The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-13
THE COUNTY DRAINAGE.
Some Facts Concerning 1t That Are
interesting.

News: Sir-The matter of drainage of the
lands surrounding the city, which is now
being incidentally discussed, brings up
a statement credited to Commissioner
Chaplin, at a meeting of the county
commissioners last month, when the
drainage of Cuyler swamp was under dis
cussion. In the News of Aug. IS, we
read: I'VE have already been too long
about this work now" Commissioner
Chaplin said, speaking of the matter.
why, the county has been thirty years
in draining that swamp and there is no
reason or sense in it. The present board
has been working on the canal for three
years, and not half the work that should
have been done has been accomplished.
/ believe we can finish it without
any trouble in six or eight months" 1t
appears to be falling of Mr.. Chaplin,
when discussing the work done for the
county by its past and present servitors,
| to disparage and reflect upon the efforts
of those who have gone before, in order,
seemingly, to enhance the superior ability
OF its present representatives. 1t is not
my purpose or WISH as l said in previ-
GUS letter, to detract the merits of the
present board-to its honor, I am pleased
to say that 1 believe only two of it's
members have ever gone out of their
way to publicly disparags the intentions
and efforts of their predecessors-but
when such statements are made as the
one quoted above justice to the honora-
BILE and conscientious gentlemen who have
previously served the county demands
some light upon the subject that the
| truth may be made apparent.
The county has been thirty years in
draining that (Cuyler) swamp, and there
No u, 60.
| missioner Chaplin uttered these words
let 1t be hoped that he was unconscious
of the lamentable ignorance he betrayed
| of the history of the drainage work of
| the county, lest his utterance be ascriOed
| to some other motive.
No concerted action or anything like
| systematic effort by the authorities look
ing to the drainage of the country sur
| rounding Savannah, was had until after
| the terrible scourge of yellow fever in 1876.
| During the month of June of that year,
| just previous to the breaking out of the
| fever, the most remarkable and unprece-
dented rainfall of 10 inches was precipi-
tated. There being no bitches or canals
worthy of note in the swamps to carry off
the water the whole country was mum
| dated and it may be said for some time
| after was saturated The hot July suns
| beaming down on the wet and soggy soil
| soon developed a very unhealthy state of
affairs and the yellow fever breaking out
| found most congenial conditions for its
| spread A part of the history of that fear
| full scourge is written on headstones in the
| cemeteries and the unmarked graves made
| then, would, could they speak, swell many
times more the volume of the record.
| When the epidemic of '76 was over the
| people of Savannah, who had been aroused
| by this terrible lesson to a sense of the
| vital Importance of the drainage of the
| surrounding country, at once begun to
! take measures to effect it. They realized
/ the magnitude of the work and saw in the
! poverty the epidemic had left them, that
| they could of themselves accomplish but
| little. The legislature was petitioned and
/ that body voted the state tax for one year
| which amounted to about $28, 900 to aid in
! the work. The drainage commission was
organized in March, 1877, by the election of
! DR.. J. G. Thomas Capt. John f. Wheaton,
/ Col. John Screven, Gen. J. F. Gilmer and
| Mr. c. G. Casey. Surveys were made and
! in the latter part of April work was COM
menced in Musgrove swamp, west of the
city. Without going into the detail given
by the reports published in the newspapers
| of that time, it is sufficient to say that the
| commission continued actively at work,
draining around the suburbs of the city,
precipitating the water of the higher
| grounds into the swamps.
1t was not until May, 1SS0-about sixteen
of Cuyler swamp was commenced by the
| digging of what is now known as 1.-The Old
| Casey canal" The funds of the drainage
| commission becoming almost exhausted,
| the aid Of the county commissioners was
| envoked. The chain-gang-the very
much smaller body than now-was put to
work on the canal and kept there until
| it's completion some seven or eight years
| later The drainage commission and the
county commissioners who were working
| together, found the same difficulties then,
to certain extent, that the county COM
missioners have to-day in obtaining rights
of way for the canal, but they were unit
ed in a common purpose and worked in
harmony for it's accomplishment.
After the completion of the old Casey
canal. the Harmon, Hampstead, and a
number of other canals and bitches were
dug most of which were tributary to the
old canal. The additional volume contrib
uted by these soon developed the fact that
the old Casey canal was inadequate to
carry the water coming into it, and that
after every heavy rainfall 1T would over
flow its banks and flood the swamp along
its line This necessitated an enlarged
channel and outlet. The land
for this outlet was obtained by the d.
plomacy of members of the former board
as stated by "Senex" in the News some
three weeks ago by the purchase of the
Pritchard plantation, now known as the
county lands" This purchase was a
wise act as It gave the commissioners con-
troll of some two and three quarter miles
Of the lower part of the swamp and thus
permitted the outlet to be made through
it's bed Aside from this these lands by
reason of the drainage are now worth
some three or four times the amount that
was then paid for them. After these
lands were acquired surveys were made,
and a system for more perfect drainage
was adopted. But this system was not
adopted hastily. The commissioners con-
sidered we'll the plans. They had had long
experience in drainage, they were contem-
poraneous with the drainage commission,
some of them serving in conjunction with
that body-some had been on the board for
sixteen years, others twelve and none less
than one term,-so they were well qualified
to pass upon the plans.
The work on the new Casey canal was
not commenced until the spring or early
summer of 1892, some eight or ten months
before the installation of the present
board so IL has not been in progress the
many vague years Mr.. Chaplin's state
ment would lead us to believe. Why 1t
has not progressed more rapidly in the
toe. thraa vea Pc and "A half one need only