Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-07-26
IRE KANAWHA COAL REGION.
How River improvements Increase Bust
ness ana Avert Coal Famines.

How river lmpro'eh1eteo
ness ana Avert Coal Famines.
CHARLESTON, w. VA, July 25.-When
appropriation bills are under considera-
tion in Congress, there is alwaysa strong
onposition among those representatives
who are not directly interested, to the
River and Harbor bill. As an illustra-
tion of the value OF the country's navi-
gable streams TO It's commerce. ana the
DEVELOPMENT of the resources which
thew make possible, the following ng-
ures and Information furnished by Res
ident Engineer Scott. Of the War De-
partment, in charge OF the Treat
Kanawha river Improvements, are OF
interest. These figures not only lnal-
cate the usefulness Of the improved
river to the valley through which IL
flows, but to the coal consumers OF
Cincinnati, Louisville, st. Louis and In
termediate points 10 which the product
of the Kanawha Valley is furnished,
for 1t has been the means OF reducing
prices very materially and rendering
coal fsmines less frequent.
The United States Congress had to
June 80, 1892, appropriated s2,579, 300
toward the Improvement OF the naYlga-
ton of the Great Kanawha river. The
money was expended in constructing
locks and dams No. 2 at Cannelton, No.
at Paint Creek, No. 4 at Cabin Creek,
No. at BrowustOwn, No. at Tyler
SHOALS, and locks and dams Nos.
and 8 below ST. Adams. On Jul
10, 1892, Congress made an addi-
tional appropriation OF S225,0OO, and
authorized contracts TO be made for
the construction Of locks and dams
Nos. 9, 10 and IL, estimated to cost ST.
OSO, 700, making the total cost Of this
Improvement SO, SS5. 200. Locks and
dams and will be furnished this sum
meR, Nos. 9, 10 and IL have been put
under contract and the entire Kanawha
river Improvement will be finished in
1896. This will give slack water navi-
CATION from the mouth OF the stream to
the Kanawha falls, distance ef 90
miles, and when completed will furnish
six feet of water the entire year By
an act of Congress passed 10 1882 the
navigation Of the Kanawha river was
made free. and no tolls are charged
thereon. This gives decided advantage
over the Monongahela river, its chief
competitor in the Southern coal trade,
because the Monongahela river dams are
In control of a Pennsylvania corporation
which charges very considerable toll.
The following table gives the traffic
in coal from the Kanawha valley below
Kanawha falls since 1881: Year ending
June l, 1881, by river 9.62S, 500. by rail
6,631, $50, total 10, 200, 1856; 1883, by river
Is, 370, ass, by rail 10, 290, 255, total 2S,-
$50, 713; 1884, by river 1S,421,0S4, by
rail 10, O59, l72, total 80, $50, 256; 1888, by
river 1852, 323, by rail 12,972,217, total
80. 7s4 $40; 1856, by river II, SCI, 613, by
rail Is, $50, 745 total 81, SIS, 35S; 1887, by
river 1888, 374, by rail 10, 100, s96, total
40, 594, 270; 1888, by river 20, 100, 525, by
rail 20, 962, $50, toal 1908, 81; 1889, by
river &c, 92I, 7ss, by rail 20. 031, 12l, total
4S, 952, 900; 1890, by river "a, l6l, 554, by
rail 81, 433, 425, total 81, 594, 979; 1891,
by river 25,761, $40, by rail 2S,66s, OPS
fatal 81, 429. 37l; 1892, by river $751;
7ss. by rail- 30, S44, 100, total 57,631,SS
From the foregoing it will be seen that
the shipments from this valley have
grown In 10 years from total Of TO-
900, 600 to more than 57,000,0o0. While
the proportion OF the river shipments
over the rail shipments has not ma
terially increased, the possibilities Of
getting coal to market cheaply by
river during a portion of the year,
has created demand for Kanawha
coal, and has opened the way for the
railroads when the rivers below were
closed by low water or ice. The In
crease in trade may be attributed al
most solely to the improvement of the
rivar