Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-03-08

quite just, and. while am unwilling 10 embar-
rass the committee. for / see the situation, and
it is unreasonable, with these figures before us.
for the committee to say that they viii allow
no amendments.
Mr. Ransom-w What paper is the Senator
from Georgia reading from2
Mr. Brown am reading from the annual
report Of the Chief of the Bureau Of Statistics
Of the United States of America
MIR. Butler-May / ask the Senator from
Georgia question?
Mr.. Brownies. sir.
Mr. ButIer-What are the estimates, if the
Senator knows, for the improvement Of the
harbor of Savannah
thank the Senator for asking me the question.
Dir. Butler-I mean the estimate upon which
the appropriation In the bill for that harbor is
made.
Mr.. Brown-I understand the Senator per-
fectly, and I am very much obliged to nv
friend from South Carolina for asking me that
question, because it calls 70 my mind another
fact that wanted to state here especially
apprehend the chief city Of the Senator's own
State probably has not DONE She has ex-
pended over quarter or q million dollars out
of her own purse, her own treasury, for the
improvement of her own harbor. She has
gone on the idea that those who want help
must do all they can first to help themselves
She has acted on that rule, and can get the
data and show every item. Over g quarter of
improvement Of her own harbor. l do not
think many other cities have done as much
But to the Senator's question There was an
estimate made to deepen the channel to nine
teen feet, for you win bear in mind that the
bar at the mouth Of the river at high tide is
twenty-six feet. The object was first TO deepen
the channel Of the river between the city and
the bar to nineteen feet. IL they undertook to
make it as deep as it ought to be at once with
the meagre appropriations it would be too long
before we could do q reasonable business at
the harbor Hence an estimate was made for
only partial completion Of the work first, so
as to give the benefit of nineteen feet OF water
all the way down the channel.
The appropriations have been made from
year TO year until It lacks little of S65, 900 to
finish that particular work of deepening the
channel to nineteen feet; but we look to the
deepening or it finally to twenty three or
twenty-four feet The Senate has already
structing the Secretary of War to have the
survey mede with reference to deepening the
channel three feet more, SO as to make it
twenty two feet from the bar up to the city Of
Savannah.
Mr.. Ransom-will the Senator from Georgia
allow me to interrupt him for one second?
MIR. Brown certainly will.
Mr.. Ransom-I ask the Senators if the Com
mittee on Commerce did not increase the APP
preparation for the city Of Savannah to the
very last cent of the estimates and to the last
cent OF the demands of the Senators from that
State.
from North Carolina, for calling my attention
to that, for want to do the committee full
justice. On that point they did give the
amount with this exception, that they appre-
priated 5000 Of the sum for the payment for
lands on the opposite side from Savannah.
Mr.. Ransom-That was by the request of the
Senator from Georgia.
MIR. Brownies; my honorable friend Is
wrong. My amendment that laid before you
and that urged before you, and was unfor-
tunate it was not understood, was to appro-
pirate $50, O09 to complete the work and $4,000
for eXtinguishiDg the title to a certain neck of
land necessary to be cut off from Hutchinson's
Island. The situation there is just this
Mr. Ransom-There is no dispute about the
Savannah amendment; it has been adopted
Mr. Brown-Let me answer the question. I
want to make myself understood on that mat
ter, now that the Senator hes called my atten-
ton to it, The river right opposite the city Of
shipping purposes there. There is an island
Immediately opposite the city called Hutchin-
sons island. The larger part of the river ran
around on the South Carolina side of the
Island. and the estimates for improving the
haroor include jettying across that back river,
so as to turn the stream as much as possible
around by the city. The river is too narrow
next to the city, and the engineers say it ought
to be widened TO six hundred feet rihgt opposite
he city, where there is so much shiDping
When say so much shipping, l want to say
in that connection that during the whole
business season there is, to say nothing of sail
average every day clearing from the harbor of
savannah With all this shipping in operation
there is not room enough for it Immediately
opposite the city. 1t is proposed therefore TO
deepen the shallow portion next to Hutchin-
sons Island, and cut off a neck of that island
and there we will have to pay for little land
when we invade private rights. That is what
we ask $1,000 for, and it is important to have it
for that purpose. But deduct that and we
lack 5000 of having the appropriation neces-
sary for Savannah. And it will be borne in
mind that the present estimates were made
for the improvements of the harbor OF Savan-
nah, so as to give us but nineteen feet of
water.
