Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1883-07-26
THE FLORIDA CANAL.
A Project That Was Considered as
Early as 1925.
Several Surveys That Have Re-
ported IL Feasible-The Esti-
mated Cost and Prospects
Of Profitable Res.rNs.
Cor. Nashville American.

W A1AAN210Ng Wy ~. AAtke
seems ct least q prospect for the cons
struction Of ship canal across the
peninsula of Florida. While this
great work will prove Of material
benefit to the country tributary to the
Mississippi river and the Gulf OF
Mexico, still it would be very much
better if the work should be prose
cuted and completed under the aus.
pieces OF the general government. If
il is built as Q private enterprise the
tolls must of necessity be high, if not
exorbitant, to provide for the annual
expenses of maintenance, and, of
course, the stockholders will naturally
expect a fair interest on the money
invested. Some idea Of what these
expenses must be can be gathered
from the fact that the army engineers
estimate that the repairs and main
tenance alone will require q yearly
outlay Of half million dollars. But
it is not the intention, by any means, of
Jour correspondent to criticise harsh.
ly the enterprising gentlemen who
have resolved that this great link in
the Mississippi cheap transportation
route shall be constructed. They de-
serve commentator and, if success
full, the gratitude of the people. The
project has additional interest, too,
from the fact that it is the first great
work which has been undertaken
since the war almost wholly under
the charge and supervision OF South
ern men. The President, Oh you
know, is native of Tennessee, and
Virginia is represented by its present
Governor and the senior Senator,
Malone. AS the project is fairly
under way, it may be of interest to
the readers of the American to hear
something about it.
The first thing that strikes NE as
peculiar is the effort made by some to
consider Florida canal new project.
Indeed, the present engineering par
ties in the field are stated to have
made examinations to determine
the feasibility of q canal" 1t
will, perhaps, appear little
singular, then, to know that all ques.
ton as to the feasibility" Of the un-
dertaking was settled as early as 1926.
There have been at least half dozen
examinations and surveys made by the
army engineers, who have considered
the project in all its phases. One ex-
animation referred to an ordinary
canal Of six feet depth; another TO a
large canal as part OF a system of
land locked navigation between the
Mississippi and the Atlantic; another
to a ship canal of sufficient navigable
depth to float the largest ocean going
steamer. All of them have over and
over been pronounced feasible" as
we'll as desirable. The examinations,
too, have included all the available
routes, both of the st. Mary's river
and the St. Johns river, and every
considerable outlet on the Gulf coast
has been considered, even to the ex-
tent Of providing an artificial harbor
extending seven miles out into
the Cult, so as to reach water Of the
required depth. There is this differs
ence between the project Of the new
company and that of the army engi-
neers, that while the first named Sc
lected the st. Johns river route, the
latter have favored the St. Mary's
river as the eastern outlet for canal.
The first lie tho shortest line, but the
second has been considered the most
available for safe and deep water COM
munication.
As early as 1926 Congress directed a
survey ITO ascertain the most eligible
route across Florida by which to con
neot the Atlantic with the Gulf Of
Mexico by canal for the transit of
boats, and also to ascertain the practi.
cability Of a ship canal" Two routes
we're directed to be examined, one
from st. Mary's river to Apilachicola
river or bay, the other from st. John 8
river to Vassoussa bay (mouth Of
Sewanee.)
In 1852 another examination was
authorized of the ST.. Johns route
and the result attained was the dem>
onstration Of the practicability of the
canal and an ample water supply for
the project then developed. Lieuten
ant Smith in this report says that
st. Mary's, or Fernandina harbor, is
the natural terminus of any cause
connecting the Atlantic and the Gulf,
for it is the last port on the Atlantic
coast capable of admitting vessels
drawing more than ten feet of water;
hence, the only point where trade
would center on its way eastward and
be met BY vessels for distribution to
home and foreign markets."
Since then, however, the improve
ment Of the st. Johns river has been
prosecuted by the United States.
The most important survey, how
ever, was made under the authority Of
Congress in 1879 by General Gilmore,
the President of the Mississippi River
Commission. This was made on the
st. Mary's river route and was to de.
termine the feasibility OF ship canal
twenty seven feet deep. 1t can be said
as an additional argument in favor of
the United States doing this work
that General Gilmore says. Unless
it can be shown that there is likely to
be a very large increase Of freight
seeking this route at no distant day,
the construction Of the canal as a pri.
yate enterprise should be regarded as
commercially infeasible," and ut is
probable that some years after the
completion Of the canal, if constructed
al an early day, enough tonnage would
use that passage to pay current expen.
ses, perhaps somewhat more. But il
is impossible TO answer satisfactorily
the question of the capacity of the
enterprise to yield a moderate interest
on the capital invested"
The estimated cost of the project as
scientifically Generate illmore, though
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