excluded from
the meeting which Mr.. Taft addressed.
F. d. Wead, William Stull, Henry T.
Clarke and others remained to attend the
last meetings of the association. Both
Mr.. Wead and Mr.. Stull were named on
the resolutions and credentials committee
Of the meeting.