The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-30
President Compares Great River to a 'f8eauIifuI and
 POvsltuI Woman
COMMERCE IS BORESOMt
 AMID TIE SURROUNDINGS
Prefers to Talk of chivalry and Other Happy Themes Instead of Value of River in Dollars
 and Gents.

Baton Rouge La, October es-Athough he arrived here more than three hours late tonight, President Taft's river sched- ule went great deal better today. and there WAS not a daylight hour that the l2 boats constituting the waterways feet from St. Louis to New Orleans were not in sight of the flagship. The President made two stops today. at Natchez .'on the the hill and here. Sailing from here tonight the oleander probably will land the President in New Orleans by noon tomorrow. He is scheduled to make his detailed speech on the subject of water way improvement before the convention in that city at 2:90 D. m. The principal reason that the fleet kept together was the slackening of the speed of the Ole ander on account of bad coal. The chances are that by noon tomorrow there will be another scattering of the boats for the little lighthouse tender carrying the President skinned out of Baton Rouge at top speed tonight At Natchez this morning the President was driven about the interesting old city, visited the grave of s. s. Prentiss and made speech In which he lilSened the Mississippi river to "beautiful and powerful woman, likely to be the cause of trouble and to be threatened with the greatest discretion
 Prettiest Scene of Trip.
 The President spoke on the bluff at Natchez in court of honor.
 horseshoe of gaily decorated boxes surrounded the spaa1<efse sfap@ .,-,9e a q. ..t. box was filled with pretty women It was one of the most unique and prettiest scenes of the trip. This afternoon the President visited three of the vessels of the feet eating two luncheons as a part of the programme.
 On the trip down the river the Presi- dent has had considerable fun with Speak CT Cannon, who has been called on for an address at every place Mir. Taft has appeared The speaker usually follows the President with the declaration that he favors his suggestion for the improve ment of the waterways on a business-liks basis, rather than in the piecemeal, po- litically-controlled manner of the mast But the speaker always balks at the sug- gestion of bonds and vows he will never. never, never vote for them
 Called upon for a speech on one of the boats this afternoon, the President said he had stated his own position pretty plainly, and added:
 All l can agree to do now is to keen punching Uncle Joe to a point where he may make an admission, and if accomn- fish that feat between St Louis and Nav Orleans shall have done something equal to the work which presents itself to the engineers in making the river bet ter'
 President Speaks at Natchex.
 In his speech at Natchez today the President said:
 T am very much impressed with my present environment. l wish to express to the good people of Natchez. and esne cially their committee on arrangements. my congratulations on this method of coming together with your visitors It IS certainly unique scene and, taken with the trip which I had the honor to take with your hospitable mayor, brings me, it seems, into the very heart of the southland
 'Natchez-under- the-hill we know of bv report historic lore. story and poem. Even that rough hero. Jim Bledsoe, had a wife as l recall One a Pike and one at Natchez-under-t the-hill'
 And then, from the scene of these tragedies, shall l call them?-we come to Natchez-on-the-hil and find the evi- dence of chivalric life: that honest life of the south The memory of those who
 
 be known to few others in this world
 After the beauty of this scene I hate to come to commercial questions, and one of the features of Natchez that for tha moment 1 must enjoy Is the presence Of the old and that is here almost beyond any other city that I know of in the Mississippi valley. But we cannot get along without clothes and we cannot get along without bread and meat The prac- tical side of life must admit itself to Us for we cannot live on poetry and memory and while this trip, taken under the auspices of the waterways associa- ton, combines most of the beautiful. 1t has also a deeper purpose and that is to draw to the attention of the country the need for some action in developing the utility of the great waterway that flows at the base of these bluffs.
 'The problem is not solved, but be- lieve 1t Is in the process of solution I believe 1t because we of the American nation admit no obstacle that we cannot overcome.
 we do not overcome obstacles by min imizing their difficulty, but by close in4 vestigation of what these things are and then a determination to destroy them, no matter what burden we may have to as- eume in order to do so.
 Like Beautiful Woman.
 "fhs Mississippi river, was going to say (and we do say because of the trlp you know, we do not have ladies with us) in it's power, in its willingness to make eddies and trouble. in its beauty, for it has great beauty, as we saw when we came down. reminds one--dare 1 sav it?-of beautiful and powerful woman.
 Properly directed, only by suggestion. she is the greatest aid to progress and happiness that we have in life. But treat cd without discretion, sought to be hsuimed in where she will by the force of her character break out, she loses the for usefulness and sometimes wrecks everything she strikes.
 And now that is the kind of creature
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