Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-05-16
R|CHM|ONl||l's J I'm I
DISAPPOINTED
q
Army Engineers Oppose
Further Improvement
on James River
ss,ooo,ooo THE COST
s6,ooo,ooo THE COST
Virginia Capital Wanted 22-Foot
Channel to sea-Project Started 80
Years Ago


Washington, May 16.-Plans OF
the city Of Richmond to have the Fed.
eral Government develop the James
River so that small ocean-going coast.
wise vessels may dock at Vi-ginia's
capital received a hard blow yester.
day afternoon when the army engin-
GERS transmitted to Congress a re-
port, recommending the abandon
lnent Of work on the proposed 22-foot
channel from Richmond to the Sea.
Richmond for years has been try
ing to revive her ante-bellum coast
wise shipping. In those days vessels
from Baltimore, Boston, New York,
Wilmington, N. c., Savannah and
Charleston loaded and unloaded car
goes at the Virginia capital. Ships
engaged in foreign trade frequently
called for cargoes of tobacco. There
fore, the Richmond business men have
told the Rivers and Harbors Commit
tee of Congress that with deep
channel in the James river the city
can be developed as great inland
port. They advocated the early COM
pletion of the proposed 22-foot chan
mel authorized by Congress in 1884
and authority to dredge 25-foot
channel from Richmond to the sea.
The ambitious project of the Rich
mond people was to have cost $6,000,-
900. Approximately A $2,500,000 has
gbeenis spent IN deepenine The channef
to ls feet. During the last 10 years
the work has practically stopped in
spite of the efforts of Virginia's dele
cation in Congress, When Represen-
tative Montague came to Congress
he determined to compel the army
dagineers to complete the 22-foot
channel authorized more than 80
years ago. He brought the question
before Congress, with the result that
former Senator Burton, of Ohio, when
he made his celebrated flisbuster
against the River and Harbor bill in
1914, picked out the James river prd.
ject as one of the many objects for
attack. Since that time Congress has
made lump-sum appropriations for
river and harbor work and the army
engineers, in making allotments Of
this money, left out the, James river.
In the present River and Harbor, bill.
which has passed the House, Repre-
sentative Montague succeeded in get
ting S190,OO0 appropriation for
pushing work on the channel, which
was about 100000 .arger than the
army engineers recommended.
For the last 10 years Congress had
been appropriating annually only
100000 q year for work on the James
river. At that rate, the army enein,
GERS stated that it would take quar-.
ter of century to complete the 22-
foot depth. They therefore declared
they regarded it as useless undertak
ing to try to dredge deep channel
from Richmond to the sea with the
small driblets of money which Cong
ress has been allowing for that work.
The army engineers submitted their
report to response to the Burton
amendment to the Rivers and Har-
bors bill, approved March 8, 1915,
This amendment directed that re-
examination of certain rivers and
harbors be made, to determine wheth-
er or not the Government shall carry
out the original authorized plans.
In this report the engineers recon-
mend that $45O,0O0 be appropriated
in two annual instalments for the
purpose of widening the turning bas-
in at Richmond to 400 feet and to in
crease the channel width at City Point
to 400 feet.
Richmond has water-borne com.
.merce valued at s3O,OOo,OOO. It has
been gradually decreasing for Is
years, and this is the primary reason
which caused the army engineers te
veto the expenditure of 100000
more on the river channel, holdin,
that the railroads from Richmond h
Norfolk and Newport News gave tn
city an outlet for its ocean going traf
fic.