The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-16
COUNTRY FAVORS WATERWAY POLICY Adam Bede Sounds Senti-
 ment of States SOUTH TO BENEFIT Speaks of Necessity of Absolute Control and Ownership of
 River Terminals By
 Municipalities

l J. Adam Bede, ex-member of Congress | from the Duluth district, chautauqua lec- turer, after-dinner speaker, an optimist I Of the first water and a likely candidate l for representative at large from the | commonwealth of Minnesota. should the | re-apportionment bill which recently passed the House become a law, is an enthusiastic advocate of improving the rivers of the United States. Speaking of the growing sentiment throughout the country looking to a comprehensive water way policy. MT. Bede said:
 Since leaving Congress two years ago I have been in almost every state of the Union. particularly in the middle west, and have found a steadily growing senti- ment in favor of waterway development due in large measure to the educational work of the National Rivers and liar bors congress. This has been stimulated in large part also by the work on the Panama canal which has appealed to both the sentiment and pride of the American people. There is a very general feeling prevalent that with the completion of the canal we ought to make feeders for it.
 
 as in the north. It is generally recognized that the greatest development in the next generation will be in the south, where capital is flowing in and water powers are being utilized and new industries de- veloping. Indeed, it would seem that the south is to receive the greatest benefit from the Isthman canal and the people are awake 10 their opportunities.
 One of the reasons why the Ohio should be improved as rapidly as prac- ticable is the difficulties of reaching the Pacific market with our heavy iron prod ucts. With a good stage of water in the Ohio from Pittsburg to Cairo there is no reason why Pittsburg might not retain its present supremacy and supply the Pacific coast market by way of the Panama ca nal with its steel and iron products. Un- less the Ohio is improved to the 9-foot stage. Pittsburg will be known within d generation as an educational center rather than as a factory town.
 "It is a significant fact that all the great cities on our continent are located on western waterways. There must be a | reason for this. Of course, one reason might be their accessibility to railroads and easier grades along water courses, but evidently the real controlling factor 1 is the question of reduced transportation I by water.
 l An important problem in the develop l ment of our rivers is the necessity of ab- solute control and ownership of terminals | by municipalities. St. Paul has already acquired terminals and the movement is general in the west and some parts of the south. In many cases railroads owning riparian rights along streams make this situation difficult to overcome. How ever, as railroads organizing int ) | larger systems under broad-mnded man. agement there must come a closer rela- tionship between rail and water carriers. If you could destroy the "Soo' canal between Lake Superior and Lake Huron it would paralyze the commerce of the world and would be disastrous as war, because the railroads could not han dle the bulkier and heavier traffic be- tween the east and the west and the iron mills of Pittsburg would be closed and cobwebs would grow in the thousand fac  railroads by handling the taffic for which the rail rate iss prohibitive.
 For example, consider the difference Tn cost in steel products If all the ores of the Lake Superior district should be shipped by rail. The layrnan must under stand that the manufacturer must as- semble the ore, the coke the lime and other materials at central points and therefore long shipment forf one or the other is obligatory and transportation be- comes the key to the whole situation.
 "The development of a river in itself may be a little thing, but if you could save one penny in cost to every Ameri- can consumer through transportation it would make you a millionaire. The real point today to manufacturers is a large volume of business with narrow margin of profit therefore the cost of transpor- tation becomes more vital than ever be- fore.
 James J. Hill a few years ago told me that he and his associates were consider ing the advisabiity of constructing line from Chicago to New York to connect up his western system of railroads. His engineers and attorneys were put to work to acquire a New York terminal which they thought essential to carry out their plans, but they discovered that the New York terminal alone would make the line cost $165.0o0 per mile from New York to Chicago which was prohibitive and the enterprise was abandoned. No more elo- quent plea could be made than this for the development of our waterways.
 Several years ago I was campaigning In Oregon and held joint debate between silver republican, democrat and pro- hibitionist. The prohititionist was droh, humorous. and retired minister. In the course of our debate I told him I would give him an incident which he could af- ford to use in his future talks, thereby avoid throwing cold water on his audi ences all the time. This was the incident referred to, showing the difference be- tween Oregon and Minnesota from an afigricultural point of view. In Oregon they ship wheat to Europe by sailing vea- sells around Cape Horn and dump 1t on the market whenever they arrive there regardless of prices. but we people of Minnesota stow our grain in elevators, wait until the market is right. then ship to Europe by steamboats, from Duluth to Liverpool. for 15 cents per bushel. In other words, said the price of drink of whisky in Minnesota would ship a bushel of wheat from Duluth to Liver | pool and all the Minnesota farmer had l to do was to stop drinking whisky and he would be right in the Liverpool market
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