The morning news., 1894-08-28
Savannah Harbor.

The fact that Savannah has deep water
from her wharves to the sea-a depth of
water sufficient to accommodate the
largest freight carrying vessels-is begin
ming to be understood by all who are in
the least interested in Georgia's great
seaport.
The Atlanta Constitution, speaking of
the success of the efforts to deepen Savan-
nah's harbor, says:
Savannah's commercial.dream, "deep
water to the sea-" is at last almost real
lied. For many, many years, Georgia's
principal port chafed under the handicap
OF being inaccessible to vessels of the
greatest draught, Still she kept pace
with the other South Atlantic ports, if
not a little ahead of them, in harbor i'm
provements. AT Brunswick and Charles
ton the deepest draught vessels were kept
out by shallow water on their bars. Sa-
Yannah has always had good depth of
water on her bar-twenty-six feet at high
tlde-but her narrow and tortuous river
channel was comparatively shallow.
The harbor improvements, by a system
OF letties, training walls and dredging.
have been actively pushed in the last two
years. and now vessels drawing twenty
three and half feet of water can pass I'D
Gut IiNGT DIT Hlgn JlQ6.
The engineer in charge expects to get a
depth of twenty-siX feet in the shal,owest
places in the next six or eight months.
When this depth is obtained all but the
very deepest draught ocean going vessels
VIII be enabled to get up to the city from
Iybee. The result will be a fresh impe-
tus to Savannah's commerce, and ocean
1relghts should be cheapened This will
benefit not only the southern states, but
q in fE a. 4 Ngl, L
81. Louis ana the territory tributary to
those cities.
AS the Constitution says, the improve
ment of Savannah's harbor will be a great
benefit not only to the southern states.
but also to very large portion of the
west. To greater extent every year
Savannah will become the seaport of a
very large extent of southern and west
ern territory, because she is the natural
seaboard outlet of that territory. If her
citizens show the enterprise they should
the Savannah of ten years hence, in com
parison with the Savannah of to-day,
will satisfy the expectations of her most
enthusiastic citizens.
1t is not improbable that many of the
European exhibits for the Atlanta expo
sition will come by way of Savannah.
There is no reason why they shouldn't.
Had the President signed the new tariff
bill in as great hurry as President Har-
rlson signed the Mckinley bill, the Gus
toms service all over the country would
have been thrown into as great confusion
as 1t was when the Mckinley bill became
a law. As almost everybody knows
there is an endless amount Of red tape
connected with the customs service. If
an importer wishes merely to enter pro-
test, there are blanks and blanks that
must be sealed, signed and delivered.
All Of the blanks used in the service are
prepared in Washington. The collectors
dare not move peg without entering the
fact on blank. Had the new tariff law
become operative Immediately upon its
passage, all of the collectors would have
been caught blankless and helpless. The
delay therefore was not waste of time.
Gen Wade Hampton, federal commits.
sioner Of Pacific railroads, favors extend
ing the time for the payment Of the debts
of the roads TO the government and re-
quiring them TO apply 30 per cent of
their net earning TO the payment of the
debts. He thinks government ownership
Of the roads is not possible, as il would
require something like SlSG, ,OOO, 900 TO pur-
chase the roads known as the govern
ment aided companies The interest on
the bonds necessary to be foated to raise
such a sum would require the taxation of
the people to greater extent than they
would stand.