The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-10
AID ID WATERWAYS PROMISED BY TAFT Delegations Receive Encourage
 ment At White House
FACTS TO BE PRESENTED
President Taft Assures the Water ways Delegates That Congress Must Be Persuaded To Aid
 Cause of Waterways.

Washington. December 9.-Assur- ances that steps of an important char : acter toward the development of sys- ! tenn of waterway improvement in the | heart of the country, would be taken | by the present Congress, were given by | President Taft to delegations which he received at the White House today. To 300 committeeman representing the Ohio Valley Improvement associa- 1 tion, the President promised to bring what influence he could in favor of the | improvement of the Ohio and later to committee of 500 from the New Orleans Lakes to the Gulf Deep Waterways committee he said that something is doing'' and that the interest of those in Congress who heretofore have turned a cold shoulder to the entire subject of waterway improvement had been aroused.
 MT. Taft expressed to the Ohio dele gation regret that his remarks before the rivers and harbors congress yester- day had cast wet blanket over the | convention, and said that he had only | intended to help the gathering along by pointing out the practical method of accomplishing the object desired. | When you approach Congress with a proposal for the issuing of bonds.' argued the President you are going to arouse great opposition which will rise up and demand why; and they will demand an answer. not in general ex- pression or resounding oratory, but will 1 want facts and estimates, statement | of something definitely useful into | which they are going to put the money, l which they may even have to borrow in order to carry through the enterprise. You in the Ohio valley have an enter prise in respect to which you can give 1 the sufficient answers,
 Object of the Visit. l The object of the visit of the Ohio valley delegation to the White House was to enlist the Presidents support | for nine-foot channel from Pittsburg | to Cairo all the year round. Its | spok esman was Alexander Dempster of l Pittsburg. The Presidents response was encouraging to those in the dele | gation.
 | Four governors and two ex-govern- | ors headed the committee of soc which had been charged by the New Orleans 1 convention to present to the President ! resolutions asking for & 14foot chan nel for the Mississippi. There were Governors Ansel of South Carolina, San | ders of Louisiana, Deneen of Illinois; | Hadley of Missouri and former Govern | ors Francis of Missouri and McMillan | of Tennessee.
 | Governor Deneen presented the reso- lutions and the President replied in part:
 T hope that we are all engaged in work in which we stand shoulder to shoulder without respect to a particular locality, and that if you gentlemen, who are interested in a particular improve 1 ment, find that your views may not be | entirely met and that your particular | project may not be the first one taken | up in a substantial way, it will not pre- vent your welcoming step by Congress | that when taken means the embracing of 1 every improvement to which it can com l mend itself"
 Assurance to Taft. MT Taft said that he had been assured by members of the committee which has
  ter of waterway improvement would re- ceive attention during the present session
 Afterward the committee called upon Secretary of War Dickinson. and Governor Hadley presented to him resolutions simi- lar to those left at the White House. MT. Dickinson assured his visitors that as a I resident of the Mississippi valley he was heartily in sympathy with any move- l ment for the improvement of the Missis- | sippi river.
 Earlier in the day the committee wis., ited Vice President Sherman, Speaker Cannon, Senator Frye of the Senate com mittee on commerce, and Representative Alexander of New York, chairman of the House committee on rivers and harbors. From none of these leaders did the com rnittee receive much encouragement.
 cannon's Objections.
 Speaker Cannon said rather pointedly that 1t was one thing to propose and another to select from host of projects and legislate for their improvement At the same time he said he had no doubt that the project represented by the com | mittee would receive careful considera- ton from the committee on rivers and harbors. He said he had voted for every rivers and harbors bill since 1888, whether his party was in power or not.
 Senator Frye, in responding to an ad- dress by Governor Ansel. said:
 T think the President gave some good advice when he suggested that you "go
 slow on this matter. Congress, in my
 opinion, never will regard with favor any
 bill to delegate commission power to
 investigate the needs of water improve
 ments without further inquiry.
 '"The President may be authorized by
 Congress to appoint a committee to de-
 termine what would be the commercial
 importance of project such as you sug-
 gest."
 Dhano rorcnanfae Actfve