, 1874-12-07
THE KANAWHA CANAL FOLLY.


money and plodgo tho credit of Tho natior
winch Congress, In the palmiost days d
sabsidy-legislation, hos mover approached
1t hns adopted, apparently by bit of shar1
parliamentary practice, tho report Of the
sollate Conl1nittoo on Inland Transportation.
Ims Committee waH appointed during the
heat OF the Granger excitement. It went to
work with sound and fury, mud recommended
tue digging of every possible and impossible
dlfoh Which imaginary national intorests or
local greed could demand. If thoir scheme,
with its estimated expenditure Of $3oo, ,OOo,-
oo0 to 0o,000,000, wero avor oarriod out,
the average tnllahitnnt would have moro
canals to the right and the left and before
and behind than the six hundred ut Ialak-
lava hail cannon. Tho prcposterous report
foil 1lat. Now thu Richmond Convention las
adopted this stillborn child mud is trying 10
breatAe tho brcath Of life into it. The rca-
son for this is plain. Tic Convention IL
controlled by tho Virginia delegates. A
component part Of the omnibus soto,no it hns
indorsed Is the completion Of the james River
d. Knnawha Canal. This ditch is now dug
from tho james 10 point in tho mountains.
Virginia, speaking through tho RfcAmonl
Convention, aslts the National Government to
enlarge tho part nlrcady Ding aud dig another
part through one or two hundred miles Of
mountains to tho Kanawha, including cnor-'
nous mountain tunnels. Then she would
like to have that strcam locked, damned. and
deepenod from tho mountains to the Ohio
River. When all this Inns boan dono, Of M
estimated cost Of s1Oo, 100000 and real
cost of twice TINT nmo,lnt, tho work will still
be only begun. Tho Ohio River is "acklo
as woman. y To-day it would float lilo
Great Eastern and tomorrow tho mythical
Missouri steamboat, which can run on heavy
dew, would run aground in its sa,ll-bars, It
Is idle to spend millions Of money in locks
md dams for such q stream. Tho first flood
would pour down such resistlcss torrent of
water as would deposit every dam antl lock
on sand.bars between Cairo ind Ncw
Orleans. Nature has few rights TINT
man must perforco respect. When she
has thrown triple range of noun.
tains across the route Of q proposed
canal, and when she makes river alternately
roaring torrent and mcanderiug brook,
the best possible advice to persons about to |
dig tAonsand-lnile ditch by mountain and
river is-Don't ! The caso would bo sonc- |
whnt different II the projectors proposed to |
use their own money, but they do not, They |
WISH to tax every man, woman, and Child in
this country for century or two, and pour
the money thus wrung from the nation into
hole IN the ground. Gen. I,nboden, Of
lttchmond, said in the Convention Thursday.
Tint, II he were IN Congress, he would vote
for IN appropriation Of 5000, 600, 600 for
datch-digging. The party TINT votes suel, I'LL
appropriation need never trouble itself to run
any candidates thereafter, except III the local
lilies where tho money Is spent. Politicians
need to understand, with tho greatest dis
tinctness, that the people pay too many taxes
already. There is limit to all things, save
the greed Of tax-caters. Digging the canals
demanded by tho Richmond >Conven-
Lion would DO parallel folly to that
Of tho Czar who had n railroad constructed on
IN absolute air-lino from St. Petersburg to
Moscow. Ho argued that the best way to 90
from one place to another must be tho short
'st way, and ho therefore had his road so
quilt that it cost twice what it should. and
eft the towns It should haye touched miles
way to the right ind loft. Tho mild 1aaniacs
,;tv n +ho Oh;a an'1 ,',.a.ls A' nAo 4toi'' 'un'
;na ;n+o ooaa, ta..,!.; rupoS1 :, " eliAnee the
ha a1,o,,hor;a, 49,. - -, ouo A'en''ons
.vn, IT, 49,, sn'S .ol"y ti'!s. money Will
1,a,, oo,,,o. aas - ' ~ .Hooe'' ~ "ou1a' ont
tota If tho oI;o p;,.as .,,a ' ens.'u e,4 su0 fol
,,a,, ,,ova., t,,s.,.,. Ivy snu' .Ae'r ears.
ha ,,rot,;os, hon5a rso>.a.sa ~, ~ 'no Saie OF
en;,ers IN tho ~ ,ra1,a " III, .no sleenese 4egal-
atroor, .,a.;a.a, "n. i4,'' 4''.Ao tHa'
,erne,uol motlon rv;1, Ia 'a, ~ H., "atof-""y' :y
,cfara tho 10,nog D;uor i. T usaa..1' ,u''nsiou n
ula,,. 49, 49, oA tnnna"na eanal
4 7,;c,,,n,,;1 ill., oaa 10y .Hl1easo'
,1,oso othar n,n,a ;, a D ~ n,''14s'en' ~ 14
nc aio,,o o1;1oa h;,''l.f ] ,,,l, M ~ H., llu1.er'
~ ,,oi;varin, 49, ~ o,ahssa.a s .lo oou'on'on
,Toct ,hot -, T. E.a~.a1 "so -" "4saens - 1no
!. ~, o."A =. ~'o'o1'1iacu' nast I'LL