The Coolidge examiner., 1930-12-12
NEWS REv|E " Of
CURRENT EVENTS
Inland Waterway Projects
Being Pushed to Give
Work to Unemployed.
BY EDWARD w. PlcKARD

NIORK for the unemployed
Wv was the thought in the minds
of the thousand or more members
of the Mississippi Valley associa
tion when they gathered i'm st.
Louis for their annual convention.
Consequently the speakers urged
that the inland waterways pro-
gram he speeded up by the govern
ment so that the projects in the val
ley now authorized might he com
pleted in five years instead of tif
teen. This would mean the eXpend
iture on them of $1W.000,000 a year
for the next five years.
Secretary of War Hurley. who
was present. agreed with others
that quick completion of the Illinois
waterway was vital to the progress
of the program and said the war
department would include in the de-
ficiency bill in congress next menth
an item that would permit work on
that link TO start this winter.
president Hoover" said Secre-
tary Hurley, has given me per
100000 deficiency appropriation TO
carry on the increased work on wa
terways this year. 1t will enable
speeding up for the winter wonths.
LAS to the Illinois waterway,
am anxious 10 get the shOvels roll
ing and to get going. When we
get that project completed, connect
IL ho
sissippi. it will he a tremendous
step In the 1900 miles of inland wa
terways so long talked about"
1. developed that if the govern.
ment goes ahead speedily. as Mr..
Hurley wishes. the state govern
ment of Illinois must get busy with
the construction of five bridges AT
Joliet and seven below that city,
for the water could not be turned
In before those bridges are built
Maj. Gen. Lytle Brown, chief of
engineers in charge of the valley
projects. thus set forth the atti-
tude of the federal engineers:
"Here is what we have in view
now in the valley:
81. To drive the Illinois water
ways Tor completion with all speed.
80. To prosecute with vigor the
improvement of the Missouri from
its mouth 10 Sioux City.
IS. To execute the flood control
work on the lower Mississippi as
the law cOntemplates. looking all
the time for more perfection in the
plnns.
"A. To push the Ohio improve
ment cut from the main stem as
rapidly as the means available will
permit
II believe in the ST. Lawrence
waterway to the sea. but | am con-
vinced that the Illinois waterway
Is more vital TO our prosperity than
is even the st. Lawrence water
way. Chicago is the mos impOr-
tant place on the lakes. and there
Is on the lakes an aggregation of
industrial and population centers
such as even now is not matched
on any other trade route on earth"
DRESIDENT HOOVER is anxious
to have the government do what
1t can, under existing laws, to help
state and local authorities in their
war on gangs and racketeers, but
he vigorously denies the published
report that he will propose to con-
gress any extension of the federal
criminal laws for this purpose.
Every single state" said Mr..
Hoover. has ample laws that cover
such criminaity. What is needed
is the enforcement of those laws,
and not more laws. Any sugges-
tion of increasing the federal Grim
inal laws in general is a reflection
on the sovereignty and the stamina
of state government.
'"The federal government is as
siSting local authorities TO over
come a hideous gangster and cor
ments. but get no satisfaction
from the reflection that the only
way that this can be done is for
the federal government to convict
men for failing to pay income taxes
on the financial product of crime
agains; state laws.
''What we need is more wide
spread public awakening to the fail
ure of some local governments to
protect their citizens from murder,
racketeering, corruption and other