The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-02-15

Direct from Washington, where he
went in the interest of the Mississippi
to Atlantic Inland Waterway Associa-
ton, and with the pleasing news that
the rivers and harbors bill reported re-
Gently to the house carries an appro-
priation for an important link IN the
water way scheme, that Of connecting
Apalachicola river with st. Andrews
Bay, Leland J. Henderson, secretary of
the association, arrived in the city
yesterday to spend a couple of days.
Mr.. Henderson is an enthusiast on the
subject and now that start has been
made he believes that the entire
project will be realized and at no dis
tant date.
THE fact that the new rivers and
harbors bill contains an appropriation
to start this work means that II PEN
sacola arouses herself fully to the I'M
portance Of the project, the next
rivers and harbors bill may be ex-
pected to carry an appropriation con-
Meeting Mobile bay and the Apalachi-
cola river.
Il come from some recent heart Co
heart talks with men in authority in
this government, and they say of our
gulf cities: this one has a river and
no port, this one has a port and no
river Because Pensacola has a port
and no river, it is absolutely at the
mercy and control Of railroad. Now,
if the port without the river and under
the control OF a railroad for rates and
development, had a river, the equiva-
lent would be a deep water port hav-
ing all the prerequisites Tor a great
city and great industrial and CONNER
| cial expansion.
WOULD PROVIDE RIVER.
'grhe inland waterway viii provide
the river for Pensacola.
mot to exceed seven millions of dol
lars will complete this inland water
way from the Mississippi to the Apa-
lachicola, giving to Pensacola New Or
leans prices on grain and MouIie
prices on coal and IRON But, il the
above reasoning Is correct, and If the
statements of the authorities quoted
are true, some persistent and intell1-
gent work, and some money worthy a
project of magnitude almost beyond
the human understanding, must be
Forthcoming, for the purpose of carry
ing on this education and creating the
demand on the part of the constituency
of our representatives in congress.
is that She will be the one city be-
tween Apalachicola and New Orleans
to receive the greatest benefit from
this waterway, because she now has
no river. And it is now largely her
fight.
THE Chattahoochee valley has
found the outlet she was seeking, TO
ST. Andrews. Pensacola, TO receive
any of the benefits of the great COM
merce already existing, and to be enor-
mously developed, in the Chatta-
hoochee and Apalachicola river sec
ton, must see that that part Of the wa
terway connecting st. Andrews ana
Choctawhatchee bays is completed.
SHOULD TAKE INITIATIVE.
with vast sums of money required
for meritorious projects in many popu-
1ous districts of the country, the poll
ticians and engineers, as well as other
interests, will be much delighted to
lull Pensacola and the other sections
interested in this waterway until their
projects have received attention.
Local jealousies will play their part,
and powerful influences, not to be
benefited by waterway development,
will WELD subtle power against the
project. Pensacola is the largest city
in this section. 1t is simply up to her
to take the initiative, provide the
money to advocate this project among
the people, and to see that the project
is completed.
while Pensacola has been largely
interested and instrumental in the de-
Velopment of this association, the citi-
zenship has not seemed to view it as a
business proposition of immediate, tan
gible results. If the people of Pensa-
cola realized the construction Of this
waterway from the Mississippi to the
Apalachicola rivers alone, without con-
sidering that part of it across the
peninsula of Florida, would be more
than the equivalent of trunk line OF
railroad from every town and city on
Continued on Page Two.)