The Washington times., 1906-01-28

TO New York after his sleep OF twenty
wears on the slopes or the Catskllls,
TO recount the possibilities and al
vantaees offered by Alexandria would
seem TO be fantastic and hishIY rose
tinted TO those who are not aiIeaus "a
miIiar with the conditions which exist
i'm that thriving and rapidly growing
community. A brief summary or these
advantages will show that there Is
Greater Alexandria" in the near fhture
as well as a Greater Washington
Washington's Workshop.
In the first place Alexandria with all
Justice laws claim 10 the title OF being
the workshop and manufacturing city
for the National Capital. a city already
boasting OF a third OF q million In
population, and constantly growing at
a rapid rate. Washington does not en-
courage the erection of smoke stacks
within her corporate limits, but she
nevertheless needs the output or many
factories to supply the needs OF her
own people. Where shall the necessary
factories go? The logical answer is that
they should find suitable locations IN
any nearby city which can offer ample
transportation facilities. Alexandra not
only possesses the advantage or pfoN-
iraity but she is a natural railway cen
ter through which six great systems
pass.
IL can be truthfully stated that no
where else in America are there 10 De
found such an aggregation OF Tortuitous
circumstances as are TO be seen IN the
case of Alexandria. With the eXcep-
ton of Washington. there is not city
IN America today that is not Offering
every possible inducement 10 brlng
manufactures within its borders. Yet
Washington, in view Of the fact that
she prides herself particularly upon her
residential advantages, would prefer to
have the Industrial plants located across
the Potomac in Alexandria. Sc VIII
thus profit by the advantages OF prac-
ucaIly local manufacture, without I'M
dergoing the blow TO her boast that she
is the true ideal residence city Of Amer
lea.
Manufactures therefore located In
Alexandria would virtually control the
entire market of Washington Cor the
reason that there would be no local
competition and the haul 10 this city
is practically nil At the same time tne
railroads which run through Alexandra
form great highways of traftsc 70 every
part of the country, adding 10 the local
demand for manufactured goods, the
market of the entire country. Ihus
Alexandria manufactures would nave
an exclusive local patronage besides
being on an equal footing with All othef
concerns in the general American mar
ket Every sOuthbOund train from
Was hingtOn passes through Alexandria
This Virginia city therefore has all the
advantages of a railroad center TO which
her great sister city six miles 10 the
north lays claim. The Pennsylvania.
the Chesapeake and Ohio, the Atianuc
Coast Line the Baltimore and Ohio, the
Southern, and the SeabOard Air Line.
besides the interuFban electric railway,
are the avenues of traffic which can be
utilized by manufacturing plants.
The Broad Potomac.
Added to these roads. and of not less
Importance is the great waterway TO
the Chesapeake and the Atlantic. the
Potomac river Alexandria can today
boast of a channel 10 the sea of twenty
four feet in depth at low water and
twenty-six feet at high water. The time
is not far distant when Congress will
fully appreciate the vast possibilities
for development of this section, and
then this channel depth viii undoubt-
eddy be increased to thirty feet, and a
width of 400 feet, accommodating there
by any commercial craft thai floats.
Alexandria has a water frontage Of two
miles and this can be doubled If neces-
sary by dredging Hunting creek. The
berths for ships along her docks now
show an average depth OF thirty feet.
There is a great natural advantage
which this city viii be able to present
to Congress through the reports thai
army and geodetic engineers viii make
when sufficient interest is aroused in
deepening the channel to warrant a pre-
liminary survey. 1t is the fact that
shoaling in The Potomac river south OF
1 Alexandria is almost infinitesimal. The
cost OF maintaining any depth which
4 may be secured will therefore DE rela
/ lively small This means that the
/ Alexandrian. in presenting his cause
/ 10 the Committee on Rivers and Har
{ bOrs. can show that any depth secured
/ is in the nature of a permanent invest
/ ment. Congress annually appropriate
millions of dollars for the dredging o.
rivers throughout the country. and tn
/ cost Of maintaining these depths is s.
/ great that ii is almost as If the Gov
eminent We're buying Improvement!
/ on the extortiOn plan While millions
} are spent for maintenance OF channe
depths, Alexandria can accomplish per
manent results with thousands.
With six railroads and a splendid wa
IerWay connecting the city with the AT
lantic. manufactures at Alexandri,
would never have occasion to fear an!
disadvantageous freight rate combina
tiOnS.
A Shipbuilding Plant.
The possibilities for various kinds o
manufactures are almost too numerou
to mention in the scope of a newspape
article, but with the deepening OF tn
channel of the Potomac no cit. offer
greater inducements for the location o
a ship-building enterprise than doe
Alexandria, which is within ten minutes
ride of the United States Navy Depart
| ment. This would enable the heads o
the department to keep in constan
| touch with the work of constructing
the great fighting crafts of the future
| Again, it may be cited that such a ship
yard would be within a twenty minutes
ride of the great armor plate testing
grounds of the Government. These fea
| 4..lF i