Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-06
CALCAsIEU PASS.
It's Claims as Deep Water Pors-The Immense
Commerce Tributary TO Il.

commerce Tributary to Il.
| To the Citizens of Louisiana and the Eorthwes.
| ern States:
The imperative demand for more and better
! ports of entry upon the gus of Mexico to me-!
the necessities Of the vast commerce which has
grown up IN the inter Tor of our continent withi,
the last quarter century, must soon be recogizei
| by the United States. and such relief givsa
as the vastness of the interests involved and The
] ability and wisdom of our people may dictate
I In the prosecution of this work by the govern.
ment of the United States, we assume that TIA
resources Of the treasury viii not be concel.
| trated wholly or mainly upon one great por. O.
| entry upon the gulf, west OF New Orleans, o-.
that all practicable portS viii receive their -s.
| share of consideration and appropriation. THIS
assumption is predlcateG upon the IoLo"-2s
| fundamental principles:
| 1. The establishment OF single great port 1y
! government aid would cause concentration @.
! vast wealth and power and create monopU.v
| of trade The great railroads centeTing 1t Tia.
point and the great steamships Trans porting
| products TO other countries, YOU'D Eolu lie
| commerce of q large portion OF our country u
/ their grasp; and for the government 20 90 lh.s
with the peoples money would be as tnoEousl-
| " un-Amerlcan as TO appropriate iunds iron
| the treasury to build up one great ralLro3l
| center
its fair share OF the appropriations ior the pu2-
good is a we'll settled principle OF our nations.
| policy and this is based upon the dsmoc-at.,
| doctrine that every section has IT'S right 10
prosper and develop in proportion 70 It's merits.
| 2. This assumption is further supported by the
| laws of commerce. y healthy commerce IT,
| quireS competition, both from primary an
| secondary ports. BY allowing the practlca
closing of the smaller harborS by refusing then
aid, would be both unjust and Gnwlse. There
are upon the gulf coast number or harDoIs
which by a small expenditure viii admit vessels
drawing twelve or fifteen feet OF water Coz
nected with these harbors are rivers n3Vis4os
by vessels of considerable capacity Ior Auhd-e-i
OF miles during the entire year, thus GnOrU-Ls
convenient and oh ap transportation for coast
ing trade, and to the larger ports LOT transports
ton 10 foreign countries.
Assuming that the government poilcy viii Dc
to aid all the really worthy gulf ports, we De;
leave to ask tie conslderate attention OF The
American people to the great natural adVahta ages
of Calcasieu harbor as port OF entry, baSet
upon the following reasons:
Let us first consider the claims OF CaIc2Siel
harbor as secondary port OF entry, where YES.
sells drawing from twelve to fifteen teet OF "S'e'
can easily enter.
gineers shows that the annual saving IN trans
portation on the basis of the present commerce
tributary to Calcasleu pass, would De S-OJ," Z.
providing vessels drawing twelve rect OF Wa's'
could pass the outer bar. This saving wouiC u
three years cover the entire cost OF the lInproV-
ment. The manufacturers already located upon
the Calcasieu river are prepared TO double theI,
plants Immediately upon the complexion OF sGll
improvement
liar disadvantages in pursuing her coasl-as
trade with Texas and Mexico, for the Iaek @
government aid to protect the outlet al llz
mouth of the Calcasieu river. This section has
many products suited to an advantageous COAST
5 Owing to the formation of the coast, the
gulf current runs closer 10 the shore at this
point and deep water can be obtained via
shorter jetties from the shore, than at any otnt:
point along the entire gulf coast, ana shortes
than remains to be built at points already having
received large appropriations.
A channel of twelve feet can be obtained bg
jettying COCO feet; eighteen feet can De oDtalnet
by 1900 feet additional, and twenty-four feet al
1900 feet further. The United states engineers
kCalcasieu pass, the outlet of Lake Charles,
is something over seven miles in length, with
an average width of COO feet. and good chan
nell nowhere less than sixteen feet. 1t drains
5000 square miles of territory, with an annu9
rainfall of fifty inches finding Its way to the gun
through this pass.
Neither time nor opportunity was had for cur
rent observation during the examination, put IS
in all similarly situated waters currents or from
two and one half TO three miles an hour are pro
duced by the head of water in the lake, when
the gulf level is lowered three feet or more by
the action OF the wind and tidal causes. These
currents, when confined sufficiently TO the pass,
produced depths of twenty-five feet.
Shoal sand extends from the shore to the outer
slope OF the bar on either side OF the channel
They are about 1000 feet apart, and between
these the bottom rises from twelve feet III depth
to a little less than seven feet, IN distance O.
1000 feet. It seems almost level Tor AiUO feet,
and then slopes gradually again to twelve teet
in 1000 beyond. The slope in the gulf beyond
the twelve foot depth IS about one foot IN %
feet. Inc TOTAL COSG, luCluti4uk - per NS4lt'
added to first estimate for contingencies, IS in
the neghborhood OF $500, 600 for depth OF twelve
feet.
admittance would be had to a safe harbor GOD
feet wide and seven miles long, IN which vessels
of this draught could at all times load without
danger or delay. The banks OF the pass are sum
GENTLY high for building purposes.
4. Another cogent argument in favor OF the
the western boundary of Louisiana and the
Atchafalays, distance OF nearly 200 miles by
the coast, there is at present no safe har5or for
the larger vessels, in case of sudden storms, 70
which the gulf is exceedingly liable during
portion Of each year.
To take more extended view of the benefits
to be derived from the improvement OF CalcaSleu
l. Accepting Kansas City as one Of the great
trade centers OF the Northwest, the nearest point
to the gulf is Calcasieu pass, which IS. nearly
due south, $40 miles, which IS seventy miles
nearer than Galveston, Tex, and over 100 miles
nearer than New Orleans. CalcaSleu pass is as
near Kansas City as is Detroit. Mich. and near
" 500 miles nearer than New York.
2. The Kansas City, Watkins and Gulf rail-
way now in process of construction, viii open
direct communication to this port By the
shortest and cheapest line for the export OF the
produce OF the Northwest TO Mexico and south
America, Of which they are large consumers,
and for return cargOes Of tropical products,
These would thus pass through new port not
weighted down with charges and commissions
almost innumeIable.
3. The short additional distance necessary TO
construct the jetties beyond the twelve foot
shows this to be a very advantageous point for
obtaining deep water for general commerce upon
the western gulf coast.
In presenting our claims. it is not the inten-
ton to disparage any other port. We believe
the enormous volume of commerce, present and
prospective, of this country Iustlhes and de-
mands the improvement Of all the practical har-
bors upon the gulf coast, and to this end wewiQ
labor, and invite the cordial cooperation OF all
fair minded men.
Respectfully submitted by the
WATERWAY COMMITTEE,
-csrNr1ff herr Toni cia