| Show T RIVERS WILL BE BEI I LOOKED AFTER Inland Waterways Commission I g ii of Nine Members Appoint Appointed f ed by the President 11 4 PURPOSE E FULLY EXPLAINED NED NEDi cj r i I r CONGRESSMAN BURTON BURTON OF OHIO 1 IS CHAIRMAN I ij t I l lI b F r Washington March 16 Complying a with Ith fth petitions presented by numerous I I i i I commercial organizations of or the Mis Mississippi Mississippi MIsI I valley President nt Roosevelt has I decided to appoint an n Inland water waterways waterways p r 4 ways commission lo whose duty It ft will willbe I LII be to prepare and report a comprehensive Pl 1 sive sivo plan for the nt ami con control control conI I of the river systems of tile United i iJ T States Eight men have l been beenY Y asked to servo Sh the commission col and Burton of r Ohio Ohl chal r th and amI har bar harbors harbors barrI J rI bors hors commIttee In the last congress ss Is Isto Isto s sI I to be chairman of the commission In Ina Ina a letter which he has addressed to each J r t of these persons the president sets out he be Is la Influenced In appointing the com corn commission commission st t mission by broad consideration of or the national policy that the railroads are arc arenor ji no nor longer able to move crops and manufactures rapidly enough to se so secure secure 41 cure the prompt transaction of the theLl Ll sd business of the nation and amI that there P appears appears to be but one complete rem remedy I edy edythe e the development of a complementary I p I tary system pt if transportation by wa va water vai i i tar ter The Tho presidents letter In full fol folL L lews 1 t L Letter of the President 1 1 p Tho 0 White White House 1 I J 14 H 1907 My y Dear Sir Numer Numerous I Ious p ous commercial organizations of the I I qi I Mississippi valley RIley have hare presented pres peti poti petitions petitions J V 1 asking that I appoint a commis commission commission I t sion to prepare and report a compre comprehensive plan for foj the Improvement and andI I i r control of the river systems of the United States I have hao decided to com corn comply comply I ii 1 ply with these requests by appointing i ji an international waterways commis commission commission fJ i sion and I have haye asked the following c Jj gentlemen to act upon It I shall be bei i 1 1 much gratified It If you will consent to ton 4 11 serve n 4 r 3 Theodore E Burton chairman Sen Senator Senator SenI I I j ator France G Newlands Senator William Warner John H Bankhead i q General Alexander Mackenzie Dr WC W WG V G C McGee F P H Newell Gifford Pin Pini i chot and Herbert Knox Smith Comprehensive Plan Necessary i In creating this commission I am hN 4 Inspired by broad considerations of na national national nat t policy The control of or our navi nal navigable navis s ii gable waterways lies with the federal government and carries curries with It corre corresponding responsibility and obligations The energy of our people has hitherto 4 been largely directed toward industrial development connected with field and forest f rest and ana with coal oal and iron and andt z some of these sources of material and andS t S power are already largely completed while our Inland waterways as a whole f I nave bavo hav thus far received r scant atten attention attention L 1 tion It Is becoming clear clem that our streams should be considered considered and con conserved conserved 4 iL served as great natural resources resources 4 1 s Works designed o control our water waterways waterways M ways have thus far usually len been en un undertaken UnI I for a single purpose such t as asI the Improvement of navigation tHe Ille de do development doI I I 5 I of power the Irrigation ot of otI I 2 and lands the protection of lowlands Z from Hoods floods or to supply water for do domestic domestic mestie and manufacturing purposes While the rights of the people to 1 and similar uses of water must be re respected L 4 d the time lies bas come for merging A local projects and uses of the Inland j waters In a n comprehensive plan de designed designed deR R signed for the benefit or otlie the entire iTh country Such a plan nian should consider i arid hild Include all the uses to which Niu t streams may be put and should bring l together and coordinate the points of or view of all users of water The task I fr Involved In the full and orderly devel deel development I and control of the river rier systems q Ot o the t e United States Is a great ore one yet et It is certainly not too great for us to approach The results which It seems seems to promise prom are even greater Highways of Commerce 4 It Is i common knowledge that the theL L railroads of the United States are no noi i t longer long r able le to move crops and manu manufactures manufactures 11 rapidly enough to secure the prompt transaction of the business of the nation nations and there thero Is la small prospect I I of Immediate imm dl teli relief Representative n t railroad men ut that the prod products products I I of t the tf if th states have bave doubled fn in j t ten tn n years ye rs while mile the I railroads facilities have Increased but butt t I and there thero Is reason to tor r i I doubt whether any railroad