The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-01-22
BIFFS FOR ATLANTA'S CANAL
THAT NIGHTMARE IS TAKEN NO
TICE OF BY MOULTRIE PAPER.
Wants to Know Why Spend Seven
teen Million Dollars and Much
Newspaper Space.

Newspaper Space.
From the Moultrie Observer.
Atlanta is not satisfied. The cleo
ition of Hoke Smith to the office or
governor, the creation of more rail-
road commissioners committed 10
Hover rates and the employment OF
various and sundry lawyers to help
Hover the cost of transportation only
lsharpens Atlanta's appetite for lower
rates. 1t is a canal now, and moth
ing but a canal will do her. The
Atlanta Journal especially is devot-
ing much space and effort to show
that a canal connecting the Mlssls-
sinni with the Atlantic would be
very useful project in developing
the latent resources of the state,
and is figuring out how cheaply 1t
can be obtained.
In the Sunday edition of the Jour
nal Mr. w. G. Cooper, secretary OF
| the Atlanta chamber of commerce,
used nearly a whole page in discuss
| ing the canal project, that is accord
| ing to his own words, to bring the
coal fields in touch with Atlanta and
add immensely to the strength OF
| our iron and steel industries. Mr..
! Cooper has figured that the Georgia
division of the canal can be dug at
! cost of only seventeen million dol
lars. This is not very much money
little less, we believe, than the
entire revenue of the state from
taxes for a period of four years.
! When the canal is completed At
| lanta will have lower rates on
| coal. Of course no freight would be
hauled through the canal. Accord
ing to the plausible scheme a con-
nection is to be made at Macon with
| the Ocmulgee river, and we all know
how the boats navigate between
Brunswick and Macon. If the Oc
mulgee should have a canal dug
| down it, which would be necessary
before a very valuable cargo was
risked in it, there would be other
good reasons for the people contin-
uing to ship via rail. Corn ship
ped from ST. Louis would be eaten
to bulls by weevils before it got to
Dublin through the canal, distance
of little less than fifteen hundred
miles.
Mr.. Cooper thinks the canal might
take the burden of hauling coal and
other cheap freight off of the rail-
roads, but how would the mines get
their coal into the canal boats un
| less a branch canal was run to every
coal mine in north Georgia, Alabama
and Tennessee?
To show what useful things rivers
and other waterways are for carry
ing commerce Mr.. Cooper says:
ut is remarkable that while the
country has spent hundreds of mil
| lions on rivers and harbOrs it's in.
| land waterways are still practically
undeveloped Even the Mississippi
river is not in condition to make an
efficient medium of transportation
and the traffic between Memphis and
I New Orleans, which formerly went
very largely by river is now practi-
cally monopolized by the railroads.
Experience has demonstrated that
waterway must be in good condition
in order to carry much OF the
| freight, although even in bad condi-
| ton it affects the rates of freight be-
cause of it's potential competition.
We suppose the fact that the traf-
| fic between Memphis and New Or
leans, where the Mississippi river is
so wide you can scarcely see across
it, is practically monopolized by the
railroads is no argument to show
that a world of shoes, ranges, farm
machinery, pork and mules would
not come crowding through the
ninety-foot canal-locks and all
| for the distance of fifteen hundred
miles to reach Brunswick, where it
would be turned over to the rail-
roads to charge towns off of the ca
nal or waterway the old rate.
But it is granted that the canal
will not carry commerce. Canals and
rivers are not supposed to. Their
office is to squeeze the railroads and
make them cut rates to compete.
But why should we spend seven
teen million dollars and so much val
liable newspaper space in digging a
canal to lower rates? Where is
Hoke Smith? Has the arm of Guyte
McLendon been shortened that it
cannot give us lower rates? And
where is Mr.. Roosevelt's railroad
commission, which is the general SUI
pervisor of interstate rates? Is it
not foolishness to spend seventeen
million dollars for something that we
can have by simply issuing circular
number so and so?
We are tired of chasing the RAIN
bow. Tell us no more that there is
water only yonder and then lead us
to what is a mirage. We think it
is time the promisors should lead us
up to the real oasis. And we fear
the canal route is not a sure one.