Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-29
Romnev Marsh Again.

Editor Morning NelrS: l trust that the
Romney canal matter VIII not be
permitted to rest until Congress shall
have made an appropriation to make this
much-needed Improvement to the existing
waterway for inland craft. The letter Of
Col. Fremont published recently in the
MORNING News shows the utter alb
surdity of "ROute No. A. and the vast
benefits to be derived from the completion
of the short, straight passage via Haber-
sham Cut. The former route is practi-
cally worthless, as no vessel would
choose a passage nearly three miles
longer than the course now
open to them, unless it offered some adj
vantage as compensation Tor the m
creased distance. No advantage can be
discovered in this route. 1t is quite as
crooked as the old passage, and presents
no equivalent whatever for the added
miles. unless it is the privilege of
landing on Warsaw Island, which, with
its population of two cOlOred men, who
are in charge of the owners property, Is
net a specially inviting place for men en-
gagged in bread-Winning to tarry at. Con-
gress is not engaged in making summer
resorts. No other claim is, or can con-
sistentlv be urged for the long, tedious
route 50 ell DudllCd1ll COnucluIeu bg lut
excellent Engineer, Col. Fremont, who
made the various surveys. Our commerce
needs the straight cut by way of Haber-
sham's creek.
But the advocates of a summer resort
cannot Justly find fault with this passage.
Examine the chart, and you will lind that
the distance from the sOutherly end Of the
Habersham creek route to the south end
of Warsaw Island does not exceed two
OdingseI river is lessened over three
miles, thus etfecting an actual saving in
distance of over one mile, besides securing
"a straight passage, through which sailing
vessels can pass in any sort Of weather,
and having with either the prevailing
southeast breeZes of summer, or the north
casters of the fall and winter, good
beam wind to carry them through. Really
the objections to this route, even by the
parties interested in building up water
ing place on Warsaw. seem puerile.
Our citizens. however, should look be-
vOnd this chimera of a summer resort.
The vast benefits to accrue to our COM
mercial interests from the establishment
Of a good, safe passage can hardly be esti-
mated in dollars and cents.
repeat that the round about course by
way Of Warsaw Island will not be ac-
cepted bv the vessels navigating the in
land passage. The cut may be made, but
it will be utterly useless to those for
whose service il is intended, as it would
be folly. absolute folly, to add nearly three
miles to the distance to be traversed,
without securing a straighter or better
passage than than which is now at their
command.
trust that the people will shake off
their lethargy and make their voices heard
by Congress. Hundreds signed a petition
to that body for the opening of a route
through ROmney marsh by way of route
No f. as it was called in the petition, the
writer among the number, but no one who
signed it understood the vast iniQuity that
was covered by it. The petition was pre-
scented to them by a paid agent of the
owner of Warsaw Island. The desira-
bility OF straight cut across
R0mney marsh was fastened upon their
attention, and they cheerfully subscribed
what. to them, was made to appear as the
panacea for all the ills attending the old
passage. They did not stop to consult
charts, or weigh the matter carefully, but
gave at once their Endorsement to what
they were induced to believe was a radi-
cal remedy for an ancient evil.
| wish it were possible for me to pro-
cure and publish copy of that petition.
At the time the absurditY of its arguments
was not apparent to me, and l did not
hesitate to sanction what / then believed
was for the public good. The error is now
apparent to me. and am anxious to make
reparatiOn for my injudicious action. Re-
specttully, COMMERCE.