The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-12-15
DELEGATES BACK
FROM WASHINGTON
Lee HamiII and James B. Diver Were
in Attendance at the National
!. FLYERS and Harbors
Congress.
THEY HAD A FINE TRIP
Program Was Interesting and People
From all Over Were Present.
The Program as
Given.

Of the two thousand delegates at
the sixth annual meeting of the Ma
tional rivers and harbors congress
which was recently held at Washing
ton, two were from Keokuk, L. A.
Hamill and James B. Diver. These
gentlemen thoroughly enjoyed the
opportunity of attending this meeting
and coming in contact with SO many
noted people. OF the many repre-
sentatives on hand about three hun
dred were women, all of whom took
keen interest in the proceedings,
one being on the program and giving
an extremely interesting talk. The
dates of the meeting were December
Is. and 10 and the program was
gone through with in the New Willard
hotel grand assembly room. which is
/ located on the tenth floor of Wash
/ ington's finest hosiery
Leaving here on Monday, December
/ the sixth, the two local delegates
went to Chicago where they were met
by a large group who were on their
4 way to attend the meeting. From
there they proceeded to Washington,
arriving on Tuesday, just de- before
the opening of the congress.
The first session opened Wednesday
morning at eleven o'clock when
Joseph E. Ransdell, president of the
congress, called the meeting to order.
Following an invocation by Rev.
Geoge Alexander. LII. D., of New
York City. President Taft mounted
1.-THE platform and delivered one of the
principle addresses.
There were three things on which
he touched, which were OF special In
terest, one, the creation of six foot
channel In the Mississippi between
st. Louis and ST Paul; another, the
creation of a nine foot channel be
tween st. Louis and Cairo and last
the maintenance of an eight foot chan
incl in the Ohio river All of the
above are important in the eyes Of
those interested in river improvement
and spoke of the projects already
favored by the war department. II
! would be unnecessary to issue bond:
: for this work, he thought that thu
q current funds should be enough
Following President Taft came /;
4 foreign ambassador and ministe
y plenipotentiary from Germany, Coun
u G. H. Won Bernstorff, who gave a fin
L address, handling his subject abb.
: and making a good impression on hi
:. listeners. The Keokuk delegate
were much interested in his talk an,
were very favorably impressed wit
the counts personality. The rest 0
/. the morning was taken up with tn
: presidents report, and the appoint
= ment Of committees.
The afternoon session was enliver
:. ed with speeches by senator's, GOV
= errors and representatives of mix
= cellaneous organizations, as were tn
= sessions on the following day, anon
= the principle speakers being Governo
= Hadley of Missouri Governor Week
-Iof Connecticut, Charles Nagel, secrt
tary of Commerce and Labor, Judso
Harmon, governor of Ohio, Senate
Theodore Burton, of Ohio, chairman {
| the national waterways commission
Lafayette Young, editor of the De
Moines Capital, and several other
In the. evening Governor Eberhart {
Minnesota was on the program an
he made quite hit with the Ke
kukians He is but Young man an
very we'll versed on affairs.
The last session was held Frida
morning when the reports of warrior
committees were read and the fin
business done away with
IN talking of the trip Yesterday, M
Hamill said: 81 would not hay
missed it for anything. The men wi
were appointed to attend and We
unable to go, surely did miss tres
We were treated royalty by everyol
and the meeting was one which COZ
bined business with pleasure in mo
acceptable proportions"