The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-30

 UNDEVELOPED
 RIVER POWER Careful Estimate of Ala
 bama River. GOVERNMENT WILL ASSIST Boat Competition and Sound Wharves Are Necessary. Picture of Scattering Plenty Over Smiling Land if Great Water way |. Nursed With skni
 and Pride.
GOVERNMENT WILL ASSIST

Definite steps must be taken by Alabama civic and commercial inter ests in improving the river landings and utilizing them for commerce. be- fore the government can be expected to show the river the attention the course and possibilities of the stream warrant" said Captain Ferguson Of the United States Engineering De partment yesterday in discussing the future of the Alabama and tributaries.
 Captain Ferguson is deeply interest ed in the river work and Is as anxious as the. most enthusiastic inland navt- gation promoter to see the river util- ized as it can be. Not only has ms department mapped opt the whole work as far as engineering improve ments go, but has made business maps and figured out the mineral fields that can be dropped and opened up through putting the river thoroughly in service Besides this he has calcu- lated the water power that can be developed from the Coosa between Riverview Alabama and Montgomery.
 The government is not to great extent interested in the waterpower development and this will come only as a result from navigation improve ments. It will be case of recipro- city between the government and some corporation, for the corporation developing water power will need a reservoir, and the presence of res- ervoir wil mean a channel of from one to three of four feet additional depth.
 Captain Ferguson says there are three things that must be done by the Alabama interests to insure the development of the river. First there must be a cottonpress at every point where the river is crossed by rail way; second there must be more than n%a o,,,ho doing buSl- ness on the river, and thirdly the landings must be arranged for con venient, safe. and rapid loading and there must be a warehouse at each 10 insure protection of goods to be ship ped from the point
 When these three things are at tended to there will be ample funds for. inc maintenance of the rivers navigable use"
 Calculations on Commerce..
 Captain Ferguson has made all his calculations on the commerce to De done. using cotton as basis for the reason that for many years this will be the item that all business will de- pend on. The boats will count on cot ton, cotton seed. and fertilizers for the backbone of their business and upon the amount of these commodi- ties will depend the amount of general merchandise that will form the fourth item in transportation.
 The river is entitled to all trans portation above that point of a river and in the case of the Alabama. Sel- ma. at which 1t is just as cheap. in- cluding transfer from railway to boat. to ship from a railway to the river and thence on out to salt water by river. From this it is seen that from Selma. Alabama to Rome. Geor- gia, the Alabama and Coosa rivers are economically entitled to the freight traffic sea bound. and from sea inland, throughout the territory they drain. On the lower reaches of the watercourse this territory is averaged at ten miles on either side of the river, but higher up the influence of the river broadens to all points with in wagon reach.
 The keynote to the situation in get ting the river in complete working order is landing facilities on a par with a railway station, and the need of good wharves is forcibly shown when 1t is positively stated that in the case If Montgomery. because of the meagre landing facilities, it costs as much. or more. to haul a bale of cot ton from Court Square and put it on steamer, as it does for the boat to carry the bale, or other like goods, from Montgomery to Selma.
 Tn the foregoing it Is shown what influence landing facilities have on the future of the river.
 The second point is, more than one