The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1883-02-06

We posscas rare book, dnubtless The only
copy In exisfence, being volume Of The flcs Of
the Pensacola Gassds Tor the years 1894. 1915.
1895 and 1881. aad in this we fnd much infor-
nation - 10 The great Florida Canal boom Of
nearly sixty years ago-which wss In motion
for years, not merely among the scanty popula-
ton of the then recently acquired territory OF
FLORIDA, but uas sustained by the manifest in
terest of the people Of the Union al large, and
fossered BY the approving consideration Of Con-
gres-the Nineteenth Congress-which contem-
plated making the canal a national work, and the
Federal Government sent ont strong commits
route, whose arrival in the Territory to begin
work is duly chronicled. Our rare book in its
pages Of 1925 and 1926 contains Congressional
proceedings on the subject, various official docu-
ments. q very lengthy letter from Edward Eve
re;t under the caption The Florida Canal. and
reproduces sundry articles from the leading jour
nals Of the day. published at Washington and
elsewhere, discussing the matter and the neces-
sity and the feasibility of the undertaking seemed
so obvious that surprise was expressed that the
canal was not cut before, but that it would be
ere long they were free TO predict Yet nearly
sixty years have passed and still there is no Ca
nal, though we have not only inherited the inter-
est Of "the fathers" but fully recognize the i'm
portance of the work-even if one good reason
alleged has ceased to exist-that is. the danger
of capture by pirates which vessels incurred in
passing through the Strait of Florida. Avoid
ance of the destructive teeth of the coral reefs
of the Strait security Of ife saving of distance
which means time, and that is money-of ipsur-
ance premiums on vessels and cargoes, promo
ton Of commerce, development of resources of
the Gulf country-and probable diyidends-are
sufficient reasons to cause the canal 1t will
be-is bound 10 be, al no remote period. And
when il is, the wonder will be that it was not an
earlier fact, as in the case of the Sucz Canal
Our columns crowded by legislative proceed
ngs, We have brief space for the treatment of
any subject aud can only add that We find in
our rare book articles discussing both the barge
canal and ship canal distnctively-,he former to
extend inshore navigation from the Mississippi TO
the Atlantic coast. The ship canal route across
the peninsula suggested was from the St. Johns
to the Suwannee, and so to the Gulf
we may supplement- Tue ABOVE W lemarking
that the bill to charter the Florida Ship Canal
Company still hangs fire in the Legislature,
though it asks little more than the naked right
of way from gulf TO ocean-the privilege of doing
the work if allowed TO go to work. The State
Legislature must grant the right of way or the
projectors cannot go before Congress, or even
appeal to foreign capital. The Barge Canal char
ter, Also seems TO be quietly pigeon-holed. bat
should be hunted out and acted on soon, or it
may be damned in the press of work during
the closing days of the session. The Barge Ca
nal will doubtless be built sooner than the Ship
Canal, will cost much less, and will tie OF vast
benefit TO the State.