June 26, 1908] 



SCIENCE 



997 



the people. Commercial organizations throughout 

 the Mississippi Valley and elsewhere demanded 

 then and still demand such improvement of 

 waterways and development of navigation as will 

 prevent traffic congestion and develop commerce. 

 It is an impleasant fact that although the Federal 

 Government has in the last half-century spent 

 more than a third of a billion dollars in water- 

 way improvement, and although the demand for 

 transportation ha,s steadily increased, navigation 

 on our rivers has not only not increased, but has 

 actually greatly diminished. The method hitherto 

 pursued has been thoroughly ineffective; money 

 has been spent freely for improving navigation, 

 but river navigation at least has not been im- 

 proved; and there is a just and reasonable de- 

 mand on the part of the people for the improve- 

 ment of navigation in our rivers in some way 

 which will yield practical results. It was for 

 such reasons as these that the Commission of 

 which you are Chairman was requested to con- 

 sider and recommend a general plan of waterway 

 improvement giving reasonable promise of effect- 

 iveness. 



The preliminary report of the Inland Water- 

 ways Commission was excellent in every way. It 

 •outlines a general plan of waterway improvement 

 which when adopted will give assurance that the 

 improvements will yield practical results in the 

 way of increased navigation and water trans- 

 portation. In every essential feature the plan 

 recommended by the Commission is new. In the 

 principle of coordinating all uses of the waters 

 and treating each waterway system as a unit; 

 in the principle of correlating water traffic with 

 Tail and other land trafiic; in the principle of 

 expert initiation of projects in accordance with 

 commercial foresight and the needs of a growing 

 country; and in the principle of cooperation be- 

 tween States and the Federal Government in the 

 administration and use of waterways, etc.; the 

 general plan proposed by the Commission is new, 

 and at the same time sane and simple. The plan 

 deserves unqualified support. I regret that it has 

 not yet been adopted by Congress, but I am confi- 

 dent that ultimately it will be adopted. 



Pending further opportunity for action by Con- 

 gress, the work of the Commission should be 

 continued with the view of still further perfect- 

 ing the general plan by additional investigations 

 and by ascertaining definitely and specifically why 

 the methods hitherto pursued have failed. To 

 this end I ask that the present members of the 

 Waterways Commission continue their most com- 

 mendable public service. I am asking three 



others to join them, namely: Senator William B. 

 Allison, of Iowa; Hon. Joseph E. Ransdell, of 

 Louisiana, a member of the Rivers and Harbors 

 Committee of the House of Representatives and 

 President of the National Rivers and Harbors 

 Congress; and Professor George F. Swain, of the 

 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a recog- 

 nized authority on water power. When a Chief 

 of Engineers is appointed to succeed General 

 Alexander Mackenzie, retired, I shall also desig- 

 nate him a member, in lieu of General Mackenzie, 

 whose retirement relieves him of further duty on 

 the Commission. The Commission will thus be 

 increased from nine members to twelve. 



In order to facilitate the work of the Commis- 

 sion, I shall shortly issue an Executive order 

 along the lines suggested by your findings and 

 recommendations, directing the Executive Depart- 

 ments to give the Commission access to their 

 records and all necessary and practicable assist- 

 ance in securing information for submission to 

 lae President and to Congress. 



An indirect but useful result of the work of the 

 Commission was the recent Conference of Gover- 

 nors on the Conservation of our Natural Re- 

 sources, held in the White House May 13-15. 

 I take great pleasure in repeating my public ex- 

 pression of indebtedness and my congratulations 

 to the Commission for their signal public service 

 in connection with this great Conference; it was 

 an event which is likely to exert a profound and 

 lasting influence on the development and history 

 of our country. 



Copies of this letter are being sent to each of 

 the twelve members of the Inland Waterways 

 Commission. 



Sincerely yours, 

 (Signed) Theodoeb Roosevelt 



Hon. Theodore E. Burton, Chairman, 

 Inland Waterways Commission. 



THE HANOVER MEETING OF THE AMER- 

 ICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD- 

 VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



From the preliminary aiinouncem.ent of the 

 special summer meeting of the American As- 

 sociation, to be held at Hanover, N. H., from 

 June 29 to July 3, distributed with the issue 

 of Science for May 29, we repeat the fol- 

 lowing details : 



The first general session will be held in 

 Dartmouth Hall at 8 p.m., on Monday, the 

 twenty-ninth. The registration will be open 



