The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-23
VANHOOSE TALKS ON CANAL PROJECT Satisfactory Progress Being
 Made in Preliminaries
ROUTE IS INSPECTED
M. P. Craighill, Federal Inspector, Spent Day Two Weeks Ago Lock- ing Over Route Between Bir-
 mingham and Bessemer

As soon as data on the waterway from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa, now being prepared jointly by T. A. Weller, s. L. Slater and Secretary w. c. Rad oliffe of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. can be completed a special meeting of the board of directors of the chamber. the city commissioners of Bir- mngham, M. P Craighill, United States inspector at Tuscaloosa, and Engineer Little of Tuscaloosa, will be held in the Chamber of. Commerce here, At the meeting of the board of directors yes- terday Chairman J. A VanHoose of the waterways committee reported that very satisfactory progress was being made in working out the necessary prelim- inaries to the big waterway that is to mean so much for Birmingham.
 Through MT. yanHoose it developed yesterday that one of the neatest and biggest scoops ever inflicted on a Birmingham newspaper occurred in Bir mingham about two weeks ago. Only this scoop failed to scoop" for not one of the papers in Birmingham discovered that Inspector Craighill, the man through whom the federal government is looking into the waterway from Bir- mingham to the gulf, was in Birming- ham for a whole day and spent hours on horseback covering part of the pro- posed route of the canal in the imme- diate vicinity of Birmingham and Bes- semer.
 MT. VanHoose said that one morning About two weeks ago he came down to his office and found waiting there g young man who introduced himself as MT. Craighill of Tuscaloosa. The first words he said, almost states MT Van Hoose. twas don't tell the newspaper boys or anybody in Birmingham that I am here
 MT Craighill stated said Mir. Van Hoose that he was not trying to get the better of the newspapers or any one else but that he had no time now to bother with any one for he had nothing to give out, as all his investigations were in process of formation. He even stated that he did not wish to meet any members of the Chamber of Commerce, but only wanted to go over with me the plans and data which I had in my possession.
 We did so. I spent the entire day with him and when he left for Tuscaloosa I have every reason to believe that he was more deeply than ever impressed with the importance and absolute feasibil- ity of the proposed waterway.
 "A feature of the present revival of the waterway question is that In all former memorials to Congress or other movements toward the building of this waterway the reports and Investigations were based on the tonnage that would be created in this district by the canal. This time all our data is being based on the tonnage we already have here. The ap- proximate tonnage of the Birmingham district is 33,000000 tons annually, while at the outside the canal could not handle more than II, 1,000,000 tons annually. The canal would not hurt the railroads; it would merely come to their relief
 The railroads today are overworked. You can prove it for yourself by the al- most ever present car shortage. The re- quirements of the age are such that the
 
 pig iron and such commodities and do jus tlce to their other business. These heavy and bulky commodities are what the ca- nal would handle and they are what the Birmingham district has for them to han dle. Therefore, the canal wouldn't in- jure the business of the railroads, it would facilitate them in moving the articles of commerce and trade into and out of Bir- mingham and would bring cheaper trans portation rates without effecting the earnings of the railroads in the least"
 It is not known exactly when the joint conference will be held, but the data is being made up as rapidly possible and will be ready probably within the next week or so, it is stated, and arrangements will then be made for the meeting and definite action on the part of Inspector Craighill can be expected soon after.