The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-24
CANAL COMMITTEE
MAKESFU[L REPORT
Flagler Did Not Recommend
Abandonment
MERELY WANTS DELAY
Men Who Went to Washington Be-
lieye Canal Will Be Built in
Time-TO Be Held in
Allegiance Now

Bessemer, July 23.-tSpecal)-The re-
port of the committee sent to Washing
ton by the Chamber of Commerce of Bir-
mingham and the Bessemer Board of
Trade, to look after the report Of MAJ. c.
A. l.. Flagler on the Valley river canal,
is as follows:
, Chamber of Commerce. Birmingham,
Ala, and Board of Trade, Bessemer,
Ala.
"Gentlemen: Your committee arrived in
Washington Monday, July Il, and on its
arrival received telegram from Mr..
Robert Jemison, sr., from New York stat
ing that he would be there Tuesday in
time for the interview to be had with the
army engineers.
"Shortly after the arrival of your COM
rnittee 1t was fortunate, enough to have
an interview with Senator Bankhead of
the Alabama delegation and appoint
ment was made with him to meet the
other members of the Alabama delegation
at o'clock at the capitol. Your com
mittee then visited Senator Johnston at
his room in the Senate building, who also
agreed to conference at 3 D. m. They
then visited Congressman G.. w. Taylor
in his room in the House building, and
after lengthy talk he also agreed to a
conference at 3 p. m. We also made an
effort to reach Congressman Underwood
with the view of having him at the pro-
posed conference, but did not succeed
in getting him for the reason that he
had been absent from the city and was
very busy but agreed to meet with us in
our conference with the army engineers
at II o'clock, July 10.
Much to our surprise We were informed
by Congressman Taylor that he had re-
ceived no information that a delegation
would be sent from either Birmingham or
Bessemer to meet the armY engineers on
the date set for hearing, namely, July
Is, and a telegram was received while
we were in his office stating that such
a delegation would be there for the hear
ing.
.sAt the suggestion of Congressman Tay
lor we then went to the office of the
engineers in the Southern building to ex-
anime the report made by Major Flag
Ter, as to this proposed waterway. and
the preliminary report was read and care
fully dgested and considered. Much to
our surprise we found that in contradic-
tion to the letter addressed to those con-
eerned by Major F'lagler, he had not
brought in an adverse report at all, but
had recommended that consideration of
the matter of canal up TO Birmingham
be postponed for the present until Ii was
seen whether or not the present War
rior river canal would be sufficient to
take care of the traffic that would be
forthcoming on that waterway without
the addition of other locks.
I'VE were not allowed to make a copy
of the report for the reason that the
preliminary report as submitted by Major
Flagler was not considered an official doc
1lment and therefore not TO be given out
for publication.
I'VE found that the preliminary re-
la 81 a
tive and exhaustive report. which had
been approved by his Anperior in the en-
gineerng department.
TO sum it all up the report as made
simply recommended delay until 1t was
found that the present Warrior canal
would be sufficient to take care of the
prospective traffic and did not think it
wise to recommend additional improve
ments until this fact was ascertained.
AFTER reading the report as above
stated we met in conference with Sem
ators Johnston. Bank head and Colonel
Taylor. and after a careful consider
alton of the matter for at least two
hours it was deemed wise and pru-
dent not to make an appeal from the de-
cision of Major F'lagler for the reason
this time and by the influence of the
ipembers of the Alabama delegation
real survey was ordered and an ad-
verse report brought in we would be
in a worse fix than we would be il
We were to await the results of a
traffic on the present canalized War