The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-03-19

EEELRH &4 HIS tA& ~ ~+f
suits If these efforts are very graft
fling Each one II the cities named
above. through their commercial orr
carnations. submitted printed reports
commencing the projects and showing
hov the ports would be faNorahlF
affected ana the anot.ntS which would
H. saved. All these reports were
printed with the report 81 the Board
of Engineers. which WAS filed in sep
tember. 1903.
All This work was FOR u canal OIL
sixteen feet depth. Under the law
wren the report Of the Special Board
Of Engineers was nied in september
I19G3. it was referred TO what is known
as the Board Of Engineers for Rivers
tand Harbors." which board sits IN
Washington and have the power 70
modify. reject or approve all reports
of district engineers or special engineer
boards. After holding this report, I'M
It'll February. 1904, this Supervising
Board submitted their report modify
ling the same. They did not attempt
to minimize the necessity OF the
waterway. but argued that IL was
dl'lN - 49,
depth Of sixteen feet was not neces-
sary. but that Il depth OF from ~ to
u feet would answer the demands OF
IN The result Of this proNlS-
ion WAS that the project was still not
ready for legislative action. II IS i'm
possible to get any appropriation for
any project which has not run the
gauntlet OF the different engineer
boards and received their approval.
The next river and harbor act was
passed in March. 1905, ard Mr.. Small
and others interested succeeded in
having inserted a provision authorizing
| the appointment Of another board Of
three engineers to su~rey and select a
route for this waterway from Norfolk
Is Beaufort Inlet. and estimate the
! cost Of same for a depth of 10 and II
feet. respectively. The members of the
board appointed consisted of Col
| smith $. Leach, Mai. G.. a. +. FlaSler,
ana Capt. Geo. =. Howell. CThc last,
one of our Goldsboro HoWells.) As he
had lone before, Mr.. Small went over
! every available route With these en-
gineers and they made careful exami-
nation. This board made its report in
July, 1906. This report like all the
others. was submitted to the Board of
Engineers for Rivers ana Harbors.
They did approve this report without
modification, and thus for the first
time the project was ready for legis-
litiVe appropriation. The engineers
recommended q depth of Il feet, in
stead of 10 feet. This report was
submitted to Congress at It's convening
in December last.
1t was known that n River and Har-
Dor bill would be reported at the SEES
sion which has just closed, and Mr.
small made an earnest effort to have
the House Committee on Rivers and
Harbors include an appropriation for
tiis project. OF the seventeen mem
bers of the committee, he had the
positive statement Of twelve that they
were favorable to the undertaking and
would vote for the appropriation. Hell
presented the matter to the Sub-cOm-
mittee, of which Mr.. Burton was also
chairman, and Democrats ~Sparkman,
of Florida, and Moon, Of Tennessee,
were the other two members.
These two favored the inland water
way, but did not oppose Chairman
Burton. Mr.. Small asked for a hear
ing before the full committee, but they
declined, and as a matter of fact, the
full committee did not ave an OPP
~pOrtunlty to consider the matter at
all. 1t followed, there was no appro-
priation in the bill as reported by the
House committee for this waterway.
OF course If WAS known that tbarai
would be no trouble in getting
the Senate Committee on Commerce.
to report an amendment to the bill.
Senator Frye, the chairman, had al
ways been favprable to it. 1t was
known that Senator Frye, Senator Ell
kins and our good friend, Senator
Berry, of Arkansas, would constitute
the three Senate members on the Conf
ference committee. Through in~depend-
ent sources MIR. Small secured the
positive promise Of Senator Elklns-
Senator Berry had been an insistent
friend of the project from the begin-
mig, n it was only necessary to re-
mind him of the situation. The amend
ment was reported favorably by the |
committee and also passed the enate.
HI. Small prepared a brief contain
ing full data for the Senate commit-I
tee. While the Conference committee
had the bill under consideration and
Mr.. Burton had given in, he insisted
at that time that the depth should be
10 feet instead of II feet, and the
conferees Yielded to him on this point.
They ought to have insisted on the
fruits of their efforts. For many rea-
sons a depth Of II feet is better for
coast-Wise trade, but 10 feet is ample
for our North Carolina commerce. we
have only 8 feet to Washington, Eliza
beth City and Edenton, and only s feet
to New Bern.
n last report Of the engineers di-
Vided the waterway into three divis-
ions. The southern division was from
Beaufort inlet to Pamlico Sound and
the engineers reported that it could
be constructed at a daptb of N e..