The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-02-26
Grabbing the Mississippi.

Grabbing the Mississippi.
That the Mississippi river shall be
turned into great ship canal-bi-sect-
ing the continent, putting Chicago on
the sea-coast, tying together the Great
Lakes and the Cuffs a magnificent
dream which a great many people are
working to realize. Governors and
legislatures of the valley states have
approved it; great associations OF
commerce have called upon congress
to take action; the people have passed
large bond issues in it's aid. Yet the
great waterway remains still a dream;
even it's future establishment is doubt
full. A dozen practical difficulties
stand in the way. Army engineers re-
port unfavorably. President Taft adj
vises caution and de1ay. Great busl-
ness interests block the project in a
hundred ingenious and devious ways.
Meanwhile-and that without either
doubt or delay-the Mississippi river
Is at various points along its course,
being turned into a mill pond for the
production of electric water power by
great private corporations. IT con-
gress and the authorities at Washing
ton find themselves-for whatever rea-
son-unable to do anything in the di-
rection of making The Father of wa
tiers a highway of commerce, they
should at least see to it that the IN
DERIVING rights of the public are pro-
tected as. against the vested inter
ests" of the great power companies
If, when the time really comes to
open a deep waterway from st. Paul
to New Orleans, it is discovered that
a dozen corporations have made great
investments along the river, which in
terfere with the proposed work, it will
be difficult-and may prove practically
impossible-to carry the great project
to success. What is needed now is a
comprehensive plan, to the outlines of
which all present and future river i'm
proyement work, public and private,
may be fitted.-From Grabbing the
Mississippi" in the March Technical
World Magazine.
The Proposed Financial Monopoly.
EX-Secretary of the Treasury Leslie
M. Shaw has recently dealt the AL
drich central bank scheme some very
damaging blows. His former official
position and his knowledge of the
methods of the financial world give
weight to his opinion that such a bank
would inevitably come under the con-
troll Of either the Standard Oil inter
ests the most powerful aggregation or
capital in the country but the attiliat-
ed banks of New York is another ag-
gregatlon of capital only slightly less
powerful if it does not equal, the
Standard Oil group.
"A central bank" Mr. Shaw con-
tends, so constituted as to permit
either aggregation or the two com
bined to secure and assert mastery
over it, would unquestionably fall
under such control and mastery 1t is
commonly asserted that these aggre-
cations have been working in harmony
since. the death of E. II. Hartman,
and both aggregations evidently pos,
sess great influence over national
legislation. These interests already
have control of banking which
amounts almost to a central bank, and
it is this fact which seems to make
necessary the establishing of a bank.
ing system beyond their control"
This is the view that the general
public is taking of the. matter. The
people want and believe that a bank
ing system can be planned that the
great aggregations of capital will be