The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-06
COAST LINE OFFICES.
May BE Sought for Savannah by
Mass Meeting of Citizens.

Mass Meeting of Citizens.
| Acting Mayor Dixon will be, asked
to-day by a committee from the Sa-
vannah Retail Merchants Association
to call a mass meeting, at which the
! question of the removal of the Allan
tic Coast Lines offices from Savannah
to Wilmington may be discussed, and
some action take to have them restor-
ed. Messrs. B. H. Levy, j. w. Jack
son and A. S. Nichols comprise the
| committee.
A meeting of the Merchants Asso-
! citation was held yesterday afternoon.
and it was then decided to take the
course indicated. 1t was also decided
to ask the cooperation of the COM
mercial bodies of the city to bring
about the restoration of the offices at
Savannah to the importance they had
attained during the independence of
the Plant System.
Mr.. S. Krouskoff, vice president of
the association, presided in the absence
Of President L. Adler, who is out of
the city. He stated the object of the
meeting, saying that some means
should be devised whereby the city
might recover from the loss it has sus-
tanned in the removal of so large
proportion of the Office forces from
Savannah to Wilmington. Many thou
sands of dollars a year have been
taken from the city by the removal of
the offices, he declared, and some COM
pensatlon for such a loss should be af-
forded by the Atlantic Coast Line,
since the merchants and business men
OF Savannah give it annually such
great volume of freight and passenger
business.
The fear was expressed that the
shops were to be removed from Savan-
nah. The merchants thought it bad
enough that the offices had been re-
moved. but the rumor that had gained
ground among them relative to The
shops caused great apprehension. The
steps it was decided they should take
contemplate the retention of the shops,
as well as an effort to have the offices
restored
Some weeks ago the Morning News
published an interview with General
superintendent Denham of the Coast
Line, in which he stated most
positively that the shops would not
be removed from Savannah. Mr.. Den
ham holds to the opinion that Savan-
nah is the best place for the shops,
and there have been many improve
ments put in of late. One of these is
a costly pneumatic plant for the boiler
works.
When he was general superintendent
of the Plnat System it was a part of
Mr.. Denham's plans to consolidate the
shops of the system at Savannah 1t
is quite possible that this will be car
ried into effect by the Coast Line, and
that nearly if not quite, all the work
of the second division, formerly the
Plant System, will be done here.
Mr.. Sig Gardner. secretary of the
Merchants Association, will send COM
munications to the Savannah Cotton
Exchange, the Savannah Board of
Trade, the Savannah Clearing Associa-
ton and the Savannah Wholesale Gro
GERS Association, asking their aid in
having the office forces re-instated at
Savannah and the shops kept here.
1t was understood among the mer-
chants that a grant was made long
since to the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad
or the Savannah, Florida and Western
by the city, but with the understand
ing that the land given should, in per-
petuity, be used by the company as
shops. This old contract may be look
ed up and used as an argument against
the possible removal of the shops from
Savannah