Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-05-09
STEAMBOAT LINE ON
CHATTAHOOCHEE NOW
MORE THAN A VISION

bus is capable of developing 100000
horsepower, which will operate machin'
cry enough to make the Chattahooche,
river valley hum with industry and bu7
with prosperity. One of the dams IL
| contemplation, in Heard county. will
develop enough power to produce from
the air enough nitrates to supply Geor
4 gia and Alabama with fertilizer
4 IMPRESSED WITH OUTLOOK.
1 Major Brown, L 5. A, who made the
i original examination that resulted in
/ the recent action of the board of en-
j gineers I'm ordering a detailed survey of
i The river. was impressed with the in
Il dustrial and agricultural resources
i through which the Chattahoochee river
\ flows. He points out that in 1914 the
i output OF cotton of the counties bor-
\ dering on the river. in Georgia and Ala
hama. was $50. sos bales. valued at $780,
i ESQ 40 He shows the distribution of
I this crop by counties. Carroll heading
the list with $4,000 bales.
4 Respecting the cities and towns that
would be affected by the Improvement
Of the river, Major Brown takes them
VI in their geographical order, begin
i ming with Atlanta, the population OF
i which he places At 100000. he shows
I that il has GA wholesale establish
Il ments. whose sales in 1913 amounted to
Il S126I72 42J manufacturing estab-
i lishments. making 1000 different ar
Il tIcles. in the city proper, besides many
| large concerns outside the city limits.
He shows the banking capital and sur
plus TO be $14.500.OOO and the deposits
over $4,000, 900.
4 He calls attention to the city as a
i distributing point and remarks upon the
1 fact that about. half the merchants of
! Alabama. Georgia, Florida, Mississippi.
i Tennessee, North and South Carolina
are customers of Atlanta merchants and
/ manufacturers.
4 He speaks of the railroad facilities
as good. and shows that they are daily
a2S sleepers, 26 local and 112 through
l freight trains. with 2.307 loaded cars.
/ He invites attention to the invest
ment Of s36. 100000 in the industries in
Atlanta. which use S23.13s,UoO of ma
terial and whose products are valued at
approximately S60.OOO.OOo.
/ MENTIONS WHITESBURG.
/ Whitesburg, in Carroll county, with
a population of only 315, he mentions
/ as a supply point for the surrounding
Il country. after which he takes up New
nan. located nine miles from the Chat
/ tahoochee river. with banking capital
Of 1915. 900. with a surplus and undivid-
ed profits OF s2S2,00O. and with deposits
/ % a million.
1 81 200. 900, operating 81, 900 spindles. en-
plcying 200 persons and having an an
Il nuaI payroIl of 100000. These mills
consume about 5000 bales of cotton an
Il nuaIIy. and IL is the opinion of the mill
Il owners that if the river should be
Il cpened TO commerce that one-half OF
/ their finished products could be moved
4 by water.
The mills are operated by electricity;
Il
Rock plant of Columbus. The city has
three railroads, several cotton gins, oil
mills, fertilizer factories, warehouses,
i planning mills, foundries, grist mills.
Il bottling works, ice factories, wholesale
4 companies, cigar factories and sixty
:, three retail stores.
| The officer mentions Franklin, the
seat of Heard county, with population
Of 500. a supply point for fine surround
Il ing territory.
| LaGrange. situated six miles from the
river, is discussed, and 1t is shown that
there are four cotton mills within one
/ half mile of the city, not counting the
!. mills in the city proper. The bank de-
Il posits are shown to be over S1,lOO,OOO,
while the cotton mills are valued at
i 1900. 900 and operate $4,000 spindles
4 with an annual payroll Of nearly $1,000
600 and consume $4,000 bales of cotton
annually, OF which $4,000 are produced
within a radius of fifteen miles. Mill
owners believe that if the river were
opened to commerce about 10000 bales
of raw cotton and two-thirds of the
finished product of the mills could be
moved by water.
TELLS OF INDUSTRIES.
Attention is invited to the three rail
roads that enter LaGrange, and to the
cotton gins. oil mills. warehouses. fer
tilizer plants. planning mills, bottling
works, harness factories, machine shops,
wholesale grocery and drug concerns
and sixty-five retail stores.
The report calls attention to the in
dustrial and commercial aspect of West
Point and Lanett. Ala, which are, in
fact. one town
Columbus, Eufaula, Fort Gains, Co
Iumbia and River Junction, Ala, are
discussed.
The report makes an exhaustive eX-
animation and study of freight rates
and points out wherein and the probable
extent to which these rates would be
lowered by water competition, and
shows that at the present time the cities
and towns which would be directly
affected have a tonnage of 12,347,2
tons. Of which it was estimated over
3.OOO.OO tons would move by water if
the river was improved
/ The local predictions as to the VOL
ume Of traffic that probably would use
| a waterway between Atlanta and Colum.
| bus is discounted somewhat by the re-
port as possibly too optimistic, but the
officer who made the examination de-
lclares that the volume of business OF
the localities affected afford sufficient
justification for a definite survey of the
river between Atlanta and Columbus.
He says that storage reservoirs be-
tween West Point and Atlanta have
been suggested as a means of regulating
the discharge Of the stream, and in
creasing the low water flow, thereby re-
moving difficulties below Columbus dur
ing extreme low water. He calls atten.
tion to the fact that such reservoirs OBJ
viously are susceptible of economical
development
MANY DEVELOPMENT SITES.
He says recOnnoissances OF the river
valley have disclosed many fine sites
for storage reservoirs and power devel
Opment and that it is entirely feasible
to maintain a satisfactory low watel
level. He is of the opinion that storag'
can be obtained above Atlanta by thu
use Of from ten to thirteen reservoirs
and that below Atlanta there are a
least two sites where the needed storag'
can be obtained by the construction Of
but a single dam. and that these sites
have the advantage of being nearer Il
the part of the river to be improved fol
navigation and through the more dense
ly populated territory.
. Fvnav afr,af oh