The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-17
VANDIVER PLEADS FOR
 RIVER IMPROVEMENT

prcpriated by the Government for the next five years is only $500,oOO. with an additional amount of $lo,000 each year for maintenance of the permanent As has been shown in the memorial. ss the tSs tosa srss Q. Riyer ans which would be directly anected ;sd by such improvement. is S,45s,leo acres while only 1.521,60s are under cuitiva- tiop, the market value of whose agrl. sia. .oco. .ooe. 0SS we know. from our own investigation, the inability for market ing farm products in the section re- ferred to has materially initiated terests. With these facilities made available, which would be accomplish cd by the contemplated improvement of the Alabama River.>i it is reasonable to ss na snat the be more than doubled, and that the tonnage of the Alabama River, by vir- tue of it's having been made navigabie the year round, would. in our opinion,
 On page 2s appear extracts from re- marks of the Hon. J. H. Bankhead, Representative of the Sixth Congress sional District of Alabama, member or your committee. % and M, Wno ,asts ns tnors amd
  conditions. He realizes the necessity and wisdom of the appropriation which we seek.
 Pages 3s and s5 contain extracts from remarks of delegates to the Alabama River Convention, including certain members of the House of Representa- tives and Senate of the United states; under the head of General Discussion all of whom see. and realize the neces- sity for, and the importance of the proposed improvement.
 We also beg to call your attention to resolution adopted by the Alabama River convention. appointing the Com them to prepare and submit this memo rial to your honorable body. From the list of delegates, as shown on page S7, it will De seen the general movement throughout the State, and the different commercial and municipal lorganizations which have likewise taken interest therein. statement of Tonnage. We would especially call your atten- tion to the information contained in the 6 classified tonnage statement of the traffic now developed on the river, in its now limited navigable condition. The physical features of the Ala baTa River are, in themselves unique and unusual The fall of the river from say Montgomery to Mohsae, dis- tance as per the measurements of your
 engineers of 362 miles, is about 130 feet, or about four inches to the mile, This would obviate the necessity of building locks or dams or the applica- tion of any technical engineering
 work. It only requires the removing of sand bars. and the opening of a
 channel in certain places to make 1t
 navigable. Nature has been generous.
 and we should avail ourselves of the
 matchless gift of nature, and not con- tent ourselves with the reflection | merely that nature has been generous.
 We. must draw upon artificial sources. and help nature maintain her own, and | through our own agencies assist her to serve our own several needs. Tho | expenditure of the sum stipulated, viz q half million dollars. would easily. we are informed, place the Alabama | River in permanently navigable con- | dition. and the amount of s4o.00o an- nually thereafter. would easily main- tain such permanent improvement Should Congress hesitate to make so small an appropriation, which would | mean so much for the people of Ala
 hama? We think not.
 | The timber resources of the territory described are of no mean importance. | their values and the amount of ton
 mage which could be developed on the Alabama River from <his industry are | shown conclusively in the memorial , under that heading.
 The possibilities for the development | of the Portland Cement industry in the section traversed by the Alabama Riv- | CT, as shown in the memorial, are un- limited. We cannot refrain here from quoting the following paragraph. where. after enumerating the amount | of available material for the manu- facture of Portland Cement, 1t says: (Page 41.)
 "Is there a place in the known
 world, as favorably situated for the location or Portland Cement plants as
 along these solid bluffs of Selma chalk. which, for twenty-five miles, form the banks of the Alabama River? Where in all the earth can you find such an
 other combination of limltless supplies. cheap medium of transportation and valuable market?' A very large manufacturing plant of this character Is now being construct ed and others are contemplated. The available supply of material for the manufacture of Portland Cement would supply the worlds demand for ages and "A noble river the property of the
 Government, eager to bear to their de- situation waiting line of heavily la- den barges."
 The construction of the Panama Ca nal will create a demand for enormous amounts of cement. Were these nat ural resources made available, what an e<nomy would there be to the Government itself in meeting their needs.
 Tt would. therefore, be a sad state of affairs if one link in this chain of fortunate circumstances were broken: if the medium of transportation should fail because of willful neglect in pro- viding sufficient funds to make 1t of permanent use. Tho economy to the Government in this one item alone. should be sufficient to secure the fa- vorable endorsement of this project by any committee of Congress"
 We commend, therefore. to your earnest consideration the facts as set ferth in the Memorial, which we have the honor to present, assuring you that we have only dealt with actual con ditions as they now exist, and have confined ourselves to conservative es- timates of what results will be brought about by the appropriation which we are endeavoring to secure.
 Mir. Vandiver left tonight for New York to complete business he had on hand before the meeting of the com mittee. He expects to return to Montgomery by Monday next.
 There is a tip that the rivers and harbors committee will be ready to report bill to the House about Jan nary i5, notwithstanding various con- fitcting reports.