The Washington herald., 1913-12-01
THE WATERWAYS CONGRESS
By GRIDLEY BEDE.

nation must give attention. Two water
way commissions have had existence and
made their reports, 50 that we no longer
looked upon the problem in a pIecemeal
way. but as one Of the great latent forms
of national wealth. We have more than
5000 miles Of waterways that are capable
OF Improvement or use. The greatest
system is the Mississippi River and its
feeders, affecting large part OF the
whole productive area Of the United
States, from New York State in the
East to Montana in the West; from Min
nesota in the North to Louisiana m the
South-twenty-five States in all. It Is
now realized that no nibbling at water
control, flood prevention. power creation.
and navigation is appropriate. The de-
velopment of this stream and its tribu-
taries to be actual arteries Of travel Is a
task of craftsmanship that is worthy Of
years Of work by the Rivers and Harbors
Congress. Compared with this. little shall
low streams that lead to nowhere In par
ticular and do no great good nor can be
understood as having great potential good
in them are unimportant
Local Organizations Active.
So far as local programs are concerned.
the development of the National Rivers
and Harbors Congress In favor OF "a
policy not a project has prompted the
organization Of many valuable bodies
directing their efforts toward projects"
There are eight to ten such bodies, all
| increasing intelligent comprehension of
what the nation must do for waterways.
i, The most striking of these efforts are
those in favor of creating navigable wa
/ terways where they do not exist, by
cutting coastal canals and thus bringing
into one standard and availability the
bays along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
and also the rivers seeking the ocean
through these bays. The public hardly
realizes how much progress has been
made in this direction. The Cape Cod
Canal has attracted a great deal OF at
tention, for IT has appealed to the imagi-
nation, but other canal work has gone
forward for years almost unnoticed- When
I the Cape Cod Canal is finished. II will
be possible for shipping to get from
Massachusetts Bay to New York Bay
with very little exposure to danger. Sim
a, ilarly. II is now possible for cargoes
to go unbroken from Philadelphia down
| to Beaufort. n. c., without any exposure
TO an outside passage This is possible
through the Delaware and Chesapeake
Canal and then down Chesapeake Bay to
Norfolk and so on through the great Dis
NAL Swamp, southwark. From Beaufort
| n. C, clear down to Florida the entire
! route Of the Intercoastal Canal is surveyed
and in some short stretches work has
4 been undertaken When finished, II will
mean that any cargo Of moderate draught
coming down any river falling into the
Atlantic can, without exposure to risk,
reach the mouth of any other river fall
! ing into the Atlantic and follow 1t as far
| as IL is navfgable, IL such be the destina-
ton OF the cargo.
From Florida to Louisiana much agi-
| tation has been carried on by the Mis-
sissippi to Atlantic Deeper Waterways
Association. A canal is almost COM
plete between st. Andrews Bay. in
Florida and the Chattahoochee River.
Beyond Louisiana. and extending from
Galveston without a break, there are
| coastal canals for more than 200 miles.
All of this Intelligent work can be
credited to the influence OF the Nation
al Rivers and HarbOrs Congress. for
| It has prompted local interests in every
case to look at the waterway problem
| in a broader manner than was pos
sible in the days of less enlightenment
on the question as a whole.
No mention should be made here OF
| the supposed use OF waterways as a
| threatening injury to railways. The
National Rivers and Harbors Congress
has not had this as its object; rather.
| it is bringing the nation TO use what
| il has to the best advantage, confident
| that the increasing use OF resources by
the nation will provide business
enough for all the railroads, as well
as for the main waterways.