The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1910-09-21
PRESIDENT ADDRESSES AN
AUDIENCE AT CINCINNATI
ON RIVER IMPROVE.
MENTS.
Gu lines His Policy and De.
nounces Ne hOd OF Politi.
cal Distribu iop.

C,uc'nnatl. Sept. 2i-United
P9,.sl IN determined attack ON
the present pork barrer' system OF
river Improvement appropr Iafions.
President Taft. IN spessch here. said
In part.
To-day you are celebrating the
open ny q another great improve
mcnt which must In the future have
much to do with the business growth
90 the cit, ! mean the improve
ment OF the Ohio river from Pitts
burgh % Cairo. Il ~ TO this Inn
proyemcni that shan direct my re-
marks.
"The water ways commission
points ont that the localities where
Wafer-borue traffic has increased, as
on the great lakes. careful and elab-
crate provision has been made for
the handling OF freight In the most
economical manner. An examina-
ton shows that the average ratio OF
speed Of n railroad car loaded With
freight n not much graater than
would be the speed OF a tug boat and
hargce cr enc Of oar i'sors; onf n
We could have river navigable al
al times ~ the year az The same
depth. there would seem 10 be no
reasan why schedules could not be
made quite AZ regular a. those upon
sranways
zone OF the great reasons FOR de-
crease In river transportation has
been the competition Of railways
physical advantages. More than
this. these traffic managers Of rail-
WAYS have lowered their own traffic
rates whore there Is water oompeu-
ton until the river business has been
entirely discouraged. and then raised
the rates when the river business hes
been thus suppressed Provision
has been made In the railroad act
passed az the last session OF con
gress. which will prevent railways
adopting this device Of destroying
river competition. The truth IL. that
with the new development OF river
business. u will be possible to give
power to our Interstate commerce
commission TO make regulations for
the joint traffic between rivers and
railways that viii greatly encourage
the continuance OF the river bust
mes. for II we would use our water
ways In the most economical man
ner. there must be friendly CO.
operation. az the waterways com
mission polnts out between those
engaged In transportation on water
aud those by rail
The Cost.
The cost OF the Improvement of
the Ohio river Is 20 be upwards Of
SG3.00O.000 The plan is TO appro-
pirate sufficient money each year so
a to complete all the work In -
years. | wish that congress had ar
ranged TO expend the money IN less
time AMI complete this work. for its
completiOn is alone important for
the immediate benefit that Il will
confer commercially IN the Ohio
Valley. but II Is important to vmdi-
cate or TO discourage further invest.
ments OF this kind in other d,rec-
tions. hope the time may come IN
the not distant future when the plar
for completing this Ohio river I'm
provemcnt shall be changed so as tC
4 make the time six years for com
pletion instead OF -. One of th'
great hindrances to the success o
the improvement of our waterway
has been the delay incident to thu
completion OF each project. Tha
has grown out OF the method pur
sued In framing the river and harbo
appropriations bills.
"As these waterways improve
ments are to be carried on in up
wards of two-thirds of the congres
sional districts, it can be readil
understood what the pressure
from their representatives In con
gress to have every project that
approved appropriated for. This
done with very little regard to III
comparative merits of the differen
improvements and II has a tendenc
to delay every Improvement a nun
Der of years beyond the time whe
Il might be made profitable by earl
completion. This is what has bee
called the "plecemeap policy and
very unsatisfactory.
"a supervising board of engineer