Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-23
1eto Co.. Smith Speech accepting the Democratic Nomination for


lowering of cost, which in turn reflects
itself In the form of increased purchas-
ing power through reduction in the
cost of everyday necessities OF life.
Nor do railroads exhaust means of
transportation. 1 believe in encourag-
ing the construction and use of modern
highways to carry the short haul of
small bulk commodities and to aid in
effective marketing of farm products.
"Of great Importance and still in
highly undeveloped state are our trans
portation routes by waterways. Com
modities Of great bulk. where the freight
cost Is large part of the cost to the
ultimate consumer, are among the least
profitable to railroads to carry, and
lend themselves most readily to water
transporta ton.
Certain areas Of our country are
deeply interested in opening up di-
rect route from the Middle West to the
sea by way of the Great Lakes and adj
iacent waterways. Controversy has
arisen over the relative merits of the
st. Lawrence route or the all-American
route. AS Governor Of New York.
have heretofore expressed a preference
for the all-American route, baSing my
| view on engineers reports made to me
| The correctness of these reports and
dlSU Vi ttIUSt ldNOIiIIS JIlG Db- lJdWEcIiCb
route has been challenged. AS Presi-
dent of the United States. therefore, 1t
would be my clear duty to restudy this
question impartially upon engineers re-
| ports the accuracy of which must be
| above question. When the results of
| such study are given to Congress l
am entirely willing to abide by the deci-
| sion of Congress.
| With the development Of inland
| waterways goes the control Of floods
thereon. The Mississippi food of last
! year brought home to the Nation the
| imperative need for national policy
! of food control The last two admin
! istrations waited for this calamity and
| for universal demand that something
! be done instead of taking leadership in
| this important work. Forethought
! courage and leadership and knowledge
of what real, ultimate economy means
would have done much to prevent this
/ calamity, with its ensuing waste and
| misery An ounce of prevention is
worth pound of first aid and relief
| In the last Congress the Reid-JoneS
| bill laid down sound lines for the solu-
| ton Of this great problem. The policy
| thus initiated for the Mississippi must
| be carried through The money actu-
ally appropriated for flood relief is toe
small to make even a start. Too much
time has been spent in Squabbling cvel
who shall pay the bill.
Waterways and
Flood Control Linked.
The Mississippi River and its tribu-
! tarieS constitute a great network Of
waterways flowing through a large
number of States. Much more than
| flood control is involved. Fullest de-
velopment of the Mississippi River and
| It's tributaries as arteries of commerce
| should be the goal.
| Wide possibilities for public good
are latent in what remains of our nat
ural resources. I pledge myself to a
| progressive, liberal conservation policS
| based upon the same principles to which
/ have given my support in the State
| ot New York, and TO fight against self
! ish aggression in this field wherever
/ 1t appears and irrespective of whom IL
! may involve. No nation in history has
/ been more careless about the conserva-
/ ton OF natural resources than has ours
t We have denuded our forests We have
been Slow to reclaim lands for develop
| msnt. and have allowed to run to waste
/ or have given TO private exploitation
our public waters. with their great po-
tential power for the development Of
/ electrical energy.
THE value of this heritage can bes
be measured when We consider the re-
cent disclosures of the methods EN-.
| ployed by private monopolies to wreS
our remaining water powers from pub
lie control.
mo more dishonest or unpatrioti
propaganda has ever been seen in thi
country than that disclosed by the in.
VeStigation into the methods of certain
utility corporations. Private corpora,
tons to gain control of public resource.
have procured the writing of text book.
Tor the public schools: have subsidized
| lecturers pretending TO give TO the
country their own honest and unbiased
advice; have employed as their agents
| former public officials, and have en-.
deavored TO mislead public opinion by
| the retention of the services of leader:
| OF the community in various parts oil
| the country. Highly paid lobbyists
! penetrated into every State and into
| the legislative halls of the Nation itself
! AS against propaganda. 1t is the
| duty OF the Democratic party to set III
! truth. The ownership of some of these
great water powers is in the Nation, OF
| others III the several States. These
/ sources OF water power must remain
| forever under public ownership and
| control. Where they are owned by the
! Federal Government they should re-
| main under Federal control. Where
| they are owned by an individual State
| they should be under the control OF
| That State, or where they are owned
| by States Jointly they should be under
| the control Of those States.
Declares Against
| Water Power Monopoly.