Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-03-21
SAVANNAH RIVER AND HARBOR.
speech O Senator Brown Advocating
an Appropriation OF $35O,OOO.
Congressional Record.

Congressional Record.
Mr.. Brown present a petition of a mum.
Der OF the leading bankers, merchants, and
other prominent citiz ans of the city of At
lanta, Ca, praying that an adequate appro-
priation be made for the Improvement Of
the harbor of Savannah. I ask the induI-
gence OF the Senate while l submit a few
remarks In connection with the petition.
A rev days since | presented the petition
OF William NJ. Wadlev, President of the
Central Railroad and Banking Company of
Georgia, and a number of the prominent
citizens OF the city of Savannah, asking for
the appropriation that is asked for in this
instance by the prominent citizens Of the
city OF Atlanta.
Savannah, as is well known, suppose, to
all Senators, is the second cotton port in
the Union. There is a vast amount of
naval stores, rice, hides, wool and other
productions, in addition to the cotton that
passes out of the country through the port
OF Savannah. 1t is not only very import
ant port to the South, but also important to
the West.
Our railroad system Is so constructed
through the South that there are several
prominent lines of railroad all centeriRg to-
ward the port Of Savannah. First, the Cen
trail Railroad system of that State embraces
some six or seven hundred miles of road un-
der one control, and, taking It in connection
with its control of the Georgia Road, more
than that. That is all worked in connection
with the expectation of productions at Sa-
Vannan. Inc company also runs splendid
line OF steamers between Savannah aud New
York, which will soon be daily line. The
Louisville and Nashville system, which is
very prominent and controls probably some
two thousand miles Of road, or more, works
In harmony with the Central That combi-
nation of roads naturally looks to Savannah
ar Lot g., az.1 1..EA
that is shipped over its lines. There is the n
the line by way of the Georgia and Central,
through Atlanta over the State Road, as it
Is called, by the Nashville, Chattanooga and
st. Louis, also connecting with the Louis
vile and Nashville Road to the Western
cities. There are the same connections up to
Chattanooga and then connecting with the
Cincinnati Southern, all pointing to the same
object. There Is also the line from Chatta-
nooga to Menu his, Tennessee, connecting
the Mississippi river with the same lines of
road. In addition to that, there is what is
called the Cole-Setey syndicate, which now
controls over O. 900 miles of road, including
its connection with the roads of what is
called the Norfolk and Western. That is
building two additional links, one from
Rome, Georgia, to Atlanta, and the other
from Atlanta to Macon, which will soon be
completed, and gives them direct connec-
ulOA bObA WAtu OoNauuoA dbO uubWlChS
Georgia. All Of these connections by rail
point to the port of Savannah as an outlet.
Hence 1t is that there is such large collec-
tion OF the cotton Of the South, running up
to seven or eight hundred thousand bales a
year, and going out through the port Of
Savannah.
This presents the Southern view of the
subject, but the great Western States are
almost as much interested In that port as we
q n M nnrf h.
of winter, when the canals are frozen over,
the Western States are dependent, as mat
tiers now stand, almost exclusively upon the
three great trunk lines for the transporta-
tion of all the productions of the West that
seek an outlet through the Eastern cities;
and many time it happens that those three
trunk lines are not able to transport the
productions anything like as fast as it is de-
sired by shippers that they should be trans
ported.
These railroad connections which l have
just mentioned form another grand outlet
for the Western productions and for goods
going from New York to the West through
the port of Savannah, either to foreign ports
or TO New York, as near from the West as
the trunk lines are to New York from the
West. When say Gas near' ] mean as
near, calculating it as we calculate on trans
portation lines, connecting land and water
lines together. In other words, count your
miles OF railroad, and then count on the
ocean (where the road Is built by nature and
you only have to put on the rolling stock, so
to speak, or the steamers) four miles of
ocean for one of rail, and you have
from the city of Memphis, from the
city of Saint Louis, from the city of
Louisville, and from the city of Cincinnati
ana Tor NEomg one 0r7Cw6' of TIE -clhes men
toned, nearer than the trunk lines l have
mentioned by which the productions of the
West are usually shipped to New York.
Hence the opening of the harbOr of Savan-
nah, so as to make the channel deep enough
that ships of large size can go In and out,
opens for the West another great competing
line equal to either of the three great trunk
lines for the expectation of the commerce
Of the West, not only TO foreign ports, but
directly through New York. This is very
great matter to the West as we'll as to the
South.
What would it cost to do itP The port o.
Savannah is peculiar one. The water on
the bar is twenty-siX feet in depth at high
tide. 1t needs no improvement. There are
twenty miles Of river, however, between the
bar and the city. At the close of the war
they had all been obstructed by timber and
sail vessels sunk in 1t SO as to keep out the
gunboats. That obstruction had to be re-
moved. After It was removed and system
of improvement of the harbor had been
commenced, it was found that there was
only about thirteen or fourteen feet of water
there. The engineers adopted a system of
improvement of the channel, which, with
the meagre appropriations heretofore made,
has increased the depth to from eighteen to
nineteen feet at high tide. (
In the river and harbor act of last Yesr the |
Engineer Corps was instructed t0 make a
further survey with view TO deepening the |
channel to twenty-five feet, which would |
let in large vessels. That survey has been
made with great care, and the report is that
the channel for the twenty miles from the
city of Savannah down to the bar, which
bar is deep enough. C An be made twenty-five
feet deep for 500, 900; and the engineers
report earnestly urges that $3.50, 900 of that
amount be appropriated this year for the
opening of that important harbor to the
teeming productions which would pass out
through it.
This improvement involves consequences
so great, both to the South aud the West,
that It seems to me am justified In taking
the time of the Senate to call attention of
Senators to the facts have just stated; In
connection with the presentation OF the
petition of the citizens of Atlanta, and In
connection with the one presented few
days since from the citizens of Savannah. l
beg especially that the Committee on Com
merce will take this matter under their
serious consideration. desire this morning,
when we reach that order Of business, to in
troduce a bill appropristing the amount
asked for this year for the improvement OF
the harbor.