The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-20

mated already there has been about 25o.O
horse power granted by the Alabama Leg
islature of 1901 in this reckless Legislative
sanction.
The water powers in all nayigable
streams. or in all streams capable of being
made navigable, belong to the people of
the state, and / am utterly astounded
that such legislative sanction could ever
have been granted without first safe
guarding the peoples rights, by certain
provisions requiring a reasonable royalty
per horse power paid into the treasury for
its use and benefit.
By careful study of this vexed prob
lem nthis section I have come to this
conclusion, viewing the fact that the Tai
lapoosa river is capable of being made
navigable for commerce. / have not ar
rived at this conclusion, either, without
drawing into my confdence the ideas of
the best men of the state, together with
the advices and the surveys of one of the
best civil engineers known in the science
of waterway measurements, whose duties
have personally secured.
Instead of allowing this company to
erect a dam 40 feet tall at Cherokee
lem in this section / have come to this
quire them to conform to an act of Con-
gress in making this Tallapoosa river
navigable by means OF five locks, as fol-
| at Tallassee Falls; this would bring the
| steamer to the Montgomery Light and
Power company dam. Raise this dam IL
| feet and erect a second lock- This will in
crease the power at this dam from 1000
horse power to $4,000 horse power and will
back navigable water up to Cherokee
bluff. At Cherokee bluff, in place of
erecting the proposed dam 140 feet tall,
| build third lock and erect a dam only
| so feet tall at this point. This dam will
make water navigable to just above Walk
er's ferry, and will retain a storage OF
| q square miles and develop 10000 horse
power. At Walkers ferry the fourth lock
can be erected with dam 40 feet tall,
| which will develop 1900 horse power with
a basin of 10 square miles of storage ca
pacity. This dam at Walkers ferry will
back water navigable to the Russell dam
| site At this Russell site the fifth lock
can be erected with dam so feet tall to
develop 26,000 horse power, and retain a
storage capacity or basin of II square
miles. This would give water navigation
from Mobile to Sturdivant, way station
at the point where the Central of Georgia
railroad crosses this river. By this means
this vast section could have the benefit
of water freight rates, from Mobile on
the gulf; besides this would conserve to
future use about 10000 acres of tilable
lands now marked for inundation. Under
their present plans to erect the one dam
at Cherokee 1t will make the storage over
flow into the country plains and valleys
and destroy at least 400 one horse farms,
whereas under the locks and dams Just
outlined the storage tank will be created
within the river banks almost entirely
from Cherokee bluff to the railroad at
Sturdivant, making storage reservoir
| q miles in length. The engineer informs
me that ''the combined storage of all
these basins will conserve for use the
combined annual rainfall, and thereby
make the development of power at the
lower dam constant
| This explanation is given with the hope
that it will commend itself to our SEN
ators and congressman, and also with the
view of enlisting the members OF the leg
islature to the rescue of this county that
with their assistance we may enact wiser
legjsla tion than now exists to forever con-
| troll the water powers in this state. May
| T request his excellency, the governor, to
| take these facts into his ADJUSTMENTS,
and if he deems it prudent to call us
| into an extra session of the legislature he
will include water powers in the needed
Legislation in making UP the items Tor
| the extra call.
| Nav I not also expect at the hands Of
our senators and congressman that they
will nut forward such legislation in Con-
rress to make Tallapoosa river a navi-
gable stream. I may say something more
ON this subject a little later. Respect
| fully, a. r. o@oA1'
Alexander City, March 49, 1913.