The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-11-22
congressman
At WATERWAYS
CONVENTION
HELM OF ALABAMA AND SMALL
OF NORTH CAROLINA AMONG
THE SPEAKERS AT MoNTeoM.
cry.
BY Associates Press.

BY Associates PreS1s
Montgomery, Nov. 21.-Congressman
Thomas ]. Heflin, of Alabama, at the
second days session of the the con-
vention of the Mississippi to Atlantic
Inland Waterways Association made a
plea to the farmers of the south to
hold their cotton for higher prices.
Major Charles ]. Swift, of Columbus,
spoke on the Work of Morgan and
GaIlatin on the public roads and water
ways" At the evening session the
delegates were addressed by Congress-
man II. Small, of North Carolina, and
Dewitt C. Reid, of Jacksonville, Fla.
Small assailed some of the arguments
against waterway improvements as
being unsupported by facts.
HENDERSON TALKS.
Leland J. Henderson, secretary OF
the association, spoke as follows:
I wish to offer some observations
on conventions. give some reasons for
the Mississippi to Atlantic Inland
Waterway Association. Show why an
inland waterway from the Mississippi
river to the Atlantic coast is neces-
sarv to complete transportation sySr
tenn. demonstrate it should be con-
structed with local application.
Five years ago / began the study OF
waterway transportation and the i'm
provement of ports and rivers.
learned ports and rivers were
sometimes improved by cities, coun-
ties or states but usually by the gov
eminent. Federal improvements were
secured by votes of congressman and
senators.
The south has more ports and rivers
than the remainder of the country, yet
secured the least appropriation.
/ endeavored to learn the reason for
this, and was told that the south was
Democratic and congress Republican.
r E,se 90,
son for a number of years, and it may
yet be SO. / have my doubts, how
, ever, for railroads are constructed by
Republicans for Democrats to ride on,
also Republicans know the greatest
prosperity of part of the countryalies
in the development of all of it. At
any rate the next congress will not be
SO much Republican as heretofore.
Whatever the reasons. the north and
west were securing the improvements
and the south helped to pay the bills.
/ observed that strong organizations
were forced north and west whose
business it was TO express to their
congressman the desires of their con-
stituents between elections. Then
having made these wishes known, they
stayed with and aided them until the
desired purposes were accomplished.
learned the railroads had become
effective transportation mediums, by
and this result was accomplishej
through organization.
Lastly l discovered that the two
great projects, of an all water connec-
tion from the Great Lakes to the Gulf
and an inland waterway along the At
lantic, connected by the Great Lakes
Erie canal and Hudson river. would
provide an admirable system of inland
waterways for the north, and result
ant decrease in cost of eXnortine
northern products and providing foy
the northern people. and while the
southeastern states would help pay the
bill, they would receive little or nc
benefit because their rivers and ports
would not be Joined to each other and
te the Atlantic coast and Mississippi
valley systems.
Therefore. in the latter part of 1907
offering similar deductions to the Apa-
lachicoIa, Florida, Board of Trade. and
suggesting as solution the organiza-
ton Of an Association to advocate fed
era1 construction of a continuous in
land waterway from the Mississippi tc
the Atlantic, and the DEVELOPMENT ot
the rivers and ports ,Continguous. the
Apa1achicola Board of Trade issued q
heartily endorsed by Pensa cola in par
ticular. asking that a meeting be called
and the matter discussed.
AS a result. what is now, the Mis-
sissippi to Atlantic Inland Waterway
Association was organized in Mobile
Alabama. Nav 5, 1908. Since that
date conventions of the association
have been held in Columbus. GEORGIA
November, 1908, Jacksonville. Fla.
November, 1909, and Pensa cola, Fla
November. 1910. Surveys of the en-
tire project have been made. Those sc
far reported have been favorable. All
of the engineers renorts will be sub
mitted to the next congress.
Some appropriation has been secured
and actual construction of part of the
waterway is in progress.
The purpose of the Mississippi to