The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1909-03-26
INLAND CANAL
ON EAST COAST
Survey Will be Commenced In
the Next Two Weeks
BEAUFORT TO KEY WEST
Indian River viii Have Channel of II
feet Its Entire Length---Survey Across
State will be Made for Ship Canal

Orders for a survey of the entire in
side route from Beaufort, NC, to Key
West, Fla, a distance of approximately
900 miles, and also survey across
the State of Florida for ship canal,
were received by Col. Dan C.Kngman,
limited States ngineer in charge of the
South Atlantic division and of the Sa-
yannah district, Wednesday. The two
SURVEYS were authorized under the river
and harbor bill passed by the last Con-
gress and are the most extensive ever
projected along the South Atlantic
coast.
The order received by Col. Kingman
is from the chief engineers in Washing
. ton, and creates special board to take
charge of these surveys. Col. King
man is named as chairman of the board
and the other members are Capt. Earl
L. Brown, engineer in charge of the
Wilmington district; Capt. Edward M.
Adams, of the Charleston district, and
Capt. George r. Spaulding of the Jack
sonvil)e district.
Col. Kingman, says the Savannah
News, Immediately issued a call for
the first meeting of the special board
in the Savannah office, March q. This
will only be preliminary to number of
other meetings as the board will go
over the entire matter thoroughly be-
fore any definite steps are ken look
ing toward the actual carrying out of
surveys. The cost of the work will
foot up high into the thousands. No
definite figure is set in the bill but the
amount will be made out by the depart
ment at Washington by alIotments.
Both surveys are of much interest to
the East Coast as the survey of the wa
terway contemplates the Improvement
of the protected coastal routes leading
north and south, and the Florida ship
canal would place that section IN closer
touch with the Gulf ports.
The survey of the inland waterways
from Beaufort to Key West is the out
growth of the bill introduced by Con-
gresham j. Hampton Moore, of Phlla-
delphia, for survey of the waterways
from Boston to Key West. Congress
man Moore first made known his inten-
ton of introducing such a bill in visit
to the South about a year ago.
The bill was introduced as a result OF
his trip, and the survey was called for
by Congress. The Beaufort to Key
West stretch is the southern end of it.
This includes nearly thousand miles
of coast and will be very extensive
survey and will be commenced within
two weeks.
The survey will be taken under the
charge of the special board of engineers
named by the chief of the corps, and
will be for the purpose of ascertalnlng
the most feasible route for deep m
side waterway along the South Atlantic
seaboard. Such route has been vlgor-
ously urged by the Atlantic Deeper
Waterways Association.
For over thirty years Florida has
been trying to induce the government
to take up the project OF cana, across
the State. Legislature after leglsla-
ture has memorialized Congress asking
for survey, as it was realized that
nothing could be accomplished until
such a survey was made. The State S
Congressional delegation has also been
working for many years and the news
that the survey is finally to be taken
will be received all over the State with
pleasure. :,
1t will be the duty of the special
board to take charge of this survey ana
to investigate every feasible route TOR
such canal and to report very 1ully
upon the subject. As the state IS near
ly 200 niles at it's narrowest point IN
the northern section, the survey alone
will be no snail undertaking.
Such survey was made over thirty
years ago, and favorable recommend
atoms were made, but interest was
then latent in the subject of waterways
and nothing further was DONE, ms
survey was made about 1876, and under
the direction of Gen. @. A. Gilmore,
then in charge of the engineering WORK
| in this section. ~
Gen. Gilmore recommended to Con-
gress that such canal could be estaD-
lished, after carefully investigating
various routes. He submitted estimates
for six-foOt canal suitable Tor parges
and canal boats. one ten feet IN dePI'
and another fifteen feet in depth. ne
recommended the construction OF tne
one six feet in depth. The route sugee
gested by him began at the mouth OF
the st. Mary's river and led up that
river and through the OkeefenoKee
swamp region westward through various
waterways until it reaches the GaiI.
He estimated that the cost Tor tne
lighter draft canal would be compare.
lively small, the total cost being IN the
neighborhood of $500, 900. Congress TOOK
no action in the matter, however, uht'
in 1882. In the meantime private syn,
dicate organized and proposed to carry
| Tho Oro;oct %hro,,0h o1nnU the rOuCe