The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-14
Surprised at Bankhead's Suggestion for New Rail-
 road to the Warrior
GREAT ADVANTAGES
 OF THE WATER ROUTE
Says Government Will Build the Canal if Birmingham Will Show It Is in Real Earnest
 About It

To the Editor of The Age-Herald:
 I have read with much interest the in- terview with Senator Bankhead on the Warrior river canal. which appeared in the last Sundays issue of The Age-Her- ald, but was surprised to see him take the position of suggesting that railroad be built from Bessemer to the now practi- cally completed Warrior canal. He tells . YOU of a 50-cent water rate on coal to Mobile, made possible by this waterway, and yet advocates building railroad VIII a railroad give a water rate? Will a railroad put us on a basis with towns having water transportation? Not much. When the canal committee of the Cham Der of Commerce and the Bessemer Board of Trade were in Washington, last July, the committee were led to believe by the actions and enthusiasm of Senator Bankhead. that he was heartily in favor of a locked canal up Valley creek to Bessemer and am greatly surprised now to see him come out in advocacy Of a railroad to transport the products of the Birmingham district to the Warrior canal.
 Feasible and Desirable
 It will be remembered by those who
  the engineers appointed by the govern mept to make a survey of a canal from this district to the Warrior pronounced the building of a canal from Bessemer to the Warrior both feasible and de- sirable," and that with proper empound- ing reservoirs, transportation could be maintained the year round. The trouble all along has been that we have always asked the government for locked canal to above Sloss furnace. using the waters of Five-Mile creek for supply, and the government engineers have always ad- versed the proposition on the grounds that there would be an insufficient water supply, besides 1t would be necessary to dig a canal on what was called in the engineers report, the valley division, from Bessemer to Birmingham and the cost would be prohibitive, with uncer- tainty as to a permanent supply of wa ter Now nature has built the canal from Bessemer to the Warrior and all it will be necessary to do will be to put the locks and dams-in at cost estimated by the engineers of S4,000.000. There vii be five-foot of water at Toadvine wher lock F Is filled seven miles up Valley river. Why not complete the canal to Bessemer by building t.ree locks in Val ley river? Why not be satisfied with hali a loaf now and then let the future de eide about building the canal on up tt Birmingham?
 Already Have Railroads
 Now we alreday have railroads to the Warrior canal both at Tuscaloosa and Cordova and it will cost as much to build a first class double track rail road to the Warrior as it will to build the canal to Bessemer and after we have built the railroad we will be il identically the same position commer- cially we are now, when 1t comes to the question of rates. The interstate commerce ommssion are not going tC make a discrimination on one inland town against the other. Just lately the interstate commerce commission made our neighbor, Tuscaloosa, bas- ing rate point because she was on a canal, and turned Birmingham and At lanta down. We will always be at 8 disadvantage when it comes to ques- tion of rates. as compared to cities To- cated on water transportation; witness Chattanooga, Memphis. Nashville Montgomery, Richmond. Cairo and say Houston, Tex, which was located on 2 little creek that was dry, a part oi the year, but her citizens, alive to the possibilities of being made a water rate town, clipped in a sufficient amount to demonstrate the possibilities of g canal and the government then goi behind the proposition and today, sit uated inland as they are, have the ad- vantage of being passing rate pom and the consequence Is she is growing commercially by leaps and bounds. Ev' cry person interested in this question should read the article which appeared in the Saturday Evening Post shor time ago about how Houston got hel canal.
 It is to be regretted that there hal always been a lack of enthusiasm as t the practicability of this project, ant the arguments as to the advantages of it are met with smile of derision from some. This was the case with th' lamentcd Major r. Y. Anderson, whei he had examined Valley River from be low Bessemer to the Warrior, becam enthusiastic as to it's possibilities ant made report to the Chamber of Com merce. that 1t was entirely practicabl and should be built.
 Allow Us to Compete
 The question is why are our people in different about this important question Would 1t be of value to this district t say that vte had water transportation t the Gulf of Mexico. or not? The answe is certainly in favor of a canal. becaus it would put us in the same position . other towns that are located on navfga bie water, and who have a water rate Even if there were only one boat da, between here and the Warrior you woul get the water rate, but everyone Enow X