Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-05-05
Sarannah,s Future.

Savannah has long held a high rank
a. a cotton and rice mart. and lat
terly she has gone. 70 the front in ship
ments Of naval stores, while her lnI'or-
lance as a lumber market l. steadily IN
creasing. One Of the most important
movements in her commercial history,
however. has been the erection Of the
Central Railroad COmpany's capaclous
Grain elevator. the wisdom Of which
+. being steadily demonstrated
br The steady increase Of exports Of grain
through this port 10 foreign markets.
For years the MORNING News advocated
the erection Of a grain elevator "a the
only means BY which Savannah could OBJ
tain a share Of the immense grain traffic
o. the West, a. only by such means could
such produce be probably and satisfac-
tOrily handled. At length the sagaciIy OF
the Centrals management supplied this
need. but for some time the large struc-
ture remained unemployed. and Il began
20 appear as though the hopes built upon
il were not likely 10 be realized
The past twelve months. however. have
witnessed a change. and now the elevator
Is taxed 10 is storing capacity The
large grain crop Of Tennessee and hen
lucky. which hitherto sought a market al
Nashville. has found an outlet through
the port Of Savannah. and mp 70 this
time 10000 bushels Of grain have been
sbipr-d ou through bills Of ladinE. either
direct or 1v steamer via New 0rk. Bo>-
ton or Philadelphia 70 London or Liver
pool. Tne short route and easy grades N
our southern railway lines. and the cheap
freight rates offered by our coa>twise
steamships and the foreign lines Of steam
ers from Northern ports. give savannah
An advantage over Northern cities.
a. a shipping port. that must
become more and more appreciated.
This week there are going forward from
Tie West for London and Liverpool
markets over 2Uo0 barrels Of
f,1-. the ocean Steamship Com
E4-E-> vessels taking shipments 10
N=W York. where they are reshipped to
--zir destination. TIE prospect i that
instead Il the W0nted duIlness. after the
c.1s= of the season. there viii be marked
activity in the shipping business at this
I-lrt- some may urge that
this does Savannah little good.
a. the produceis only Il, traasita, but this
l. a wrong view 70 take, inasmuch as the
business gives employment to 50 many
more hands in the service Of the railroad
and steamship companies. and will ere
long. in all likelihood, bring about direct
imp0rtauons. At any rate, the move
ment Of which We have been speaking.
should afford satisfaction to our people as
eyidencing the progress Of Georgia's chief
seaport.
But while We are discussing this sub
ject We would call attention 10 a COM
mUnicatiOn published elsewhere in this
issue from citizen Of Savannah. large
~ interested in her railway facilities and
other enterprises, and noted for his pub
lie spirit. The communication Is entitled
..Sayannah's Rivals and the author
in the course of MS remarks
clearly sets forth the injury
that i being worked 70 Savannah by rail-
ways antagOnistic TORTOISE. which the sa-
gacity and wisdom Of her own citizens
inau gurated and which are Of such vital
Importance To her interests. He pro-
ceeds 10 show that while Savannah and
her sister seaport. Charleston. are the
natural seaboard outlets for the products
Of south Carolina. Georgia and parts Of
Tennessee and Alabama, much Of the
produce Of these sections. par
ticularly cotton. is hauled hundreds
Of miles farther than il need be trans
ported, and finds an outlet at Norfolk and
still more NOrtherly ports. While Savan-
nah has not actually lost ground in cot
ton receipts, other ports have gained
relatively more than she has, and il be-
h00yes our business men to ponder upon
the causes thereof and devise a remedy.
Inasmuch as she Is hundreds of miles
nearer 10 the cotton fields than her rivals
TO the north Of her, and her splendid fleet
Of steamers can compete TO marked adj
vantage with the railroads leading North.
there i no reason why she should not
maintain her rank as a cotton market and
increase her Importance as a shipping
port for other products Of the section for
which she is geographically the
natural outlet We invite
careful perusal Of the communication
alluded 70. and trust that the subject Of
which il treats will be duly considered by
all who have the future of our city at
heart. The outlook for her future is GER
tainly cheering, and il needs but sagac-
iOus management and business-like ac-
tivity 10 make that future all that it
should be.
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