The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-12
SAVANNAH AND THE CANAL.

Why should a Georgia paper boom
Gulf port as the doorway for Pan
anna Canal traffic, when there Is
more convenient port within the bor-
ders of its own state? Yet that is
what we find the Atlanta Journal do
ing for Galveston. The Journal sees
in the construction of the canal
"bow of brilliant promise" for this
section, by means of commerce through
Galveston; for which rainbow the peo-
pie ought to be profoundly grateful,
it says. The Journal is pleased that
Galveston is so near to the canal,
and ventures the opinion that 1t will
be the outlet for a considerable part
of the West through the canal.
If the Journal will provide itself with
a reliable map and devote half an
hour to it's study 1t may be able to
refresh it's memory with respect to
some things that had evidently escap-
ed it's mind at the time its article
referred to was written. For instance
1t will see that the Atlantic side of
the Panama canal is east of the lon
gitude of Savannah. There are doubt
less many persons who think of Pan
anna as being almost If not quite di-
rectly south of New Orleans and al
most south of Galveston. But such
is not the case. 1t is east of Sa-
vannah. Lay a straight-edge on the
map and draw a line from Savannah
to the canal, and another from Gal
weston to the canal. and 1t will be
found that the Savannah line, accord
ing to the scale, is the shorter by APP
proximately 200 miles. The sailing
course, however, is not in straight
Dine. Detours must necessarily be
made on both routes The sailing dis
lance from Savannah to Panama is
1926 miles; from New Orleans to Pan
anna it is 1850 miles, and it is fur
Their from Galveston to Panama than
from New Orleans. Further consulta-
ton of the map will show that Chi
cago Is approximately 200 miles near
er Savannah than to Galveston, and
that 1t is no further from St. Louis
to Savannah than to Galveston. Why
then wouldn't 1t be more convenient
and cheaper for the Middle West to
do it's canal business through Savan-
nah?
Savannah is the outlet for a great
! and growing manufacturing section.
| Cotton mills dot the CarolinaS, Ten
nessee, Alabama and Georgia; there
are few such mills in what can just
ly be called the legitimate territory OF
Galveston. Alabama and Tennessee
! are great manufacturers of iron and
steel and their products. Cotton goods
! and iron and steel manufactures will
doubtless form large part of the
cargoes through the canal. The trans
portation and distribution facilities al
Savannah are not surpassed in the
South. Statistics show that there is
no more flourishing and progressive
city in this part of the country. From
1900 to 1903 Savannah gained 20 pei
cent. in population, and in the latter
year it did a foreign export business
of about $4,000, 900.
This brief sketching of facts and
figures is not for the purpose of dis
paraging Galveston a great, busy
plucky, thriving port, worthy OF what.
ever successes she may achieve, but
to call the attention OF the Journal ia
the fact that in its own state there
Is port nearer the canal than the
one It has been booming, and that
the geographical position of this port
should secure for it the friendly con-