The Green Forest tribune., 1909-10-29
TAFT FLOTILLA SAILS
PRESIDENT TAFT AND PARTY ABOARD MISSISSIPPI BOATS.
Gulf Deep Waterway Conven- ton at New Orleans.

St. Louis.-Waterway improve ments as a part of national policy of conservation of the streams, the lands adjoining them and the forests at their sources was the theme of two notable gatherings in this city and in East St. Louis, H., in which President Taft, Joseph G. Cannon, speaker of the national house of rep resentatiVes, and Governors Deneen of Illinois and Hadley of Missouri look the leading roles. Vice Presi. dent Sherman was also at the East St. Louis meeting, his presence mak- ing the list of notables gathered for the occasion the most complete ros- ter of officiaIdom that has assembled at any place west of the Alleghenies. Cabinet ministers, United States sen ators and representative and mini9- ters from foreign governments lis tened to the speeches at one or both of the meetings. Added to these were state and municipal officials Of all degrees, and close to 100000 citi- zenS from the ranks who had docked to the two cities to see and hear their officers
 Monday night the president, the speaker, the diplomats, legislators and several hundred representatives of commercial organizations of Hi nois, Missouri and other states in the Mississippi valley left St. Louis 2hOnpd Tnti11n of r,,a1 steamers bound for New Orleans, where they will assemble with hun dreds of others in the annual conven- tion of the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep Waterway association, whose pet project is the creation of a perma- nent 14-foot channel from the mouth of the Illinois river to the gulf of Mexico.
 While the presidents utterances, on waterway improvement were not so far-reaching regarding the creation Of the 14-foot channel as those of Presi- | dent Roosevelt on similar occasion and therefore not entirely cheering to those advocates of an immediate commencement of the work-yet the fact that Speaker Cannon unquali- fiedly endorsed the chief executives stand regarding bond issues for such projects gave these same advocates encouragement.
 The trip of President Taft down the Mississippi river from St. Louis to New Orleans will form one of the most interesting laps of his 13,000- mile tour of this country. It was gotten up for the purpose of calling his personal attention, and that of the governors, members of congress, army engineers and levee engineers of the states of the Mississippi val possibilities of deepening the river. The details of the trip were ar- ranged by the Lakes-to-theGulf Deep Waterway association, membership in which extends from Chicago to New Orleans. The president and the notables and delegations which will accompany Taft will reach New Or lee.ns Saturday, when the convention of the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep Water way association will open. The river trip will thus consume five days and will cover approximately 1,200 miles. The various delegations and guests will number about 2,S00
 President Taft will stop at eight cities en route down the Mississippi river and deliver as many addresses. Accompanying him in the fleet of boats which will leave St. Louis and will be augmented at various points en route will be one of the most bril- liant assemblages of government of fcials ever brought together outside of Washington.