The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-03-21
rhe- cnnaI and Railway.
Efifors 0F tte IltsDdtch:


River and Kanawha canal and the proposed
James River railroad, being the substance OF
a letter to me from friend in Richmond. IN
reply 10 one had written him. Some or1e1
reference is made by you to my views, III
which they are not correctly stated. In re-
pard TO your James-Riyer railroad have no
word of opposition to utter. Build It'll you
can and as soon as you can: but In DONG
40 don't DESTROY the canal. My friend very
uni1lstly llames the canal for the want OF
wise system Of internal improvementsoin
Virginia. The canal had nothing to do with
il. This great evil resulted from two main
causes. First, and chief OF all, was the OPP
position OF large part OF the State TO any
system OF internal improvements. Ilde-
water stood IN solid phalanx against IT,.
Parts OF Piedmont aud Of the Valley OPP
posed all such improvements. The cohsc-
uuence OF this was that the friends or any
scheme OF internal Improvement were
driven into an extensive system OF loS-
rolling. No scheme, whatever Its merits
might be, could be carried through without
1t. The further consequence was that MIL
lions OF dollars were thrown away upon
worthless and injudicious schemes in order
to secure the few iudicious improvements
that were made or begun.
The second great cause was that the great
mountains were thrown across our way to the
great West and the Mississippi valley, which
made it very expensive to make any great
Improvement from Underwater to the Ohio
river, and, under the system OF log-rolllng,
SO much OF the States money was thrown
away on worthless and injudicious schemes
that she had not the means to carry out any
grand system Of Improvement. The plans
for these we're conceived in great wisdom,
but the thousand and one mud-plkes, Nc
Adam pixies, and unwise railroad schemes,
held the balance Of power between
the "Do-Nothings" and the men OF en-
larged views OF wisdom. and, like hungry
harpies, depleted the public treasury to
such an extent that the great schemes OF
statesmen were checkmated and faltered.
IS THE JAMES RIVER AND KANAwHA CANAL
. PRACTICABLE AS A MEANS OF TRANSPoETA-
TON FROM THE WEST?
"The State OF Virginia was 50 well con-
yinced of the utility of the work that
through series OF years she expended
$40, 43G, 800 on it, after frequent and detdit-
ed examinations of the route by the most
eminent engineers of the country. These
surveys began nearly sixty years ago. The
Jackson, Greenbrier, New. and Kanawha
rivers were surveyed by Mcssrs. Moore and
Briggs in 1S17-'19, with view to slack
water navigation and portage across the
mountains. A thorough survey for canal
and slack water navigation was made In
1s2G-'2S by Captain Mcneil, OF the United
States Typographical Engineers, which in
yolycd tunnel through the Alleghanies OF
two and a half miles in length. He was
followed by E. Fl. Gill, Charles Elliott, Jr.,
Charles 3. Fisk, Benjamin Wright, Walter
Gwynn, Professor Tourney, John 4. BY
ers, and Edward Lorraine. In 1870, by Or
der OF Congress, new survey OF the route
was made by Colonel w. /. Cra,ghill, Of
the United States Engineer Corps, Tor the
purpose Of throwing additional light on the
practicability and cost Of the work. In
1872 Mr.. Lorraine, under an additional APP
preparation by Congress, made yet another
survey of the route from the mouth OF
Howard's creek to the Ohio river.
"AU the reports a.ader these Surveys 17ere
favorable as 10 the practicability and I'M
portance of The line.
"The estimated cost was S50,000,000, 4
tunnel Of eight miles in length being in
volYed. In view OF such an expenditure,
and the popular Scepticism ocith regard to q
tunnel of such magnitude, and in order to
settle beyond all caVil the prdctica6ihty OF
such work, and to satisfy the public also
,cith regard 10 the suHciency Of the acater-
supply, and with regard to the proposed
dams along New river. the friends OF the
watcr-llne in the winter OF 1873 'appllcd
to the Secretary of War, and asked the ap-
Dointment OF BOARD OF ENGINEERS to re-
port on the route. '"-JdneeS &. SonthaH on
Cheap Transportation.
TIo oil %
Accordingly, 'sunder an or der OF the War
Department, OF January 27, 1874, board Of
engineers was convened, who were directed
to report upon all questions OF practicabiftH
plan, and probable cost OF water communi-
cation to the Ohio river by the way OF the
James and Kanawha rivers, together with
the probable time required for its compile
ton, and the cost OF maintenance when
built" This board was constituted as fol-
lows: J. G. Barnard. Colonel of Engineers
and Breyet Maior-Gcneral United States
Army: BENJAMIN Latrobe, Civil Engineer,
Baltimore, Nd; Q. A. Gilmore, Lieutenant
Colonel Engineers, Brevct Maori General
United States Army; W. P. Craighil, Major
of Engineers, Brcvet aforementioned
United States Army; G. Weitzel, Major OF
Engineers, Brcyet Major United
States Army, recorder. The report Of the
Board is dated March 1S, 1874. The follow
ing resolution was adopted unanimously:
"ReSolred, That in the opinion Of this
Board, it is entirely practicable to connect
the ,raterS of the James and Ohio riuerS 6y
a ordter navigation of SeUen feet DEPTH"
In regard to the proposed tunnel, the
Board report that the rock through which
it is to be eYcavated is of material very
easily eXcayated, and that shafts may be
driven at distances apart seldom exceeding
one mile.
The construction Of reservoirs for the
supply Of the tunnei-leyel and their DEEPEN
denotes is deemed to be entirely practicable,
and the supply of acater is found TO be d6at1a-
dant. ~ The Board unite in recon-
mending tunnel Sd feet wide and 81 feet
high, with turn-outs every quarter Of mile
for passing boats, and recesses at such points
50 feet wide.-Report of committee OF the
Senate of the United States.
The Board was also "of opinion that it is
entirely practicable to enlarge the existing
james River canal, making the locks 800
by 20 feet, and the width OF the canal
at the water-line 70 feet, and to extend the
canal and slack-water navigation Of the same
TO the eastern portal Of the long
tunnel, thus admitting the use Of boats of
$50 tons burden; that the preparation OF
the Kanawha river for navigation from the
Ohio TO The Great Falls Of the Kanarha for
boats Of 700 tons is entirely practicable.
The construction OF this line contemplates
the removal Of the bars IN the Ohio and
so as TO hare serenf feet Of ecoter
all the gear through from Point Pleasant
tat the mouth Of the Kana,oha) to ST. Louis.
This will cost $l5,000,000, and with the
James River and Kanawha Improvement
will afford an open waterway seven feet