The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-10

ated throughout the season. As the benefits to be derived from the in-. provement of the Alabama River are very great, funds should be provided for the vigorous prosecution of work, whether a new project is adopted or not" The commerce of the Alabama River notwithstanding all difficulties had grown from T1.e72 tons in fs9e. valued at S6.400. 900, to 133.492 tons in 1904 valued at $f3,3i7,O0o. A complete systemattic development of the entire river to it's head f0s miles beyond. Rome would mean an increase in tonnage lim- fted only by the foti1las of boats that could reach and discharge at Mobile without causing congestion. The req. sons for speaking thus are based upon agricultural, manufacturing and min- era1 facts. First--Positive and regular oppor- tunfty to ship products of the soil would tend to an unexampled develop ment of the agricultural stretches of empty Alabama, particularly in relation to the rich bottom lands between Mo- bile and Claiborne.
 second--The Alabama River, like the Tombigbee, passes through the cement rock formation, which merely awaits accessibility to control the Portland cement prices of the world fjust as Birmingham now controls pig-fron prices.)
 Third--The Cahaba, entering the Alabama below Selma. and the Coosa River, traverse or render available 2,f20 square miles of known coal lands of steam and coking varieties.
 Wherever any developments or in- vestieations have been made at least three seams have been found, each of which wiii average 1000 tons of coal per acre. or a total of 15.00o.2oo tons of available coal in one seam.
 Fourth--Brown iron ore exists in belt 100 miles long, paralleling the Coosa. and at no point more than fif- teen or twenty miles away krom it. It is probable that this belt contains more brown ore than all the rest of the App palachiap province combined.
 Fifth--Bauxite. the ore How used in making aluminium, exists in two known localities in the United States. One of these Is on thB@Coosa. extending fifty miles scuthwestward from Rome to Anniston,
 sixth--Gold-b veins awaiting only cheap transportation to pay for handling. These extend along the Coosa twenty-f five miles; lead ore ex- fists In great quantities; enormous beds of crystalline. marble of the finest quail ity for building and statuary abso- ntAly-undeveloped because of heavy. charges for transportation; limestone for the manufacture of lime and for nuxing purposes in reducing iron ore; clays of all 9rp des, including those 2 suitable for reducing refractory s'. stances and. for pottery malSing-and minor minerals, yellow octre. polishing siIica, graphite and mica. 7--5 =--
 Seventh-The development of the e. sgion in the. gathering out fof crude products means also an unexampled de- .A.~ ~Sas,.t heavier results would reach the world through the oceans water front brought by enterprise of men right to the very doors Of the factories that would crowd the banks of the Coosa under favorable conditions.
 One point more before we turn to the question of cost to the Government In making this potentially rich region contribute of its riches to the upbuild- ing of American Commerce.: From Lock down to Wetumpxa, there isEa fall of 324 feet in 1i6 miles-a fall practically twice as great as that of Niagara. The greater part of this fall Is made in the forty-eight miles be- tween weduska Shoals and Wetumpka, fall of 246 feet. High lift locks would be required, rendering available along the Coosa, according to engineer ing estimate. a minimum of 10000 horsepower day and night forever from "the white coal" which would gradually be absorbed and utilized, as modern factories 'came into being at points even as far as frty miles from the source of power (This range of distribution is now safe; for utilization of power originating at Mussel Shoals on the Tennessee River is expected to reach out through radius 100 miles long).
 Coming now to cost: Engineers ask for S1 900 ,000 to render six-foot open channel navigation available rom Mobile to Wetumpka. No estimate has ever been made relatives to canaliza- tion of the Alabama; though there are no engineering obstacles in the way north of Claiborne, the Tombigbee and Alabama River conditions being similar as far north as Tuscaloosa on the war rior and Wetumpka on the Alabama The engineers ask for this $l,OOO,Ooo to be appropriated in ten years, or less' so as to get the greatest possible oene-
 Engineers ask for siO,O24,7O6 to rem der sfx-foot navigation available all the year between Gadsden ana we
 The projects together would call for appropriation subsequent to coIhple- tion of s155.O0O a year for maihten-
 Quotation is here made from the re. port of Captain J. B. Cavanaugh dated June 30. 1901:
 ssTt is considered feasible to secure six foot navigation in the Coosa and Alabama rivers practically throughout inc vear. and the probable expense thereof is estimated to be not greater than Slo,O24.7o6 for the Coosa river, between Gadsden and Wetumpka, Ala, ana s1 .oOo, ,000 between Wetumpka, Ala and the mouth of the Alabama river.
 The improvement for six-foot navi- cation is believed to be advisable, provided sufficiently liberal appropria tsons can be made to complete the inn proyement within less than ten years, but unless this can be done 1t Is not considered advisable and any small appropriations should be applied to the Alabama river below Montgomery, where the local commerce IS sufncient to justify the improvement with ref erence to through trafic The expen- dtture of small appropriations on the section between Wetumpka and Lock 4, where practically no, benefits can be derived from the improvement prior to its completion as a whole. is waste of public money.
 Any new project for improving the Eoosa River between Wetumpka and Lock should contain provision that the water power developed should be- come the property of the United States to be disposed of for the benefit of the improvment.
 Upon this report and supplement- 'ary report the Board of Engineers for TYo eot tn hfan