The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-20
Waterways Convention Brings
Vast Crowd Of People
OYSTER ROAST is FEATURE
Resolution on Ship Subsidy Is Brought
Up But Rejected BY the Dele
gates-Taft Speaks Word For
Navy and Coast Defenses.

Norfolk, Va, November 19-1Special) y
With President Taft the central figure,
all of Virginia poured into Norfolk to-
day and Joined the several thousand dell
egates and visitors to the Atlantic d@ap-
waterways convention. From the near
by states came the governors and their
staffs crowding The hotels to overflow
ing and making things hum generally.
The old seaport town did itself proud.
The Norfolk style of Virginia hospitality
overlooks no one and Norfolk went to
bed tonight knowing that II the Presi-
dent and his visitors had their way it
would wake up tomorrow to find YER
table Fort Gibraltar built by the gov
ernment at the mouth of Chesapeake bay
midway between Cape Charles and Cape
Henry.
In his speech the President was not so
sure about the finland waterway but
he indicated he was heartily in favor OF
the plan after the engineering scheme
was worked out. Over at Cape Henry
the President and guests were treated to
an old fashioned "oyster roast after
which the President mounted chair and
cordially indorsed the inland waterway,
reminding the delegates that Congress
held the purse strings.
The so-called inland waterway is a
proposition that is a very healthy rival
of the Mississippi river Improvement. 1t
proposes route in it's finality which will
run from Cape Cod in Massachusetts to
Florida via the Raritan canal, the Della
ware and Chesapeake canal, Delaware
bay, Chesapeake bay and on south
through Alabama. Its cost runs way up
in the millions. but with the Atlantic
coast working for it there are few faint
hearts and none in Norfolk.
In his speech at the oyster roast the
President quoted statesman as saying
that he did not see the necessity of a
canal so close 20 the ocean that an Oyster
shell could be thrown from s,f,s =. the
other Speaker Cannon was pr9etoaa.bly
this statesman and the President dis
posed of the argument by narrating his
seasick experience by the ocean route.
something that could be avoided via an
inland canal. 1t wasn't, very potent
argument but 1t caught the crowd
Ship Subsidy Rejected.
Representative Small of North Caro-
lima prevented the waterways convention
from indorsing the proposed ship subsidy
bill at its final session Plans had been
laid to have passed a resolution as fol-
lows:
Whereas, The American people have
realized that there Is no longer a mer-
chant marine In the oversee trade, ear
rying the American flag; and
-Whereas, The economic interests of
the United States demand the rehabilita-
tion of the deep sea shipping of the coun-
try as a commercial necessity in time OF
peace and military necessity in time of
war; and
Whereas, The whole Atlantic seaboard
is vitality interested in marine commerce,
whether 1t be land, coastwise, or over
the sea. Therefore, be 1t
Resolved, That the convention, repre-
senting all the great trade centers of
the coast, memorable Congress, and re-
quests that such legislation be enacted
at the next session as will tend to the
re-etablishment of the American merchant
marine"
The resolution was offered by E. p.
Albrecht, a Pennsylvania delegate. Its
Significance was at once realized by Mr..
Small, who obtained recognition. He de-
clared that he was opposed to ship sub
sidy legislation and In any event such
a resolution had no place in a water
ways convention. The sentiment was
loudly applauded by the delegates and in
order to keep it from being voted down
the resolution was withdrawn