Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-20
SEES In RIVER
MEANS OF POWER
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was unquestionably the best possible
location; it was and is, as was ex-
planned, the neck of the bottle,
where railroad traffic coming from
the west, destined for the Atlantic
coast centered. 1t is in the heart
and center of the state that has and
is now producing and manufacturing.
over so per cent of all our war ma
terals so far purchased by the gov
ernment. 1t is the one center from
which all the large Atlantic ports,
such as New York, Philadelphia.
Baltimore, Newport News and even
Boston are easily accessible.
To Come With Peace
Naturally, il was a source Of great
personal satisfaction to have these
three depots located in the district
l have the honor to represent in
Congress; my only regret was that
we could not convinte the govern
ment that the contracts for the erec-
tion of the depots should be placed
in the hands OF our local contractors,
in reference to which we had numer-
Gus conferences and who we felt then
and feel now would have been able
to construct these depots to the en-
tire satisfaction of the government.
As to the possibility of making the
Susquehanna navigable, Il Is my con-
tention that this is not only posi-
BILE, but entirely feasible and should
be done, especially now as the gov
ernment itself has such extensive In
terests located on tho rivers banks.
OF course no one will contend that
this project should be urged at this
time, for we all feel the imperative
- .t
OF the war TO a conclusive peace;
but, when peace has been establish
ed, then the SusQuehanna should be
declared by Congress a navigable
stream and the government should
assume full Jurisdiction and make Of
il a public natural water highway
Length and Drainage
The Susquehanna river is over 400
miles long. II drains q water shed
Of nearly $4,000 square miles. Rising
in the state of New York. in the Cats
kill Mountains. il flows through New
York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
into the Chesapeake Bay, then on
through the Virginia Capes into the
Atlantic Ocean. 1t courses through
the great Anthracite coal fields. OF
Pennsylvania and through some of
the richest farming lands in the Uni
ted states, including the counties OF
Dauphin. Cumberland. Lancaster and
York. 1t is a copious and powerful
stream.
Early History
In the early days. the siver was
an all-important public water high
way. In those days and, for many.
many years, millions of feet of lum-
Der was RATED down the Susquehanna
to Williamsport, Middletown and
many other points, where immense
saw mills and planning mills were
erected and the finished products dis
tributed over a wide eXpanse OF ter
ritory. The Susquehanna river has
carried thousands upon thousands OF
tons Of coal and. before the construc-
tion of the railroads, commerce on
the river had tremendous proper
tions. We find in the early days,
even tributary streams were recog-
nized al navigable. In 17T1, an Act
was passed declaring the Conestoga,
a stream running from Lancaster TO
the Susquehanna, a public highway"
and providing that all distractions TO
his Majesty's subjects and their COM
merce up and down the Conestoga
river" shall be held to be common
nuisances."
Later. the government appropriat-
tu eiVtVVv ApE the improvement VI
navigation on the North Branch of
the Susquehanna from a point just
above Wilkes-Barre to the New York
state line. Later still. other appro-
priations were made for the dredging
and improvements from the Maryland
state line to the Chesapeake Bay,
amounting in all to s316,000.
However, with the coming of the
railroads which provided more rapid
transportation the commerce on the
river gradually declined until it was
practically abandoned. Now, how
ever, with the present high freight
rates and the congested condition OF
the railroad traffic. it seems that the
old river can be made to serve a most
useful purpose.
Present Conditions
AT the present time, there are
located on its banks. large numbers
of thriving cities and towns extending
from the Catskill mountains TO the
Chesapeake Bay. Great and import
ant industrial establishments. steel
and iron mills almost without num-
ber; veritable hives of industry, CIV
ing employment to thousands upon
thousands of wage earners, line its
banks, all awaiting the benefit of
water transportation.
Governmental Appropriations
In the past, the government has
been extremely liberal in its appro-
priations for the improvement of
other navigable streams, many of
which do not and never will carry
the traffic or tonnage that will be
carried by the Susquehanna, II 1t is
made navigable, but the government
not given much consideration TO the
Susquehanna; why this neglect?
Il shall not mention the numbc r
of small streams on which the gov
ernment has expended many millions
of dollars which carry a very small