The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-11-18
ASK APPROPRIATION
TO COMPLETE
WATERWAY.
PLEAS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM
CONGRESS FEATURE OPENING
OF CONVENTION.
REP. MOORE CHIEF SPEAKER
President of the Atlantic Deeper Wa
terways Association Makes His An
nuaI Report-Every State Along the
Atlantic Seaboard Represented.
, REP. MOORE CHIEF SPEAKER
(By Associated PreSs.)

JdChSOHNllle, rld., NON. lo.I ioaS
for sufficient appropriations by Con-
gress to complete the proposed inland
waterway route along the Atlantic
coast, featured the opening Of the
convention of the Atlantic Deeper Wa
terways Association here today. The
urgent need for the improvement of an
inner trade route along the coast was
emphasized and recent destructive
coastal storms were pointed out as an
argument.
The convention is the sixth that the
association has held Delegates are in
attendance from all the states along
the eastern coast of the United States,
all of them pointing out the economic
need for the inland water route. I'm
mediately after the invocation by the
Rev William A. Hobson the delegates
were welcomed to the city by Mayor
Van c. Swearingen and the state by
Governor Park Trammel Responses
by Governor Charles R. Miller of Del
aware, and Lieut. Gov. Frank E. Howe,
of Vermont, were on the program.
Sessions covering four days are ex-
pected to bring many speakers to show
the urgent need for immediate ap-
preparation to complete the work al,
ready undertaken both by the federal
government and the several states. As
revenue producing and trade carry
ing project the Atlantic inland water
way was contrasted with many of the
western river projects to the disadvan-
tage of the latter.
Representative ]. Hampton Moore,
of Pennsylvania, president of the as
sociation, presided and read his annual
report, He declared the area to be
aided by the improved water transpor-
tation facilities contained 40 per cent
of the entire population of the United
States and so per cent of all the wage
earners.
President Moore pointed to the fact
that the four ports to be touched by
the proposed waterway, collected four
fifths of the, customs revenue and that
through them passed most of the i'm
port and export business of the coun-
try. This small territory, comprising
the original thirteen states, and which,
he said, was barely more than thumb
mark on the map of the United States,
produced SO per cent of all the manu-
factures and GO, per cent of all the coal
in the country.
Those facts, he pointed out, should
be taken into consideration by Con-
gress in making the next appropriation
for river and harbor Improvements.
He declared that the Atlantic seaboard
was more worthy of consideration by
Congress than all the other ports of the
United States combined.
AS tending to show how the lack of
adequate transportation increased the
cost of living in the Eastern States,
President Moore said:
"The problem confronting the own
,ers of neglected eastern lands is chief.
'ly the problem of transportation. 1t
{ sis the problem of the producer to get
to market. a problem resulting from
athH Concentration of population and
business activity along the lines Of the
/, railroads, while vast stretches oi
country have suffered abandonment
because the waterways that have for
merly served them well, we're not KEEP
up to modern standard"
President Moore declared railways
In the eastern states needed relief from
the congested conditions that made
the rapid delivery of freight an impos
.sibility Conditions are such, he said
that it was a common occurrence TO-
a car Of freight to require more thai
week to travel less than fifty miles
III 1t takes Ave days to ship freigh
from Philadelphia to Chester, dis
tance of IL miles, or days to Trenton
"a mile s,.Qr 13 days to New York
= 80 miles, 1nneecently demonstrated
1t is evil the railroads nee,
tCoI n Page Fight)