Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1878-08-14
SLACK. WATER MA VIGA T1oN.


Some Of the citizens of tho Juniati
Valley have for years advocated the
building of dams in that stream, so as
TO produce what is called siaclS-watei
navigation of the river, Mr.. Durbor
row, late editor of the Huntingdon
Journal, has furnished the editor OF the
Ne,cs with the following article bear.
ing upon the subject. We are not nav.
igator enough to know whether his
conclusions are feasible, and we there.
fore allow the reader to form his own
conclusions
TO the Editors Of the Semi Weekly NeioS;
1t gave me much pleasure to hear
that the Board OF Trade, of Hunting
don, had appointed committee TO in
quire into the expediency Of slackwa-
tering our own dear "Blue Juniata," "
and that this subject will come before
the Board for discussion at its regular
monthly meeting on next Thursday
evening. The attention which / have
given to this subject has enabled me
10 procure much valuable data, and
lest might not be able to attend the
meeting on the evening of the 1st prox-
imo, | will submit q few facts for the
information of the members of the
Board and the public at large
1t is not generally known that in
the year 1868 the Pennsylvania Canal
Company, which controls the Juniata
Division, entered into an article OF
agreement with the Susquehanna and
Wyoming Canal Companies, in which
the former bound itself, for good and
sufficient consideration, to slack-water
the Juniata, stipulating that the work
should be completed BY the year 1873.
A survey was made under this con-
tract, and the estimated cost ascertain
ed to be about s1,00O,OOO. Here the
matter dropped, and nothing has since
been done. The President of the Penn.
sylvania Canal Company, Gen. Isaac
j. Wister, has repeatedly urged the
great necessity Of this improvement
In his Annual Report for 1874, page
II, in speaking Of this matter, he says .
"While il would require an Investment
of nearly million dollars TO improve
its navigation for 300 ton boats, yet
when attained, II would, from the alb
sence.of all expensive and perishable
structures be maintained very cheap
ly, and ioould gire the Company, in con,
Rection ,oith the Pennsylvania Railroad,
a wdter line from the Maryland and
Pennsylvania Jitumin0us coal fields 10
ALL COAST markets, INDEPENDENT OF
OTHER LINES, and at a rate Of cost for
transportation rhich, 1t is believed, NO
OTHER LINE COULD COMPETE WITH"
This is the language of the President
OF the Pennsylvania Canal Company /;
the emphasis Is mine.
Experience, upon the great Erie
Canal and elsewhere, fully corroborate
Gen. Wister's statement. Why, then,
has not this great improvement been
made? Simply because the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company has stood in
its own light. Had it adopted the
suggestions of General Wister and
slack watered our noble river years
ago, what would be the result to-day ?
Every foot Of Broad Top, of Clear
field, Of the various coal fields along
the summit of the Alleghenics, and in
Western Pennsylvania, would be worth
ten dollars where they are now only
worth one. Every village, hamlet,
town and city between us and the great
Atlantic Ocean would be consuming
our coal. Thousands upon thousands
of people would be finding steady en-
ployment in our mines and forges and
factories and their attendant indus
tries, and poverty and starvation
would not be known in this most pro-
life region.
Why are our mines deserted and
our forges rotting DOWN. Simply be.
cause the railroad charges rate Of
EIGHT MILLS per mile for the transpor.
tation of our products to market, while
the experience on the Erie Canal dem
onstratos conclusivcly that, by water
transportation, tho actual cost would
not exceed TWO MILLS per mile. How.
then, can our operators compete with
other regions that have water trans
portation II cannot be done, and
ruination and starvation, il is only too
evident, await them.
Cumberland coal is shipped via
Georgetown to New York at an actual
cost per gross ton of s435. General
Wister claims on page l3 of his Re-
port for 1874, that if the Juniata River
were slack-watered, that this would
afford the Pennsylvania and Raritan
Canal Companies net profit Of s1.16
per ton, and yet allow the Pennsylva.
MIA Railroad Company one and one
halt cents per ton for transportation
ton from the mines to Huntingdon.
This demonstrates clearly the correct
ness of the position taken above, and
in my former articles.
Fellow-citizens of tho Juniata Val
ley, do you wish to have yourvalley
to become equal in point of wealth and
population TO the great valley travers-
ed by the Erie Canal2 If you do, let
your voices be heard. II these inter.
ested In the great coal fields of this re.
gion wish wealth, prosperity and teem-
ing thousands around them, let them
rise up as one man and never swerve
from their purpose until the powers
that be have decreed that their de.
mands shall be acceded TO, and If the
consumers of the East dcsie cheap
fuel, let them join their efforts with
those above named, and soon their i'm.
portunitics will arouse TO action the
dry bones that rattle along our streets,
through our valleys, under our hills
and across our streams, and which
fcign tolaugh us to scorn. Yours truly,
j. r. DuRBoRRow.
RECOGNIZE Qua RoLLER-DoY.- The
editor Of Wytheville, Virginia, Dis.
,,1fcL eova Eiohf vaaru oOo tharo