The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-23
RIVER AND HARbOR
BILL IS FAVORED
Not for Years Has Measure Had
Such Clear Pathway in the
Lower House.
CANNON'S SUPPORT is
HAVING MARKED EFFECT
Statesmen Realize That Grow
Ing Nation Needs Mere Trans
pOrtatiOn Facilities.
Special TO The Tribune,


WASHINGTON, Feb. 22.-It has
been many years since river and har'
Dor bill has had rs clear pathway to
its final passage as the bill which the
house OF representatives adopted with,
out material change early last week.
Remarkable as was the unanlmlty
that such a bill ought to receive early
consideration, it was even more re-
markable that distinguished members of
congress took advantage or the occa-
sion to state their position toward the
interior waterways of the United States
and the pressing needs for compre-
hensive policy looking TO their I'M
provement.
In this group of leaders in the lower
branch of congress who declared them
selves satisfied with the general char
acter of the bill and gave their indorse.
ment to annual appropriations for nv
ers, harbors and canals Speaker Can
non easily leads all the rest.
Cannon's Change Of Heart.
Without suspicion of antagonism
to the bill, which Chairman Alexander
stated in his opening remarks, while
somewhat singular in character, but not
so much SO in method as IN policy,
Speaker Cannon gave evidences of con-
siderable change of heart. Whether
that change of heart is due to the trip
which the speaker made with President
Taft, governors of states and a hundred
OF more members of congress down the
Mississippi from St Louis to New Or
leans, or whether there has been
change of sentiment in the district
which Mr.. Cannon represents toward
the domestic waterways of the country,
is question which only "Uncle joe
Snt h1c
render TO the necessities of making the
rivers work was one of the illuminat-
ing features of O discussion when
showed the temper Of congress as moth
ing else has done in a decade.
Mr.. Cannon gave evidence of hav-
ing frst-hand knowledge of existing
conditions when he said in his speech
during the consideration Of the bill:
elf we are to depend upon transpor-
tation by rail alone we will have to
multiply the railway mileage by two,
by three, by four,
"We have 90,O00.000 people in this
country now. When fully populated
and developed we will have 5o0,000,0o0
people Already we have almost one
round earth, carrying one-thlrd of the
products of the civilized world back and
forth to Market
Work Of Long Years.
Speaking of the improvements con-
templated by the bill, Speaker Cannon
said: cit is long work to make
these Improvements, to add to nature
sufficient depth Of water to carry the
great and constantly increasing COM
merce. Terminals are TO be cared for.
II you have railroad running from
New York to Chicago, with 10 sta.
tions, il would carry n great deal OF
commerce originating on the Lakes,
down to the seashore, but no railroad
could be successfully maintained unless
there were hundreds of stations These
stations will come on the rivers. but
all this cannot be done in day.
In reminiscent view he told of
pass river and harbor bill over the
veto of President Arthur in 1882. He
told of the fight made against him on
account Of that vote. "but l thanked
God then. as / thank God now, that
that constituency. agricultural, as it is
today, had the breadth and the intelli
gence, and | may say the patriotism,
crossed with that breadth and intelli-
gence TO stand by me at the polls.'
Probably no man on the river and
harbor committee has worked with more
enthusiastic devotion to the cause of
waterway improvements than has Chair
man Alexander, and his masterly hand
ling of a bill that carries over S42,-
100000 in cash and authorized contracts
for water betterments is a tribute to
Us close, analytical study. of his sub
lect.
Speaking Of the noticeable growth Of
sentiment which has been aroused in
favor Of river and harbor improve.
ments, Chairman Alexander said: "Be.
ginning four or five years ago it has
continued to increase, rapidly growing
in strength, until this city in the last
three or four years has witnessed the
presence of a great Rivers and Har.
bors congress, representing the friends
of river and harbor improvements from
nearly every state in the uuion. This
has had decided leavening effect and
the committee on rivers and harbors
believes the time is now ripe for re.
turning to the old custom of an annual
river and harbor bill. ~
Chamberlain Cough Remedy the Most