The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-18
Letters to The Editor.
The Coosa River.
Mnntromerx Ala.

Montgomery, Ala. March 15. Editor The Advertiser:
 He is a bold, If not bad man, who ventures to suggest that the Coosa River Is not a mighty artery in the commerce of the continent or who dares to sup port views so unpopular as those or Cap tain Judson. which have incurred the hos tility of so many Southern Congressmen and special correspondents.
 Captain Judson needs no defense at my hands: he is an ofticeE and gen tleman and engineer so accomplished as to have been recently appointed to @ high position in the new war college. but 1t Is scarcely fair to charge him with be- ing Judas-faced, for he has never, pub licly or privately. advocated large expen- ditures on the Coosa River; the ''magnif- icent' speech referred to by your corre- spondent must have been made by some other person. probably by a citizen Of Wetumpka. if made at all. So 1t has been with other engineers in charge of this district: their 'recommendations have been merely estimates of what it would cost to do certain work; few of them have had any faith in the project of making the Coosa available for trans portation; some of them have denounced the whole scheme as foolish and futile.
 l myself have made some study of the conditions of the Coosa and ask to sub init few facts, taking the precaution to disown any connection with the cleo trie crowd" or any intent In their plans. I have merely the same interest as any other C1tlZen III the O6velOpfnent OL tHo resources of the commonwealth Chairman Burton states that in Cap | tain Judson's opinion, the $6,000,0o0 would not be more than half enough to finish ! based upon a four foot channel. I see, however, that the advocates of the im- 1 provements have abandoned this idea and | now propose a new survey for six feet | channel. This is a wise change If the work is to be done at all. but a six feet channel at the locks, requires an equal l depth in the intermediate channel ways | and the whole distance to Mobile. Assuming then that we have a channel six feet deep, with probably forty locks, acquired at vast, and at present inde- terminate cost, extending from the Coosa coal fields to Mobile. we would then have water transportation under these condi- tions:
 Barges could be loaded to five and one half feet draught and three barges. with a tow boat could be locked through sirnul- coal fields with, say 1,200 tons of coal as freight The three loaded barges would be lowed downstream 600 miles, and the three empty barges the same distance Allowing for the usual delays. each tow could probably make two trips a month, at a cost for material, at fuel. wages. re- of coal carried. This Is conservative estimate of the cost of actual transpor- tation. and does not include loading and unloading, nor superintendence nor taxes. nor what would be a vital factor, the cost of delivery from the mines into the barges. It also leaves out of the question entirely the interest on the cost of the locks and their maintainance. which is paid by the whole people, but is never theless a just charge upon the traffic.
 Granting that the work can be ultimate lv finished, is the game worth the can dle? With the constantly decreasing cost of railway freights. the saving of time-which is today more than ever be- more money. their freedom from acci- dents, their facilities for cheap and quick delivery on shipboard. their fine terminal advantages. and the excellence of their administrative service. makes river trans portation under such difficulties as are to be encountered on the Coosa utterly tm- practicable.
 But the main objection to the scheme of Coosa River locks Is that 1t sacrifices one of the finest water powers in the country
 The economic value of water power has increased amazingly with. the recent inn provements in the methods of generating. transmitting and utilizing the electric