The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-06-10
DEEP WATER PLANS
MUST Be PREPARED
Appropriation for Deepening of
Jancs Not to be S;~nt
immediately.
HAVE TO SHOW UNCLE SAM
Federal Engineer Says it Will Be
Several Months Before New
Work Starts.

Although an appropriation of $3.50
! 600 for deepening of the james river
was included In the river and narbor
! bin which passed Congress Thursday.
| this money will not be available for
actual expenditure until the lapse Of
several months. even II President raft
signs the bill Immediately. according
to Mr.. Samuel II. Yonge. assistant
government engineer. who has charge
of the work at Richmond.
"A specific protect for expenditure
of the appropriation must first be
submitted to officials at Washington"
said Mr.. Yonge Friday. and it will
proba bly, take two or three months
to prepare the scheme cf such a
project
The government, MIR Y ongs ex-
planned. wants to know exactly what
is TO be done before any Of its money
4 is spent.
/ The general project for deepening
! Of the James calls for depth OF 22
feet at mean low water, which Is
/ equivalent to- about 20 feet at nigh
tide. This project was be gun In 1879,
when the river afforded depth or
about I feet at mean low water In
1884 Congress adopted scheme Tor
the expenditure OF I'VE million dol
/ lars for deepening Of the James, and
" this sum about two million and a
/ half has been already spent, with
I the result that the river has about Is
+ feet OF mean low water at present,
/ or about % feet at high tide.
Mr.. Yonge estimates that the de-
sired depth of 20 feet of mean low
water viii not be procured before the
lapse OF ten years at the earliest, Judg-
ing by the manner in which Con
gress Is apprepriating money for the
project from year TO year.
/ Most of the deepening work which
has been done and IL yet to be done
/ lies between Richmond and tho
mouth of the Appomatt3x river at
City Point, and much blasting of
rock has been necessary for some
miles below Richmond. This proves
especially costly, and conSidera bic
blasting must still be done before the
project Is completed, IL IL stated.
/ Some work Is being done on the
river project at present, contract
having recently been let 20 the Miner
] Engineering Company. OF Washing
ton. This expenditure practically OK
hauts tho sum of $4,000 appropri-
ated by Congress last year.
Speaking Of this appropriation Mr.
Yonge said that II was made more for
maintenance of the work already un-
dertaken than for any other pur-
pore.
Due to Senator Martin.
| The fact that a sum as high a.
quarter of a million dollars was in
oluded in the river and harbor bill Il
due largely to the efforts of Senator
Martin OF Virginia, who was confron
ted with an appropriation OF only
100000 when the bill came over Il
the senate after passing the house o.
representatives. Urged by the Rich
mond Chamber of Commerce. Senator
Martin got busy and succeeded II
i having an additional $50 900 tacket
on TO the measure.
business Manager pabney of th'
Chamber of Commerce commented
upon this fact Friday morning in dis
cuRsing the passage OF the bill an,
incidentally remarked that the success
of Senator Martin was but anothe
illustration of the saying that "mai
can get almost anything If he is Will
ing to go afters it.
? Bring Big Vessels Up.
With mean low water depth o
twenty-five feet, MIR. Dabney said
Richmond will be able to induce man.
heavy draught vessels to come up tn
p James that now find 1t impossible t
do so.
unlike Norfolk" Mr.. Dabney con
, tinued, Richmond, with more water
will be able to take care of raw ma
, terra, brought from other ports AM
at the same time will be able to sup
: ply big vessels that bring this mate
rial up the James, with the finishe'
product as cargo for the return voy
age down the river to distant ports.
At present Richmond has no direc
steamer lines out of the capes, al
though a fairly big freighter now an,
then comes up the river to this port
Cargoes shipped by way of the OIL
I Dominion to Atlantic seahoard port
are transferred To boats of this an
other lines at Norfolk for the mos
part. For instance, II a Richmon
tohacconist wishes to ship Il consign
ment to Boston by water he makes us
D of the Old Dominion to Norfolk an
there his consignment Is transferre
to the Merchants and Miners Line
Keep Down Rail Rates.
THE chief advantage of the waite
route" said a tobacconist Friday. 81
- the purpose II serves in keeping dow
n rail- rates.
= Otherwise" he said. 1--WE woul
4 likely be paying n much higher rat
n to Boston and similar points.
i "And, aker all, that is largely VIII
n Richmond wants to get sufficient rive
d depth 20 accommodate big draugh
vessels"