The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-20

l u
 | The recapitulation of the annual resources Agriculture. 500, ,ooo tons. valued ,o. ,o, Timber. l5o. 900 tons. valued at ssoo ooo Ion ore, | 100000 tons. valued , 70. ,o. Lime, 44s. GOO tons, valued at. 4le.ooo | Coal, POO, GOO tons, valued at.... 3oo, 900 Manufactory, s6I,525 tons, val . ued at .................-..-..... zo,UoV,VoV
 Total. ss5e 525 tons valued
 at ........................... .So<, 5oo,ooV
 In addition to the above undeweioped resources of the Coosa River which lie | slumberdng and waiting for navigation. l there was transported over the Alabama | River, between Montgomery and Mobile, Ala, the following amount of tonnage:
 In 1899. 7esae tons Of msrchan, And in value of timber. ...:....... 2,ooo, 900 l In 900. e5 567 tons. valued at... 7.7oI 900 In sO sOG Isss4 %Uss Vasnsa sons valued ai sYsoSS | In 1901. timber valued at.......... 5000 900 A large portion of which would be car
 ried to and from Wetumpka if you would
 give us an appropriation sufncient to and dam 50. The people I represent in the Fifth District of Alabama are very
 much interested in this matter. They feel
 that their claim upon the Government Tor this appropriation, which has been 50
 long neglected, is asjust one.
 Hon. w. R. Merriam, Director of the l Census, in an able article in The Manu-
 lecturers Record of February, says:
 One of the Southern States that has done
 manufacturing State is Alabama. The sum
 mary below shows that the capital invested in
 State hss oo aurns rn9ga f
 over s7o 900 ooo The increase in The mum
 Der of establishments from 1890 to 1900 was
 vested was about s3 per cent.
 The popIlation increased during these years
 S% wS. the svs average @ number of en:
 Creased Drssss . from 4.sss .o sa.sos. or s5!s ps,
 esdes cad Des and '15 psrtieaiarly in the dse.a. 1880
 cent as compared with an increase of Is.s per cent. in total population. In 800 the av-
 nS%ess Sf e.s asn % o sS. os
 population. as compared with eight-tenths of
 | per cent. in Is5o But probably the best
 ing class is afforded by the greatest number
 employed at one time during the year; In In
 to,s tss1 popustion po1s aas SSa, Of the State p ~
 The rapid growth of the manufsc,urlns ss ,msn,n ,n
 sSs yiars is 1 d%e to the utiizaoa tic
 States rich mineral resources whhh were . neglected in the earlier years ot the cen tury. This development of the iron industry . and of coal and mining has stimulated 2 variety of manufactures which are nie eentered part m t of the State, where the mineral deposits , e~ist, The abundance of coal has made un- necessary any extensive use or the water powsi s , | of the State on the Coosa, Tennessee and Tai , l.Iapoosa Rivers. although on the Tallapoosa ] | near Montgomery one of tho largest water
 nlants in the South has recently been con structed. It Is noteworthy that the great de
 vciopment of manufaetyres in the nortnerr f,ef1
 o,,t tbe b aSvantage of navigabe water for the cheap shipment of products , It us ss
 timated that water communication witn Moo,'t would reduce freight charges on iron and
 coal 30 per cent.
 Why. sir. 1t is a. conceded fact that the , region through which the Coosa River
 flows is one of the richest Tn the worio Q Col. A. K Mcclure. the gifted editor of The Philadelphia Times. mas repea.sots .s,,n'
 declared Alabama to be one Of the Iacn. c est States, naturally, in the world, if no' d the richest; and believe that gentleman $ { estimate is practically correct; mere n |, : no place. MT. Chairman, on the race ol
 this broad earth where iron and coal can il be found in such close proximity to each | other as in the Birmingham district ol Alabama; and Birmingham. Ala, nXes
 the price of iron for the whole world to- T days And vet this stream. flowing
 through the rich. undevelopeG minera
 fields of this section, with coal and irof t ir great abundance. and leading out 1i,
 uctly to the Gulf, has no merits in the e eyes of the majority of the committee e On this stream millions and millions ol q tons would be transported if the Govern i mcnt would lend helping hand ana re f | thereby giving LIS nar9Sable water routt - sl5 miles long. as is shown by the re 0 | ports of the Government engineers IT = charge of this work for the past twenty l. five years. which contradict the commit IT tee report recently made. I read Iron . the report of the War Department mat b in 1901, less than two years ago.
 . The Coosa River has always been navisabl | for light-draft boats from Rome, Ga..
 Greensport, Ala an estimated distance c
 l62 miles. This part of the river is Of sue
 a character as to make itS improvement D D
 From Greensport. Ala, to wetumpka, Ala
 A distance of i42 miles, the improvement It s | ouires the building of locks and dams in cor I junction with works Of contraction and chan With the Coosa opened to navigation. ther
 would be a continuous water route of trans C | portation from Carters Landing'-on the Coosa
 wattee. to Mobile. Ala. distance estimate
 at SIS miles.
 This water route includes the Coosa e wattee, Oostenaula, Coosa. Alabama an Mobile Rivers, emptying directly into tn e Gulf through the Mobile Bay, ana con 2
 stituting the third longest water route | n the United States. .,,.A,<
 The Alabama River is now navigablt H Mr Chairman and is being used to trans
 port the products or our secti1I M it9, c9E ,,,iie 4 bile to Montgomery. and of this sl5 mlle | of accessible water there remains onl
 seventy-two miles of obstructlon' IL na M | been estimated by the engineers TOT th |
 remove ali of these Instructions ana giN
 us a water route S15 miles long; ana ys an engineer who has been there but elgh d teen months or two years. and who na RI made no survey, brings in report | Fl this committee purporting to show Una M 1t would require $20.000, 900 to do this worF A I would like to ask the chairman of thi fl committee if MT. Judson. who made thi A report, has ever made q survey of tni A work? I would like to know upon wha q basis he makes this report? MT. Char & man. I am constrained to believe tna
 there is a nigger in the wood pile" an
 that some undue influence has bee
 brought to bear in order. if possible, { # | blot the Coosa River off the map. Bu
 sir. 1t will never be done. The Rivers an
 Harbors Committee of this House ma
 | throttle that great enterprise, but tn # time will come when Congress will recoe ~ nIze its merits. l call attention to re
 port made by the Chief of Engineers c ' the United States Army in 1882, volum a ?, page 1855;
 tt' In 1876 an appropriation was made for In i' proving the Coosa River between Rome ar s, l the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad bridg iy | and from this time work of improvement hs " been going on. The Coosa, though crooke rs is very favorable for improvement. The Dc 70 and banks generally of permanent natur K and the mean depth of the water is great whe g. compared with the width.
 s Tn another report, made by the engineer as es in 1890, they make the following state
 ment:
 q The river was originally much obstructed ! ns rock shoals and sand bars between Rome. Go 10 Pand Greenspora. Ala, and below Greenspo m it was not navigable at all on account of u De many shoals and rapids, formed by ledges 16 rock crossing the river bottom points Whe