Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-23
FAIR TO. RAILROADS
Mr.. Taft Pleads With Texans
for Square Deal.
THE ONLY GOOD POLICY
Opposed to Drastic Legislation Ex-
cept to Enforce Laws. !
FAvORS WATERWAY BONDS
Declares the Time at Hand for Sys-
tematic River Improvement.
Silk Hat Mystery Solved.
FAvoRs WATERWAY BOND:

advocate of deep waterways when such
projects can be shown to be practicable
and necessary, and declaring that the
piecemeal procession by jerks" policy
OF Congress in the past with reference to
SUCH improvements should be replaced
with a definite general plan for opening
up the great avenues of commerce, Pres
ident Taft aroused the delegates to the
convention of the Interstate Inland Wa
terways League yesterday to an enthu-
siastic demonstration of approval.
Continuing, the President said that in
addition to extending commerce deep In
land waterways would serve as the best
means to control railroad rates. In the
meantime he urged the amendment of the
interstate commerce laws to make their
provisions more effective.
He said the railroads should be en-
couraged. adding:
Il am not in favor of drastic legislation
against railroads. except such as is neces-
sary to keep them within the law and to
keep their rates reasonable. The truth
is we want to encourage our railroads.
We will rush-3O,OOO of us in a county
vote bonds for railroad II it will only
come In. Then 1t comes in, and after
time you won't find friend of that rail-
road in that county, except perhaps the
local counsel.
''The Only Good Policy"
"Then you will proceed to legislate and
You will do injustice to that railroad. but
after a while, after you have dones in
justice to the point where you don't get
the proper accommodations and where
you drive them into system of economy
that does not build up your country, You
finally begin to realize that the only good
policy. as we'll as the only honest policy,
is a square deal to the railroads, so as to
give them the rates they ought to have
and not allow popular prejudice to de-
prive them of reasonable profit on the in
veStment. including the risk that they
made when they went into the business
The President declared that the hating
and sporadic system of river and harbor
improvements in the past was the work
OF the committees in Congress. who had
responded to clamor from home and to
party considerations. The time has come,
he declared, for change in this system.
A nine-foot intercoastal canal was one
of the projects to which the President re-
ferred part Of a definite system of
waterways Improvement.
President Taft arrived in Corpus Christi
on the revenue cutter Window from his
brothers ranch After short automo-
bile ride through the prettily decorated
city he was taken to a grandstand at the
foot of natural terrace, where the dele
gates to the waterways convention and
the general public were gathered. School
children were much in evidence.
Made Hit With Audience.
The President made an immediate hit
with his audience by asking that three
tiers of seats Immediately in front of him
be vacated by the early Corners to make
way for a hundred more veterans of
the Confederate and the Union armies.
who had been assigned to a more remote
section OF the Enclosure. The day was
exceedingly warm.
When he had finished his speech he
motored to the Corpus Christi Golf and
Country Club and dedicated the new links
by driving a ball from the first tee The
club presented him with a bag Of nine
splendid golf clubs a. souvenir of the
occa sion.
The President and several members of
his party dned at the home Of Mrs. II. M.
King, whose ranch comprises 1,3OO. 600
acres.
The President returned to Gregory in
the afternoon and left there at $40
O'Clock last night for Houston and Dallas.
He made brief speech at Beeville, stand
ing on the rear end of his car.
Credit to Roosevelt.
In his address at Corpus Christi the
President said:
1.-THE subject of the conservation of our
national resources received its first i'm
pulse from that crusader and reformer,
Theodore Roosevelt. He pointed out how
wasteful we had been OF those blessings
which God had showered upon the country,
and yet which had limitations, which. If
we did not respect, would ultimately
bring us to famine in relation to many
Of them.
1.-The program Of conservation is a long
one. 1t is one In regard to which we
have taken some important steps. OF
4 70 MT
about 10 per cent in forest reservations
under control. so that we shall not suffer
from forest fires or denudation by pri-
vate greed.
I'VE have not taken all tho steps that
ought to be taken, but they doubtless
will follow the adoption of the model
plan of the general government by the
state governments. This would preserve
the privately owned forests. which, are
four times in size those of the govern
ment.
Control of Coal Lands.
1--WE have not yet adopted the laws. but
hope TO recommend them to Congress,
by which the government shall retain
some control over the use OF coal lands
(still owned by the government and still
to be put under private use) by which the
waterpower sites shall be segregated from
other parts of the public domain and
parted WlCn only unQST SUCH do
shall enable the government to procure
proper revenue therefrom and to regulate
the rates of power charges by those who
shall take possession of those sites and
transform the water power into electric
ity.
THE most important topic of this con-
vention because 1t is the immediate sub
ject of consideration. is the preservation
of our waterways. 1t has long attracted
the attention of the government. and
while we do not permit our people to
crticise us, when we get together in
convention aud talk to each other conf
dentially we must recognize that even
we have made mistakes at times.
I'VE have invested aboilt $6m,OO0 600
I'm our waterways, and We have done
some excellent work. when the work
specified in helping to make our rivers
more navigable: but the trouble with the
work has been that it has been done
largely by piecemeal 1t has not carried
out a theory OF a great project with ref
erence to the establishment of a great
avenue of transportation.
1.-The time has arrived for changing
our policy in that regard. Sometimes that
body of men who have had charge of our
Waterways the army engineers, have
come under criticism because of the mol