develop development I ment of the railroads In the near fu future fut p ture fure t re ivill suffice to keep transportation S T abreast abre st of production There appears i 1 tobe to be but one complete remedy the de development dev deI I r v of a complementary system j of oC transportation by water The pres present present 4 ent congestion affects chiefly the peo pea people 4 i pIe of the Mississippi valley and they f I demand relief When hen the congestion of ot 4 f which ml h they complain is relieved the i J whole nation will share the good ret reI re I t el suIts 1 1 f t t Flood od Dangers D 1 J While are aro natural resources of or the the first rank ran they are also Hable liable to become destructive agencies s endangering endangering endangering gering life and property and some Iome of ot our most notable engineering enter enterprises enterprises enterprises have hae grown out of efforts to con control control control them It was computed by Gen Gun Generals Generals Humphreys and Abbott half a century ago that the Mississippi alone sweeps into Its lower reaches and the gulf tons of or floating sedi sediment sediment ment each year about twice the amount of ot the material to be excavated In the opening of or the Panama canal besides an enormous but unmeasured amount of earth salts and soil matter carried amed In solution This vast load not only causes Its HB channels to close and flood the lowlands lowlan of the lower river but renders tenders the How flo capricious and dif dlf difficult difficult to control Furthermore the greater part of the sediment and soil soli matter is composed of oC the most fertile material of oC the fields and pastures drained by the smaller and larger trib tributaries tributaries tributaries Any plan for utilizing our In Inland Jand land waterways should consider floods and their control by forests and other means tho the protection of ot bottom lands from Injury by overflows and uplands i from loss by b soil wash the physics of waters and the phy physical physical physical or other ways of purifying them the construction of dams darns and locks not only to facilitate navigation but to control the character of the waters and should hould look to the full use and control of oC our running waters aters and the complete of or our water waterways waterways waterways ways for the benefit of our people as a whole Problems to Be Sc Considered It Is not possible properly to frame so largo large a 11 plan as this thin for far the control of our rivers without taking account of If the orderly development of other nat natural natural natural ural resources 8 Therefore Ther rore I 1 ask aRk that the Inland waterways commission shall shaH consider the relations of the streams to the use of or all the great permanent natural resources s and their conserva consena conservation tion for the making and maintenance of prosperous homes thy Any ny plan for utilizing our inland waterways to be should rec roe recognize recognize the tho means for executing it al already already a aready ready In existence both in the federal fedral departments of war Interior agriculture ture and commerce and labor and In Inthe Inthe inthe the states and their subdivisions and it must not involve unduly burdensome expenditures from the national treas treasury treasury treasury ury The cost will necessarily be large In proportion to the magnitude jt of br the i benefits to be conferred but it would be small In comparison with the 17 1 of capital now invested In steam railways in the United States an amount that would have havo seemed Reamed enormous and half a cen century century tury tun ago Yet the tho investment has been beena a constant source of profit to the peo people plo and without our industrial progress would have been impossible Every Interest Affected The questions which will come be before before before fore the Inland waterways commission ITu i necessarily relate to every part of the United States and affects every Interest within its borders Its plans should be considered In the light of the widest knowledge of the country and its people from the most diverse points of view Accordingly when its work Is sufficiently advanced I shall add to the commission certain consulting mem mum members members bers with whom I shall sh ll ask that rec roe recommendations recommendations shall shaH be fully discussed before they are submitted to me The reports of the commission should in include include clude elude both a statement of the problem and recommendations as to the man manner man manner manner ner and means of oC attacking It Sincere Sincerely ly It 1 yours rOUIS Signed Sign ed THEODORE ROOSEVELT Mr Ir Bankhead has Just finished his tenth term In congress from Alabama General MacKenzie MacKenzi is chief of engi engineers engineers of the army Mr Newell Is director director director tor of the United States Slates reclamation service Mr Ir Pinchot Is chief forester of the United States Herbert Knox Smith is commissioner of corporations W V J T McGee e is an anthropologist for formerly formerly formerly merly in charge of the bureau of oC American ethnology and formerly president of the National Geography society a |
