The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1913-10-17
development Of
new ENGLAND
WATERWAYS
Congressional Committee or
Rivers and Harbors Con-
venti0n at Boston
Many Cities and Towns in
New England Are
Visited

! Boston.-"We want the railway
trunk lines of Canada TO reach to the
port Of Boston and We will not be
content or rest until they do So" de
clared Gov. Foss at dinner given the
delegates 10 the Massachusetts, Water
ways Convention under the auspices
Of the Massachusetts Harbor and
Land Commission and the Massachu
| setts Real Estate Exchange.
IF our railroads here are holding
back these Canadian roads from get
ting down TO the port of Boston, such
a condition must cease" continued
the Governor, "and the people who
own our roads will see that these
roads are managed in the interests OF
New England, and they can never do
that until they connect with the Ca
madam lines and the Canadian lines
are assured that they will get fair
share of the business of the port of
Boston.
THE state stands ready to spend
one dollar for every dollar the federal
government spends on Massachusetts
harbors and waterways" said the
Governor, but the terminals must be
owned by the state or the city. The
state is already taking steps toward
this end. This public ownership is
absolutely necessary. The people do
not realize to what an extent the rail
roads have throttled our waterways" j"
Speaking Of the bill to appropriate
s5,000,000 for the improvement of the
harbors and rivers at Fall River and
New Bedford, he said: Next year
expect that the State will make that
appropriation"
That since the establishment of the
United States as a government, to-
tai of only $4,000 has been spent on
Boston harbor by Congress, was the
declaration of Congressman Moore.
He declared that the average per cap
ita savings of New England people
was twice as much as the next richest
territory in the country and forty
times greater than in the west An
average yearly revenue of S25,000,000
is contributed to the nation by Massa-
chusetts, while Texas, with an annual
revenue Of S4,000,0O0 has had expend-
ed on its rivers and harbors $37,000,-
600, twice that in Massachusetts.
The great economic advantage in
cheaper transportation by intercostai
waterways was pointed out. 1t was
asserted by speakers that possibly
through the influence Of the railroads.
representatives from Massachusetts,
had not desired a development OF
New England waterways.
Congressman stephen NJ. Spark
, man, chairman of the Rivers and Har-
bors Committee. said that Boston is
going TO get every foot of depth OF
water that the harbor needs" He
complimented the United States army
engineers and indicated that it was
largely on their recommendations
that action would depend.
Commodore ]. w. Miller, vice-presi-
dent Of the Cape Cod Construction
! Company, prophesied that 20000QOO
tons would pass through this canal
! during the first year and stated that
Buzzard's bay would in time excel
Narragansett bay eventually on ac'
count of it's superior natural advan'
tages.
Inland waterways, under construc
ton and proposed. were inspected IN
a tour OF 200 miles by special train
tugboat and automobile in the Cape
Cod district.
Members of the committee compu
mented President Belmont on the Cape
Cod canal construction. Their inspec
ton was the first formal and most
detailed ever made by government
body. It was pronounced a valuable
link in the system Of intercoasta
waterways, which on completion are
expected to solve the problem OF
cheap and adequate transportation.
Equally impressed were the com
mittee with the project to build
twenty.mile canal from Taunton t'
Quincy and with the fact that ricf
and thriving community would b
thus served.