Lower coast gazette., 1909-11-06
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1909.
The Waterways Convention in ne"
Orleans,

EVERY visitor that comes to New Orleans from
Europe or from the other great cities OF the
federal union, is struck at once by the WonceI-
fhl natural advantages that the city OF Ne"
Orleans possesses. With a vast area OF 1ertle
country behind, with many millions OF people
/desiring to exchange the great products OF Ve
! Mississippi Valley the one with the othef'
New Orleans as the entrepot for imported oooS
and as a port of export for such products as we
NAV ship to foreign lands, stands preemlnent III
the facilities it offers for these purposes to all
the world. The four or five years OF suspe"-
sion of trade in New Orleans caused by 1he
civil war compelled the intercourse between the
East and the West, from the Atlantic coast 10
the Mississippi Valley, to take the track OF 1e
great lakes and the Erie Canal and OF the lhfee
great railway lines that crossed the AIieghahey
Mountains from the East to the West as oest
thew could until they reached the MISSISSIPPI
Valley. This interruption of the control OF Ne"
Orleans, over the imports and exports OF the
Mississippi Valley gave the city a 1atal SET oach
that has lasted now for nearly halt a century,
The monopolistic practices of the various rail-
WAYS. their illegal combinations in the restraint
Of trade and conspiring with each other Tor the
maintenance of railway rates and the des1ruc,
ton of competition, have gradually undermined
the river traffic and have also led to the gfaoual
Improvement of railway transportation until TO-
day we find New Orleans from a steamboat
point of view giving practically no evidence o.
;ts mast grandeur when the whole MISSISSIPPI
Valley was pouring it's products into this grea'
& c;tv for distribution throughout the rest or tne
world. .
The motive of the Waterways Convention Il
to restrict all this, or if not to restrict 1t, u
bring about a better appreciation of the adVant
ages of waterways; to show how carelun.
WATERWAYS are maintained by other nations an
tn endeayor to so far perfect water transpofta
a tion here as to lead to a resumption OF the tra1
.f;c1 on our waters on a sound. industrial basl
and in such a way as shall restrain the monopc
listic tendencies of the various railways ana a
the same time generally enhance the wealth. Q
all those who are concerned in the developmen
of the country.
We believe that the South is on the eve OF
wonderful advance movement. Already "
III find the Southern states largely engaged IN lro
NJ AAAAN w.
IS manufacture and in cotton manufacture, Jul
as they were largely engaged in sugar man
facture before the civil war. There will be I
greater claimants for political favor from u
national legislature in Washington than J"
be the people of the South as they come gra
ually to appreciate and engage IN the 1mmen
manufacturing interests that would be require
to supply our W people and to utilize our oV
products. Our readers will be familiar with Il
proceedings of the convention in New OrIea
by the volumous reports of the same in t
daily press and hence we only discusss
salient features, which we are led to hope W
result in the gradual Improvement OF the nv
WI by the federal government, which retains
control Of it and should in actual practice &C
serve it as the greatest waterway OF the COT
try and worthy of every effort OF the goVel
ment for it's improvement and maintenance
to the highest standards that seem practlcat