Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-11-16

| highways. We see tnat navigation on
our great lakes has not only been q
safe and rapid means Of transporta
tion but has been better regulator
of freight rates than any law ever
enacted. If navigation has been such
! a success on the great lakes in the
northern part of our country where
! navigation is closed great part of
the year, how much more successful
is it likely to be on our navigable
rivers, all of which, excepting the
Red River of the North. flow south,
and a goodly portion of them open
the year around? A glance at the
map of the United States will show
how kind nature has been in giving
US such a system Of inland navigable
waters. The Mississippi, the Mis-
souri, and their tributaries drain
practically the entire country be-
tween the Rocky and the Allegheny
mountains-the greatest and richest
agricultural country in all the world.
1t is useless to talk about the i'm
prOvement of these rivers or any of
our rivers in this convention or elses
where; everybody is in favor of their
improvement. In his trip down the
Mississippi river in 1907, in every
speech which he made from Keokuk
to Memphis, President Roosevelt
spoke in favor of river Improvement:
and President Taft, on the same trip
two years later, not only spoke in
favor of the policy, but advised the
issue and sale of bonds for it's pro-
motion. The entire country is in "a
vor Of it. The two great political par
ties were committed to it in their
platforms in the last campaign, and
each candidate spoke in favor of it on
the stump. With so much sentiment
in favor of a general and comprehen-
sive scheme for the Improvement of
our waterways it would seem that
congress would respond to the general
demands Of the people if it had
practicable and feasible plan of i'm
prOvement. The members of con-
gress who have spoken in our river
conventions have told us that con.
gress is in favor of improving our
waterways, but that no feasible, prac-
ticable plan had been presented.
Personally I believe the statements
made by the members OF congress in
our conventions to that effect, and
no one will blame them for being con-
sentative in the expenditure Of the
peoples money, and for hesitating,
if it is true that there is no practi
cable or feasible plan. We are con-
sentative enough to want to know.
and congress should know, that the
money expended in the improvement
of our waterways will not be wasted,
but will be invested in permanent i'm
prevents which will last for all
time Because of the magnitude of
our government, each department
growing and increasing in Importance
and becoming more expensive each
year, the appropriations for main
tanning the government increasing
from year to year, it is apparent that
any political party in power will hes.
itate to appropriate money neces-
sary for the completion of this work
in addition to the appropriations
which are necessary to maintain the
government, without such feasible.
practicable plan. From all the
speeches which l have heard and read
upon the subject, and from statis-
tics gathered and compiled, I had
been under the impression that so
important matter as feasible plan
of improvement had not been over
looked. If the engineers had worked
out feasible plan it would have
been presented to congress, and in
asmuch as so many creditable con-
gressmen assure us that no feasible
plan has been presented, it must have
been overlooked. This is the first
thing that should be done, for if the
engineers can find no feasible way.
the whole matter had better be
dropped and no more Of the peoples
wasted in impractical. useless
work. The trouble with us, it seems,
Is that we have had too nancy orators
and not enough engineers. The thing
for us to do now is to put engineers
10 work. and we know that they can
and will devise ways and means for
he permanent Improvement of our
'ivers, as they have in many places,
and that congress will then have no
further excuse for not complying
With the demands of the public.
1nasmuch as the transportation prob
EN- is growing more serious anu
lifficult of solution every year, and
t is admitted that it can only be
solved by the improvement and navl-
cation of our inland waterways, would
lot congress be justified in providing
or a commission authorized to in
'estigate all navigable waters in the
and to employ engineers to
lssist in developing feasible plan
or their improvement. The busy
nember of congress, of course, could
lot give much time to such work and
ttend to his other duties, but this
commission need not consist Of mem
ers of congress-better if they be
len who know the rivers, who can
i've their whole time and attention
D the work. who are practical, hon.
st and conscientious, who will not
avor any locality as against another
nd who would report to congress
1eir honest convictions. There are
lany such in this convention. think
ley would find upon investigation
lat nearly all of the trouble in our |.
vers is caused by floods. The flood
langes the course of the river, tears
ut the bank, destroys cities and in =