The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-18
TO BUILD UP TERMINALS.
The SeabOaTd COmpany'S Effort To Sc
cure Part Of HutChinSOn'S Island.

Seaboard Company Could Not Fulhll
the Conditions of the First Grant.
The Proposition Now Before the
Council.
The probability is that no decision will
be reached by the committee of the whole
of council on the application of the Sea
board Company for the eastern half of
Hutchinson's Island for several days yet,
and it is not likely that any action will be
taken before next week.
City Attorney Adams has not vet
finished the work Of looking up tho titles
10 the water frontage of the island and
ascertaining the exact holdings of the city,
and Alderman Cam, who has been promi-
nent in looking after the city's interests, is
in camp with the Chatham Artillery and
will not be back for ten days perhaps As
he has gone to considerable trouble to post
himself as to the city's holdings on the
island, both sides prefer that he be pres
ent when final action is taken.
City Attorney, Adams, finds it no small
matter to uuravel the tangle Of legal pa
pers as to the holdings Of The city and
private individuals. The city acquired
the island by purchase years ago for sani-
tam purposes, to prevent the cultivation
of rice there, and to enable it TO properly
dram the island.
AHARD TANGLE 10 UxRAvEL.
Numerous sales have been made at
various times of small holdings to pri-
vate parties The records of these trans
fers were very carelessly kept and many
of the deeds were not indexeI Property
on the island was evidently not regarded
as of much Importance then. The city
managed to dispose of nearly all the river
frontage, the most yalua bic part, however.
Alderman Cam believes the city still
holds about / 200 fee of frontage at the
lower end Of the island, which he found
upon the surveys and statistics of the
United States engineers Office
The Middle Georgia and Atlantic peo-
pie claim, however, that the city holdings
on the island are not so large, and do not
exceed 800 feet. A good deal depends on
the result of the investigation, as water
frontage in the neighbOrhood of the city
is very valuable now.
The SeabOard Company has made an
entire change in its intentions towards
Hutchinson Island, according to the state
ments OF its most active promoters. They
have no expectation of completing the
Middle Georgia and Atlantic railroad as
first intended, unless financial conditions
should change so faYOrably that they
will have no difficulty in floating their
bonds, which they do not regard as very
probable.
THE COMPANY's PRESENT LINE.
They propose to go ahead and complete
their line from lIatOntOn to COvingtOn, and
there they may build 10 d junction with
the Atlantic Short Line, formerly the
Macon and Atlantic railroad, which is
struggling to get on its feet again and
which hopes TO get into Savannah from
Dublin, where it connects with the Macon,
Dublin and Savannah railroad running to
Macon. The latter line has had a
stop put to it's further extension by the
financial depression Of the past year. If
the Atlantic Short Line builds to Savan-
nah the Middle Georgia and Atlantic
viii build to junction with it and
come into Savannah by that route
1t would be very bad Judgment to
build an Independent line into Savan-
nah" said one of the directors, when it
would parallel the line of the Atlantic
Short Line for almost a hundred miles, and
when there would not be traffic for more
than one road in that section of coun-
try"
In this case the two lines would make a
junction somewhere beyond SatesbOro
and come into the city together.
1t is something else besides railroad
building that the Seaboard Company is
looking after now, however. The com
pauy secured the whole of Hutchinson
Island two years ago on condition
that ii establish terminals on the island,
build an iron bridge across the river to
the mainland, and complete seventy-fve
miles of railroad in a Dortheasterly di-
rcction in specified time. One of the
directors said yesterday that it was i'm
possible that the SeabOard Company
should have fulfilled these conditions in
the time specified, and it was folly for
them to have accepted the island on these
conditions.
THE GRANT NOW ASKED FOR.
The resolutions introduced in the last
meeting of council BY Alderman Haines,
grant the eastern half of the island to the
company on condition that il perform GER
tain work upon the island, build a bridge
across the river, aud complete Ave miles
Of railroad into the interior within three
years.
The object of the company in desiring
to secure the eastern or lower half of
the island upon these conditions is, as
stated by one of the directors, 10 estab-
lsh 4 terminal company at Savannah
similar to the terminal companies at
Brunswick, Charleston and Norfolk. for
the purpose Of alIording general terminal
and shipping facilities to the railroads
and trading vessels that may come here.
They believe that by establishing first
class terminal facilities upon the island
they viii be in position to accommodate
any railroad desiring to make use of
them, and that it would also
be the means of attracting
other railroads TO the port, which are
now kept out by the lack Of terminals.
They also believe that The increasing bus
mess of the port demands greater accom-
mediation for vessels, and that there will
be a demand for all the wharf and ware
house room that may be provided on the
island.
TO INDUCE MANUFACTURING.
They also hope to develop those por-
tons of the island which will not be
used for shipping and warehouses, so
that, with the aid of their facilities for
transportation, manufacturing institu-
tions of various kinds may be attracted
there, opening room for the in
vestment of capital and the en-
ploy1neut of numbers of laborers.
They estimate that it will cost not less
than 100000 to carry out these plans,
good portion OF which they are willing to
advance out of their own pockets and the
remainder of which they viii secure by
issuing bonds whenever the financial stu
zion admits of this
That is the reason the Seaboard Com