Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-11-06
MAKES STATEMENT.
A Detailed Statement From?the
Georgia-Carolina Power Co.
AS to Land Values on
Savannah River.

Editor The Advertiser: As I was
born in the county of Edgeheld,
and have been aresident of the state
of South Carolina until few years
back, I feel it will be but justice to
me, willingly accorded by you, to
put my side of the Georgla-Carolina
Power Go. before your Edgefeld
county readers, and therefore ask
you to publish this letter in your
next issue.
have read recently in your
valuable paper several articles, with
signatures that indicated the writers
were Edgefeld county land owners,
harshly criticising the northern
capital or the Northern Compa-
ny" that had bought up the pom
dage privileges for the pond caused
| by the erection of a dam across the
Savannah river at or near the mouth
Of Stevens Creek.
Most of these articles state, that
the amounts paid for these various
flooding rights have been far too
low and that these lands should not
be looked OH as farming land, but
as lands for the development of
power from tie adjacent stream.
These articles very plausibly
make it appear that each and every
separate piece of land that has
frontage on either the Savannah
river or Stevens Greek is power
possibility; and that such piece of
land should therefore have value
ar higher than land for farming.
There is no effort made on the
part of any one of your correspond
ents to show what is a fact, that
water has got to fall from a higher
TO a lower level to % make waterssi
power. ss y
Therefore to max this actually
i, Watef owar re apifes aaore +
lliss 81 ssItses
property, but of many pieces, and
| located on both sides of the stream,
and so located that they will have
a decided fall of the stream between
them, sufficient to make it a practi-
cal thing.
To determine this survey is
necessary. Such surveys, which are
expensive, may result, as it did in
this case, in showing that the limit
ed number of properties surveyed
did not warrant the expenditure of
the large amount necessary, as the
power resulting would not pay in
terest on the investment.
This would then necessitate the
surveying Of additional properties
in conjunction with the first ones,
and for higher elevation. Al these
various stages have been gone
through with in the development
of the Georgia Carolina Power Co.,
until it finally resulted in the ne
cessity Of Incorporating one hun
dred and sixteen different pieces of
property, on both sides of the river
and both sides Of the creek, before
it developed into a proposition that
appeared practical. That is, until a
point was reached where the amount
TO be invested per horse power came
down to, and the resulting horse
power of developed energy came up
to, point where it would pay in
terest on the amount as to be invest
ed.
Now one of your writer's states
that there will be sixteen miles on
the Georgia side of the river, and
the same distance on the South
Carolina side, made use Of for this
pond. 1t is true that from the dam
the water in the river will be raised
above it's natural line to a point
some thirteen or fourteen miles up
the river, but for many of the up
per miles this will be strictly within
what is recognized as the river
banks, and will not come out over
the low lands at all, except in cases
of hoods, when it goes there now.
Yet in this distance of thirteen or
fourteen miles the river has fall
of only twen.y six feet approxi-
mately.
Those who originally Went into
the Georgia Carolina Power Co, in
1908, associated with me, anc "hc
applied for the original ch rte
from the state of South Carol;.: in
January, 1909, were three her
South Carolinians anu vwo Gy j
ans, the latter residents of Aug -
A c+or raonivinc. Ihp Grant u. -