Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1909-09-01

Washington, ID c., August So
(SpeciaD Among the men OF the
senate Of the United States who
have made waterway improvements
close study Senator Nathan Bay
Scott of West Virginia easily takes
first rank. Senator Scott, in his
years of business life, has had time
enough to make several trips to the
Older countries of the world and az
a result of these visits be has been
keen observer of the way in
which not only Europe, but the
countr .cs in the far east use their
waterways, for purposes of freight
transportation, and for passenger
transportation as we'll.
"liolland to my mind presents
the best example of waterway de
velOpment of any country 1 know
in Europe" said Senator Scott.
"LOw-lying as 1t does and facing
the sea its canals are not only a
subject of wonderment to the
visitor, but source of endless
profit to its people. Small as Hol-
land is, smaller than many of our
own states, the waterway problem
seems to have been solved in Hol-
land much more effectively ard
much more advantageously than in
countries vaster in extent and with
more natural rivers to aid in the
solution of the transportation prob
lem.
"From whatever point of view
one sees the great natural water
highways OF the United States
there comes the sense of unaccom-
plished things in relation TO our
own rivers and canals. Nature
has been most prodigal in not only
giving us magnificent coast line.
but she has placed within our
dominion rivers that are not rival
ed anywhere on earth, and it. be-
hooves us to make them our ser.
wants to carry our products To the
sea, thereby relieving railway
freight congestion and tightening the
cost of transportation. The rail
road has no more reason to fear or
to oppose the steamboat than the
trolley car. Both have their uses
and both their limitations. Both
are necessary to serve the people
who live along the river or along
the line Of track, for the business
done by river or by trolley will
never be sufficient in volume to i'm.
terrier with the railroads no matter
how much the rivers may be i'm
proved or how cheaply they carry
freight.
'In this connection let me saw
that good roads and inland water.
ways will solve the problem of
cheap freight rates and they go
hand In hand together. am firm
ly convinced that our waterway
improvement ought to be carried
on in comprehensive and system
attic manner as urged by the Nation.
al Rivers and Harbors Congress-
Piece meal appropriations for
streams, :hat will never, in the
very nature of things, contribute to
the upbuilding of communities
should be abandoned. What we
need most is wisdom behind our
legislation for waterways and by
that | mean that the future should
bear It's proportion in the develop
meDt OF our water courses as the
present. If current revenues are
not sufficient to provide for yearly
expenditures of money to deyelop
our great natural highways, then |,
for one, will vote for bond issue
or sufficient amount to make pos
slble the Harvesting of the Ohio,
the control of the Mississippi and
the opening up of a water route
from Lake Erie to the Gulf. The
ONO river is being improved too
slowly and it is discouraging 10
the business man who figures upon
the earning power of every penny
TO see his receipts dwindle be
cause of the lack of water trans
portatIon for bulkier freight.
What | would like to see is inland
navigation from the lakes to the
peninsula, and when the steam
boats come back again upon our
| rivers then the HIGH lido Of ,,,,r