The commonwealth., 1909-10-22
the FIXING Of A POLICY.

the one absolutely essential requi-
site to successful undertaking and |
completion of any work and es
pecially SO with any work under
taken by public authority. It was
only by the fixing of a definite pol
icy by the government of the Unit
ed States that the continent was
spanned and the East and the West
brought together by the completion
of the Pacific Railway. The Pa
cific Railway had been the dream
of years-and it would have been a
dream today if 1t had not been for
the fixing of an intelligent policy
with appropriate legislation insur-
ing the beginning, the carrying on
and the completion of the work.
The continent is now spanned
with rails and reaching all points
when there comes a season of dull
ness, and only reaching points of
destination after interminable de-
lays when the movement of freight
is in keeping with the tremendous
advance of commercial, mining,
industrial and agricultural inter
ests. That advance is the normal
condition of the country is a self
evident proposition, with another
accompanying 1.-THE self-evident
proposition that means of transpor-
tation-the key to progress and ad-
vance-is wholly inadequate.
The country is growing too fast
to avoid car shortages-but it is not
growing fast enough to enable it to
bear the great losses which comes
to all conditions of trade and COM
merce because of inadequacy of
means of communication between
shipper and receiver, an inadeq
which makes it plain that it is not
Jones, the shipper, who pays the
freight, but the consumer of the ar
ticles shipped.
The South-the progressive and
the New South-so vitally interest
ed in the question of transportation
and interested, perhaps, more than
any other section of the country, in
the completion of the Panama Ca
nal, recalls also the fact that the ca
nal had its origin in the dreams of
the Spanish monarchy more than
two centuries ago. The dream con-
tinued until the United States
awoke to the fact that the work was
purely and wholly a work for this
; government to undertake alone,
with the HayPauncefote treaty for
ever settling the question of owner
ship and control in the United
. States. That step was followed by
the course which the government
of the United States should adopt
with reference to inland waterway
, mprovement-the establishment OF
fixed and definite policy such as
: was adopted with reference to the
canal and under which the great
: work is so rapidly progressing and
certain, in its completion, to add
, immeasurably to the foreign trade
r and commerce of the country. Yet
that trade and commerce, great
though it is and will be, is com
paratively Insignificant when com
: pared with the inland trade ane
: commerce of the country now 81
! badly hampered and impeded in it,
q development because of lack O
. means of transportation between
a shipper and receiver
!. The National Rivers and Harbor.
! Congress, whose program is: sc
Policy; not Project" and whose
. work has brought SO vividly to tn
\ attention of Congress and the ship
: ping and receiving public the ne
r cessity for the adoption of fxet
policy of waterway improvement
: will hold its Sixth Annual Conven
o ton at the New Willard, Washing
! ton, D. c., on December 8, 9 and II
lcoincident with the assembling o
8 the Sixty-frst Congress and not on
q of the vast interests of this sectio]
> of the United States should be un
: represented. The question involves
; is one of the first Importance; th
n delegates to the Congress will b
\ most thoroughly representative me-
and of its influence upon the Con
: gress of the United States there Cal
hn M dnuht-and thoro chon11 h