The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1884-04-02
or THEI IEEHNEs-.


committee. has . addressed TO the
President and Congress q spirited,
well drawn up memorial, stating the
object of the convention, q copy of
which we have received, and from
it we draw the following facts Six
ty-six years ago citizens of Tsnnes=-
see called The attention of Congress
TO the necessity of renewing or over
coming the ebstructienss to navigas
ton existing in. the Tennesseer river.
After Investigation the government
adopted the plan of improvement
which yet remains uneompleted.,
The report of the government en-
gineer, at the works shows that al
the end of 1888 there was required
for the Tennessee river improve
ment 81 ,797. 600 and for its confn-
1ents, $4,000 for the ,Hiwassee; for
the French Broad, $3.50, 500 +; Clineh,
$40, 400; Duck, $22,118; Lattle Ten.
nessee, SIS, ,724. Total, 81, ,983y742,
of which total S759,000 is wanted
for work. to be done up to June 80,
1885, For work SO important and
draining q country so extensive, this
does net appear an extravagant ap-
preparation to ask. To judge how
this may be, hewever comparison
can be made with other appropria-
tions. In. August, 1882, Congress
appropriated, to the Ohio S5 , ASS, $40;
Des Moines rapids, $4,761, 200; to
the Tennessee and tributaries, ST.
612, 145. Tho proportion was TO the
Ohio A per cent; Des Moines rap
ids, 4 per cent; to the Tennessee,
81 per cent When the extent and
connections of the Tennessee are re-
gardsd, it will be seen that proper
tionate Justice has not been done to
it. Except where obstructed, the
Tennessee permits Of navigation all
the year round, free from ice, from
the mouth to Florence for a depth
Of four feet, Florence to, Chattanoo
ga three and one-half feet, Chatta-
nooga to Knoxville three feet, and
for ten months of the year where
unobstructed, from the mouth to
Florence ten feet, Florence to Chat
tanooga eight feet, Chattanooga to
Knoxville five feet. The course of
the Tennessee is generally over
limestone, and has ne shifting sand
bars, SO that the Improvements
made sixty years ago still remain.
The main river is 1000 miles long,
is navigable 800 miles; of its tribu-
taries the Hiwassee is navigable 33
miles, the French Broad 80 miles,
the Clinch 481 miles, the Duck 6e
miles, the Little Tennessee 13; total
2845 miles, draining an area of 49,
Zoo square miles. It traversss eight
States-Tennsssee, North Carolina
South Carolina Georgia, Alabama
Mississippi and Kentucky. 1t il
longer, drains q greater area, is
more reliable low water stream, and
can be made of more permanent
service than the Ohio or the uppsl
Mississippi. Upon the Ohio tht
government has expended three
times as much as is required for th'
Tennessee and tributaries, and twic,
| as much on the Des Moines rapids
1t has always been objected, whel
appropriations were required, tha
the land and the people along tn
!; Tennessee were peer. The peopl
are rapidly increasing in numbers
and the development of the countr,
is adding to their wealth. The LAM
. is the opposite of poor. The soil
except on. the mountain sides AM
, SUBMITS, is rleh in textile and foo,
tcrops, and the mountain plateau
are proving to be unparalleled 70
fruit production Beneath the sur
face ana products of immense valu
coal, iron, zine, copper, lead, mar
, Bile and building stones, and som
!, yield of the precious metals. Wit
coal and iron in proximity, the Ten
nessee output costs less than that Q
i Pennsylvania, and the manufactur
) is rapidly increasing, bringing ne1
, and fiourishing towns into existenc,
The fact that the government wa
: opening up tho navigation of tn
, river is what has stimulated th
: wonderful enterprises upon the Ten
/ nessee, for cheap water communics
ton is an absolute requisite to sue
cess. lis all to be baffied and defeat
ed by the work being left unfinished
Q and the material accumulated left
t waste and destruction? There is q
, gigantic difficulty to overcome. Th
engineer officials all declare that th
distractions can be removed at
. very small expense compared wit
s the vast gain that would be achiev
J eda Advanced, intelligent, civilizs
: ton comedies that man has not "
devised any kind of cheap transpoi
2 tation which can .supereeds that b
n water, and that mode of transports
Il ton, connecting as it does with th
: Ohio and the Mississippi, is a sif
: qua non, an absolute and indisper
' sable requisite to the vast iron an
4 mining interests, to the exploitatio
I'll Of the forests of lumber, and as
z means of outlet to the rural product
/ 1 which are fast increasing now th
u valley of the Tennesses receiving il
4 crowds of new and enterprising cit
! zens. It cannot be, in this age ,
1 progress, that the vast riches of tn
: favored valley can be left to sol
!. tude and neglect for want of a pei
!. lfecting of the grand natural outl,
4 which nature has provided in th
/. magnificent Tennessee river. oas
/ 4ttlktfEsfA eefAl Est1
IA II 4leFUgai Tgaf = Gg
, At Wanamie, Pa, recently, ther
$ was q desperate bucking match fc
; 5000 hetYean Hail Evans of POI