CONVENTION OF THE OHIO VALLEY 

 IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION 



THE Fourteenth Annual Conven- 

 tion of the pioneer association of 

 citizens to promote river improve- 

 ment was held at Louisville, Ky., Octo- 

 her 22-23, m th Seelbach Hotel. The 

 meeting was an enthusiastic one, large- 

 ly on account of the feeling that the 

 long-awaited fruition of hopes and la- 

 bors is at hand. The annual report of 

 President Vance, which followed the 

 opening exercises, showed the affairs of 

 the organization to be in a gratifying 

 condition ; it and the address of Hon. 

 Joseph E. Ransdell, President of the 

 National Rivers and Harbors Congress, 

 were the features of the morning ses- 

 sion. Mr. Ransdell outlined the devel- 

 opment of the recent waterway move- 

 ment, beginning with the organization 

 of the Ohio Valley Improvement As- 

 sociation, and directed attention to the 

 constant aid and encouragement this 

 Association has given other organiza- 

 tions of kindred aim. including the 

 Rivers and Harbors Congress. 



The afternoon session was devoted 

 to addresses by Maj. William L. 

 Sibert. I*. S. Engineer Corps; Mr. \V. 

 K. Kavanaugh. President of the Lakes- 

 to-Gulf Deep Waterway Association : 

 Mr. George W. Theiss, Mr. Alfred K. 

 Nippert, and others ; and the evening 

 session to addresses by Hon. F. 1'. 

 Posey, of Indiana, and Mr. A. B. Lips- 

 comb, with an illustrated lecture on the 

 Locks and Movable Dams of the Ohio 

 River, by Capt. J. Frank Tilley. The 

 -ession of Friday was occupied by re- 

 ports of the secretarv. Capt. J. F. Elli- 

 son, with report^ of committees (in- 

 cluding that on resolutions), brief ad- 

 dresses giving assurances of -npport 

 by Representative Swager ShcrU-y, of 

 the Louisville District, and several 

 other members of Congress with more 



extended addresses by Hon. Albert I'.et- 

 tinger and Dr. W J McGee ; the session 

 closing with the election of officers and 

 selection of Cincinnati as the place for 

 the Fifteenth Annual Convention in 

 1909. During the afternoon the dele- 

 gates and guests, through the courtesy 

 of the Louisville Executive Commit- 

 tee, made a trip through the harbor and 

 examined the government work in 

 progress on the movable dam at the 

 Falls of the Ohio. 



Mr. Bettinger summarized the legis- 

 lation, surveys, and other procedure 

 leading to the present plan for improv- 

 ing the navigation of the Ohio by mean 

 of a series of fifty-four movable dams, 

 extending from D'avis Island to Mound 

 City, designed to give a nine-foot stage, 

 at an aggregate estimated cost of over 

 $63,000.000. Six dams have been com- 

 pleted and eight arc under way. of 

 which two will be completed within a 

 year. He also outlined "the new pol- 

 icy of waterway improvement." The 

 Association has contributed much to 

 the creation of sentiment in favor of a 

 departure from the old method- The 

 evils of indiscriminate approval of 

 projects, insufficient provision of funds 

 to carrv them promptly to completion. 

 the lark of a comprehensive plan of 

 river improvement, insufficient number 

 of engineers, have all been so much dis- 

 cussed that a mere mention of them is 

 sufficient. What principles should 

 euide the future action of Congress in 

 these matters' President Roosevelt, in 

 his message to Congress February 26. 

 1908. transmitting the report of the In- 

 land Waterways Commission said : 



No proirot should he hecMin nn'il the 

 futul<; nTossirv to complete it nromptlv nre 

 pn>' i<1''d. ->nd no p'.in once under way should 

 1>e rlinnped cxrrpt for prnve ren^on*. Work 



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