The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1903-12-12

The proper improvement of the
tennessee river and its tributaries.
practically means the establishment
Of new highway of commerce for
a vast territory that is at present
either devoid Of railroad transport
tation or else handicapped by dis
eliminating railroad freight rates.
The proposition to provide three
foot stage above Chattanooga to
Knoxville and flve-foot stage be-
low Chattanooga at the low tide of
the Tennessee river has made ap-
preciable progress, but hardly to the
extent demanded by its Importance.
Not nearly enough has been done
on its tributaries, the Clinch, Hi
wassee, French Broad, Holston, Elk
Little Pigeon, Emery and Little
Tennessee rivers, and most of this
work awaits action on the part of
our lawmakers at Washington.
The spirit of today is the spirit of
doing things, and it is this spirit
that is being invoked in contempla-
ton Of what must be done. Statis-
tics, a comparison, of figures show
ing its possible advantages and
NyI1 "a hoc Ill
the demands of current events, all
present reasons that demonstrate
the necessity for the permanent i'm
provement of the Tennessee river
and its tributaries.
The recent investigations Of the
Hon. Theodore Burton, chairman of
our rivers and harbors committee,
while inspecting the rivers in
France, Germany, Belgium and Hol-
land, convinced him that the
amount of money annually expend-
ed in those countries, compared with
the sum yearly appropriated for
rivers by the congress of the United
States, made our expenditures as
sumo the proportions of a mere pig
my. Many persons seem to think
that the United States is lavish in
the expenditure Of government
money. While this may be true in
regard to its expenditures for other
purposes, it is not true in respect to
river improvements, and especially
marked is it's penuriousness in con-
nection with Tennessee river i'm
provements. The United States is a
new country compared with those
European nations, and has not yet
learned the absolute necessity of
providing the most economical
means of transportation that is pos
sible throughout its borders.
The Tennessee river from Knox
Vile to New Orleans is 1850 miles,
and to where it debouches into the
Ohio river at Paducah, including the
courses of its several tributaries, is
about 400 miles. 1t drains an area
of about $4,000 square miles, the
river and it's tributaries reaching
into the states of Virginia, North
L.
bama and Kentucky. 1t is the nat
ural outlet of immense coal fields,
timber districts and agricultural de-
velopments of a vast area Of interior
country. passes through one of the
most promising industrial centers of
the nation, and its annual water
supply is sufficient to provide an
all-year stage for navigable pur-
poses.
100000 NEEDED.
1t is estimated that, at an ex-
penditure of about 100000 in addi-
ton to what has been heretofore
expended by the government, to
supplement what nature has done
for US, this great highway may be
opened to all the year navigation.
1t seems folly indeed to ignore the
demands Of this mighty river and
the internal development Of such
a territory. Here is this great basin
carved out by nature in its pro-
cesses of erosion and upheaval, with
a channel supplied by ample rain
fall and abundant springs, that only
requires little at the hands of man
to convert it into most potential
agency for our good, and yet it is
almost ignored.
When properly regulated by the
hand of artifice this channel for
transportation purposes can save
farmers. merchants, manufacturers,
mine operators, and necessarily the
purchasers and consumers of COM
modities, a large percentage of the
~e~ss. DO. o.oo"o"e"e"e"