Mr.. Butler-I was not making any compari-
son between Charleston and Savannah Ireally
wanted to give Savannah all she is entitled to,
and she shall have all that she is entitled TO so
far as my vote is concerned. The point to
which l wanted to invite the attention of the
Senator was whether or not the estimates to
which he referred had already bsen made; in
other words, has not the appropriation in this
bill been very nearly up to the estimates sub
mitted by the engineers, or very large per-
centage?
Mr.. Brownies. as have already stated. il
has been within little less than 5000 of the
estimate for the completion of the work as
proposed by the first survey of the port which
only proposed 70 deepen the harbor to nineteen
feet But will add that when the final survey
is made to complete the work on the harbor,
it may need a million there. The Senator has
the estimates for South Carolina for the COM
pletion OF Charleston harbor, and they are
large, but am going to vote every dollar he
needs for that purpose am a friend of his
people and of his State, and am not finding
fault with what he asks. l only wanted
to show him what we need. but was
taken up by the Senator from North
Carolina on Savannah. That was not
the point was complaining about; my com
plant was this: We have three large rivers in
Georgia; we have rivers and coast there that
need Improvement to the extent of nearly one
thousand miles in length. The river on each
side running nearly the length of the State be-
longs to the State. On the west, the west bank
Of the Chattahoochee is the line of Alabama.
On the east, the east bank of the Savannah il
the line between Georgia and South Carolina
Then the great river, the Altamaha, which is
one or the large rivers of the South, runs
nearly through the centre Of the State 1t is
formed by the junction of the Ocmulgee and
the Oconee, and here / want to say q word
about our exports again.
go letter the other day from the Mayor
OF Darien, though have not the official sta
tistics, informing me that during the last year
there has been shipped out from the mouth of
the Altamaha river 20 100000 feet of lumber
to say nothing about naval stores and other
products. want to show you that am not
asking for appropriations here for trout
streams, or for places where there is no com
merce. am asking for appropriations where
there are highways OF commerce.; am asking
appropriations where there is large commerce
and where there is growing commerce. do
complain, therefore, that the committee, after
my colleague and had gone before them and
asked an increase, cut us of and gave us not a
single dollar of increase on any of our rivers
and harbors as the bill came in its original
shape from the House, except for the harbor
of Savannah alone
There is one other channel or river 1 must
not forget, and it is one of the most important
II is important to the whole country; it is i'm
portant to the North and South; it is impor-
tant to the East and to the West. There is an
inland channel along and around the coast of
EOutl Carolina. Georgia and Florida. nv wi iph
you can go from Charleston to Savannah and
from Savannah to Brunswick, and around into
the st. johns and up into Florida, and never go
out to sea at all We have a class of good
boats that are beginning to do large business
there. We run two boats day now usually
both ways, and sometimes more in that inland
channel In case of war, as you have no ade-
quate navy, let me tell you that it would be as
the engineers have said in their estimates of
immense value to you, You can conduct a
commerce with it open between Charleston and
any portion Of Florida and never go to sea.
Mr.. Eaton-My friend means ''us," not
you
Mr. Brown I speak of the Senate; mean
everybody. l mean you and us; mean the
fifty million people of the United States all
united as they are now, and as am glad to be-
lieve they always will be in the future That is
what mean, and thank my friend from Con-
necticut for directing my attention to it if l
have used expressions that do not convey that
idea. But this inland salt river is of national
consequence.
There is a place called Romney Marsh, be-
yond Savannah some twenty to thirty miles, in
the direction of Florida The boats have to go
through the marsh What is the marshg 1t In
a marsh between the islands and the main
land, grown over with high grass that at high
tide is entirely covered; at low tide it is about
five feet above the water. There are rivers and
creeks through it. The navigable channel goes
through it in very winding and meandering
sort of way. In passing Romney Marsh, if you
get there at low tide, you have to lie over al