The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-02
WINDING UP THEIR WORK.
CITIZENS COMMITTEE WILL TAKE
ONE MORE TRIP OVER DRAINAGE.

savannah River in Fearful
PIighf-COmmittee VIII Meet For
the Last Time TO-mOrrOw-Their
Work Has Been Commended by
the Public as 1t Was For the Pub
lie Good.
The report of the citizens committee on
the condition of the swamps and drains
close around the city Of Savannah will be
made within the next few days, and the
public will know exactly how great is the
need of drainage in the districts near the
city. The committee took another trip
over the county system OF drainage yester-
day in the neighborhood of the city and
will take one more tour of the neighbor-
ing swamps before the work is finished.
The next trip is to be taken tomorrow
afternoon, and then the committee VIII
make its report 10 the public.
The cltizens' committee has been inves-
tigating the swamps and drains and
bitches around the city at the request of
the Morning News, for the reason that the
grand jury committee, which went TO
these places under the escortage of the
county commissioners, and at the invita-
ton of Chairman Dale, found that so
many of the swamps needed drainage and
had been neglected. The minority report
which was signed by two of the commit
tee of five, stated that their facilities Tor
examining the true condition of the
swamps and drains under the chaperonage
of the county commissioners were so mea-
-, he
were enabled to ar i've at anything like
correct estimate of the real condition Of
the swamps close to the city.
When such things became known to the
public there was a demand for a clear and
fair statement of the issue involved. The
Morning News requested several citizens
TO go at its expense to the swamps close
around the city with view to arriving
at a correct idea of the true condition of
the swamps, which when foul, endanger
the safety and healthfulness of the com
munity. These citizens were not confer
red with as to any views they
might have in the question OF drainage
They willingly accepted the invitation or
the Morning News, and The members
have faithfully discharged their duty as
though they had been officially assigned
by the courts to make the investigation
They have visited all of the swamps and
canals close to the city, and have found
them in deplorable condition The report
of the citizens committee will bring out
some startling and undeniable facts con-
corning the work that has not been done
on the swamps near the city of Savan-
nah, and the report will receive the cred
ulence of every loyal citizen.
The trip taken yesterday was to some
of the canals and swamps just above the
city near the Savannah river.
Messrs. c. II. Dorsett A, w. Harmon,
John d. Robinson, Capt. H. NJ Branch,
Capt A Nee. Duncan and
r. A Blandford. comprising the
inspecting committee, left the De
Soto at O'Clock. The party went
out Broughton street extended to Schwarz
avenue, from which 1t turned off through
the truck farms to inspect the Vale Royal
canal and its tributary bitches. They
found them overgrown with rank grass
and weeds eight or ten feet high and chok-
ed in places with mud. This wretched con-
dition extended right UP 10 the corporate
limits. Persons on the farms informed
the committee that the canal and bitches
had not been cleaned out or had any atten-
tion from the county authorities since the
spring or early summer of 1885, some fir
teen to eighteen months ago.
The committee then passed on into the
Hermitage tract. Here they observed sew
eral pools of stagnant water, and found
the McAlpin canal and bitches in the same
condition as those in the Vale Royal sys-
tenn. Meeting Mr.. Beebe, the lessee the
committee We're informed by him that the
canal and bitches there had been partially
cleaned out by the county forces some fif-
teen or sixteen months ago, but that he
had had to finish the work on some of the
bitches himself in order to get the drain
age he needed He said before the clean
ing was done he had gone several times to
the county authorities to ask for it. No
county work has been done on the canal or
bitches since.
The party then went up to the Augusta
road ana out to the Dundee canal. They
inspected this and its laterals, on down TO
the river. All We're grown up with weeds
and rank aquatic vegetation. They were
Informed that when the dredge was work.
ing in the canal it had cut away in many
places the foot of the banks causing them
at several places TO slough in This dam
age was never repaired, and the canal
from this cause and others remains in
complete. South of the Augusta road and
up 10 where the work on the canal was
left off, nearly mile, the canal is in a
worse condition than below. When the
North Fork swamp comes into the main
swamp no opening had been made for
the water to get into the canal with the
N~-N1N
the swamp on the west side and has final
ly made an opening for Itself. The North
Fork has drainage area as extensive as
the main swamp itself above their con-
1iuence, but hasn't even a ditch worthy
the name in it. Both swamps are in
soggy and very unhealthy condition. The
whole length of this canal dug is, perhaps,
a little over two miles. The remaining
part of the swamp, a mile or so above, was
inspected by the committee on its first
trip, and was then found to be in very
bad condition. 1t has not improved since.
The committee drove out the Louisville
road to the 5-mile stone, where the grave
surfacing was left off. At this point and
on for about a thousand feet the road
passes through the head of the North Fork
swamp of Dundee. Some pools of stag
nant water We're observed standing on the
right and left of the road, but no signs of
drainage were observed anywhere. Re
turning via the Augusta road and Bay
street extension the committee examined
the county drains near the city and found
them all in the same uncledn choked con-
dillon as those already noted
The next and final trip of inspection
VIII be made by the committee on Friday.
leaving the De Soto at p. m, after which
III &c Gov