Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-10-31
Long Voyage Made to New Orleans
Without Loss of Man.
BONDS FOR OHIO RIVER WORK
Executive Favors Issue to Amount Of
Sixty-Three Million Dollars.
PRESIDENT KAvANAUGH TALKS
Head of the Association, in His
Annual Address to Convention,
Says Time to Act Has
Come.

NEW ORLEANS, La. oct sO.-Presi-
dent Taft celebrated the successful
termination of his trip down the Missis-
sippi river today by addressing the dele
gates to the convention OF the Lakes TO
the Gulf Deep Waterways association,
which has as its object the improvement
Of the Mississippi river and its tribu-
taries.
On the arrival of the president dele
gates and visitors sprang to their feet
Many mounted their chairs in order 20
get a better view of the bowling. smiling
big man who was working his way
through the double line of secret service
men and police officers. He stood on
the platform moment greeting President
Kavanaugh of the waterways association
and then bowed his appreciation of the
! applause.
| President Kavanaugh presented him
with handsome gold badge and then In
| troduced Governor Sanders of Louisiana,
who in turn introduced the president. The
applause broke out again and was rein
forced with some vigorous Yale yells.
When it died away President Taft COM
menced his address.
Safe Voyage of Elect.
The president began by having a little
!
! He said the dangers great had all been
rum and that the fleet had come through
without the loss of a single man. Mr..
Taft taunted the congressman and gov
ernors for having ,resorted to the hui
initiating device Of land transportation
at one stage of the journey.
! The president declared that no progress
had been made in river navigation in this
country in the last forty or fifty years.
The waterways Of this country, Mr.. Taft
declared, must be used eventually to carry
the bulk of heavy merchandise.
Bonds for Ohio River.
The presidents declaration that he IA
vored the issuance OF bonds for carrying
out tho Ohio river Improvement as one Of
the approved projects OF inland waterways
called out a burst Of applause The Ohio
river Improvement win cost $50. 100000 Mr..
Taft said that he also favored bonds for all
other improvements including the Misss-
sippi just as soon as feasible project
can be decided upon and can be shown 10
be necessary and justlfable The Ohio
river gives the bulk of business to the
Mississippi the president declared and ev-
cry improvement OF a tributary tended to
increase the value OF the great watr high
way to the gulf.
The president told OF the improvements
to the Mississippi on the way down, and
especially in protecting the banks from u
further sloughlng off at the outside of the
bonds The engineers say they need ST.
COO,OOO more a year to carry out this bene-
ficial work as II ought to be carried out,
and that it was a shame congress did not
give it to them.
Time for Action.
In conclusion President Taft declared that
the time for ortaory was past and that It
was now time to get down to brass tacks.
He said: II is now up to you gentlemen
to decide what you want, what IL will cost,
how long it will take and what the result
will be. Once that is done, you can COM
mand, not ask"
He paid a compliment to tvSO men OF
New Orleans and predicted that II the dele
gates to the convention remained here two
or three days thy would forget that there
was such thing a river.
Time 10 Act Has Arrived.
THE plan for a deep waterway is an
accomplished fact. What we need now ia
action" declared w. X. Kavanaugh, presi-
dent OF the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep Water
way association, In his address at the
opening of it's convention today. the
history OF the Mississippi river has been
story Of inaction and OF niggardly appro-
priatons, which have been fought through
the rivers and harbors committee, and
through congress without rhyme or rea-
son." said the speaker. THE whole valley
Is sick with the congestion OF it's trans
portation system, and only this deep water
way can relieve it. The people of the Mis-
sissppi valley must have definite assur-
ance that this carrier is TO be completed
at certain date, and that date must not
Z ha 81,
Of the Panama canal"
Mr.. Kavanaugh said that the people
looked to President Taft for the execution
Of the great task. He referred to the
executives trip down the river saying:
He has seen the richest farm lands in
the world crumbling from It's banks, dis
solving in its waters he has seen levees
that protect 5000 square miles OF this
rich alluvial threatened by these oaving
} banks; he has seen the remains OF uncom-
pete revetments that have been torn away
by the river, because a neglectful congress
had not provided for their completion and
he has seen a thousand mile channel un-
burdened by a single modern vessel the
docks Of its many cities unmarked by a
single installation Of modern terminal
apparatus
River Partly Under Control.
There was a day when the Mississippi
was considered an untameable stream, which
shifted its channel and devoured its banks
at win. Today we are able TO show ihe
= president Of the United States two remark
able changes: One OF these is a river
which, in its most difficult and most read
/ lily shifting parts has been bound down by
the engineers to fixed channel. with per,
manent banks; that has been forced 70
I scour It's own Jed and permit the passing
OF deeper ships.
THE other is a great garden land OF soil
worth from 500 TO $500 an acre. capable OF
producing In crops every year enough
money TO pay many times over the entire
, cost Of producing a fnurtean-fonI channeI