The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1909-11-04

vate individuals. number controlled
| By the State, and still moro owned
BY the Government wder the char
acter OF title I have defined; and we
may rest assured that under that ar.
rangement monopoly cannot possess
Itself Of all the power sites In the
country. Npplause.)
And now I come 20 the subject OF
waterways. We have done a great
deal In this country in the improve
ment OF waterways. and we have spent
a great deal Of money. am not crit.
icising the method then pursued. We
were engaged in growing; we had a
| great many things to do. and the first
money that was expended ought to
have been expended in the develop
ment OF our harbors on the sea coast.
Theory Was Wrong.
we have spent a great deal OF
money on the waterways inland. ] 40
not think II has been spent as much
TO good purpose as II would have
been had we adopted some other theo-
~, and some otner method; but |
am not here TO criticiso that, ana
think that great deal could probably
be said In defense Of the economy that
has been pursued In that matter; but
do think that we have now reached
a time in the history Of the develop
ment Of our waterways when a new
method ought 10 be adopted. Gap
planse)
Now ! would like 10 clear away a
good many suppositions that ! am
afraid have lodged In your minds. This
matter Of waterways. Improvement by
irrigation OF the arid and subarid
lands and of this conservation of its
resources Is, not for the purpose OF
distributing PORK to every part OF the
country.
Every measure that Is to be taken
and adopted must be on the ground
that II Is useful to the country at large
and not on the ground that 1t Ia going
10 send certain Congressman back to
Congress or on the ground that 1t rs
going TO give a certain part OF the
country during the expenditure OF that
money prosperity. II that is the prin-
ciple, and the one which | deprecate,
is TO obtain, | am In favor of going
along the same old way we have Como
on before.
Taft's Method.
"The method OF which am in favor
OF is this. that We should take up
every comprehensive project on its
merits. and we should determine by
all OF the means at our command
where the country in which that logic
is to be carried out has so far de-
veioped as TO justify the expenditure
OF large sum in carrying out the
project. and where the project will be
useful when done. SRI
"When you have determined that
on the general principle of good to
the entire country, then l am in favor
OF doing that work as rapidly as IL
can be done and | am In favor OF Is
suing the bonds to do Il, and IL II
shall turn out that some part of the
country is linked TO a particular pro-
ject by reason of the eloquent and
large words and a general lively imag-
nation. that Is not sustained by the
facts Of an investigation then that part
OF the country has got to wait until
II can grow up to that project and
that project come to IT.
Il am not minimizing the Difficult
ties that are going to arise in select
ing what has to be done or in determ
ming the order in which those pro
jects are to be carried out
Il know I value more Intensely than
ever did in my life the intelligence,
the interest and local patriotism that
we find all over the United States,
But we cannot trust that under a plan
Of importance that II carried on and
without sanity and without a knowl'
edge OF the good that is to come
from Il will bankrupt the Government
Now there is a proposition that we
issue 500 million or billion dollars
Of bonds for a waterway and then
that we Just give that up an apportion
ate part to the Mississippi and part 10
the Atlantic, a part to the Missouri
and part to the Ohio. am opposed
TO II.
Opposes split-up Policy.
Il am opposed to 1t because it NOT
only smells of the pork barrel but II
will be the pork barrel. Let every
J project stand on its own bottom. LEI
IL prove itself by means OF its friends
and by means OF those who know
whether IL Is to be profitable or not
and then enter upon It; but do not LEI
us In the investigation by big dec
laration and eloquence embark on @
plan that will reflect no credit on oui
business and common sense and will
only display the use OF that local pa
! triotism, which. when united together
makes up our grand Americanism.
And now, my friends. am COINS
to ask you TO excuse me from speak
ing further. other than to say to you
that have had great pleasure In
standing before this magnificent audi
ence OF st. Louis. of Missourians, OF
congressman and of Governors. and II
makes my heart swell up with pa
triotism to look up in your faces and