The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-02-11
THE SPEAKER ON
RIVER IMPROVEMENT

Washington, D. c., (Special)-"God
Almighty in His infinite wisdom and
goodness, has given to US the most
magnificent system of waterways that
was ever vouchsafed to any people in
the history of the world and we have
been more negligent in improving and
using them than any other civilized
people on the face of the globe" 1t
was "The Speaker" speaking Champ
Clark, as he is Familiarity known from
one end of the country to the other
who has been a member of the house
of representatives for twenty years,
was speaker Of the Sixty-second con-
gress, is speaker of the Sixty-third
and will undoubtedly be the speaker
of the sixty-fourth as well.
"Of course / am in favor of inn
proving our rivers and harbors" con-
tinued the speaker. emo man who
wasn't could represent my constitu-
ents, for my district skirts the Miss
issippi for 160 miles, and straddles the
Missouri for ITO more. But that is
not the only reason, nor even the most
important reason, why l am interest
ed in waterways, for consider that
the conservation, improvement and
development Of our natural resources
affecting, as it does, not only our
selves but our children to the remotest
generations the greatest problem
before the American people.
Profitable Investment
81 have asserted time and again,
both in congress and out of it, that it
would be profitable investment for
the American people to make these
rivers navigable in fact if there never
was another passenger or pound of
freight carried over them, because
they would regulate freight rates. But
l do not believe that there will be any
lack Of passengers of freight to use
them when they are improved, nor do
l believe that their Improvement will
injure the railroads in the long run.
If we ever make these rivers navig-
able, here is what will happen: the
heavy freight, the stuff that is not
perishable Immediately, will be car
ried by boats, and the perishable
freight and. the passengers, most of
them, will be carried on the railroads.
"a man who has travelled over this
country as much as have in the last
twenty years knows that one Of these
two things must happen either the
railroads have got to double-track or
quadruple-track their roads; or the
rivers have got to be made navigable,
if the freight of the country is to be
carried. The United States has not
completed its growth-it is still in its
infancy. This nation is not finished
it has hardly begun. The principal
trouble of the railroads today is not
so much tracks as terminals, and the
time is coming when the railroads, no
matter how many tracks they have,
will not be able to do the business.
eve are inclined to boast Of the
81, OO0, 900 people which we had at the
time of the last census, or the 100, 600
600 which we probably have today,
but let US take little look into the
future. Until a short time ago the
farmers of this country were trying
to spread themselves out over as
many. acres as possible. Now they
are beginning to see that what they
have got to do is to go down into the
soil and get as much out of every acre
as possible. Some years ago, James
fCnnt;nnod ~, Pace ~