The Green Forest tribune., 1912-10-04

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
 Little Rock.-The use of the ma. ehinery and force of experts now eni- ployed in digging the Panama canal, in the construction of a deep water way connecting the great lakes and the Gulf of Mexico, was urged by speakers at the annual convention of the Lakes-to-the-Gulf Deep Water ways Association in this city. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, nominee of the Progressive party for president of the United States, who made a non-potiti- cal speech before the convention, of, fered this as a solution of the problem and the same course was urged by other distinguished men who spoke. It was pointed out that the well or ganized and highly trained body of men now engaged on the Panama Canal work will be available within the next year or two and that they should not be allowed to scatter until this second great waterway project is completed.
 Col Roosevelt spoke at the second days session of the convention. He abandoned politics for the day and spoke only on the subject of deep waterways. He discussed also the problem of preventing the recurrence oS floods in the Mississippi valley, such as that which occurred this year
 A'Ope &f the main troubles in se- ,f, izin O the spare flood water" said Col. Roose- welt, "is the inability or refusal of the champions of any one project to look the whole problem in the face. This problem cannot be handled piecemeal; there is need of action from the stand point of the nation as whole. In the past so much money has been spent in improving small creeks and rivers that the whole system of water way improvement has been associated with unpleasant memories in the eyes of many people. It rests with such an organization as this to remove that stain and convince the people of the necessity of looking at the whole problem from the standpoint of the general welfare.
 "That is why I so emphatically be- lieve that this and other such prob lens must be handled by commits sion; it will not do to leave it at the mercy of scrambling interests. If we allow it to be handled only through the initiative of congress we will find many congressman reluctant to go into a general scheme like the Missis- sippi river improvement unless their local schemes. are coupled with it. Others who have no creek they want drained will have a federal building they want constructed. The essential problem should be considered as a whole; the treatment of the levees of the lower Mississippi as part of the problem, and another part the pre- vention of freshet water striking the Mississippi from the Ohio and Mis- souri rivers.
 Where the Flood Begins.
 "The flood that devastates Missis- sippi and Louisiana starts in Pennsvl- vania, Ohio, Montana and Wyoming, therefore the problem is one which must be considered in its entirety and must be considered by the national government. Only the national gov ernment can deal in matters of that importance, and the national govern nent will not deal with it unless you take an interest in it. speak as one having had experience.
 "It is fortunate that the need for federal action has been impressed upon our people at the time when the federal authorities are able to de- velop the very instrument for meet ing the need We have at Panama a store of individual and collective skill which may be untilized for the pur- rose of treating the problem of the Mississippi as we treated the problem Of Panama"
 The colonel told how he had made the digging of the Panama canal pos. sible and declared that he could not ,,-~---~-~~-~--~~--~->- >------~-~----------~-~-