Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-10-09
Enfttittg Gllat


which the National and State
authorities studying the possibilities
OF deepening the Susquehanna River
from Harrisburg to tidewater from
business standpoint are going about
things, there will be a report made
one or these days that will be =.
/ surprise to the folks who have been
or the opinion that the scheme Is
lmpractifable. From what army en-
gineers say, the use of modern eX-
plosives can provide u channel In
the bed of the river which will pei
| NIT OF navigation the greater pa.t
or the year and as far as the techni-
cai sioe or the proposition goes 1t IS
oeleVed that a method which wIn
! De within means available can he
! devised to cut a way in the rocki
which form the base of the river
ana make the Susquehanna sue
cession of shallow pools. While this
has been going on there have been
studies made of the business that
arises in the way of products and
| produce and of the share which
water transportation may reason
ably be considered as likely TO
get in competition with rail-
roads in the present state of
equipment. This is what is engag-
Susquehanna navigation possibilities.
as has been pointed out in this col
| umn, have been studied three times
1890, 1S24-1S35 and at present The
survey now under way is the most
serious since that of the eighteenth
century, although the Harrisburg
| Chronicle and other newspapers of
1928 and 1929 gave much space to
legislative discussions of the subject
and frequent estimates of the amount
OF wheat, pork, whisky coal, hay
and other commodities of those days
which could be floated to Harris
burg. The figures run into the thou
sands and include coal from Lu-
zerne and Clearfield counties and
whisky from Columbia county. Float
ing OF produce down to Harris Ferry
on boats known as "broadhorns" or
arks' began as soon as the river
was made safe from Indians, who
had been the pests of the hunters
and trappers who used to come
down with their pelts in canoes to
trade with John Harris.
1t is interesting in this connection
to note that the first wheat and
anthracite coal brought to Harris
burg came down the Susquehanna in
"arks" or big boats built with con-
siderable width but very shallow to
= | htlhl6dtS lHe IlppleS. rms Ira0e
began before Harris laid out Har-
risburg in 1855 and for so years was
. an important item in the business of
this place, which has always been a
transportation center. The barges
continued to be used after the Penn
sylvania canal and railroad were
opened. There are earlier family
stories current here of Cornwall iron
brought here on muleback from
| Ie fnTnaHnG frat I,s
city and on up the Junata in barges
r and then sent over the mountains
l on mules again to Pittsburgh.
5 wheat for Philadelphia was brought
down the two branches of the Sus-
: quehanna and the Juniata before
2 lSOO and sent overland from this
} place and Middletown and the desire
e of the shippers for a longer water
haul caused the first cut around the
Y Conewago falls" to be made in 1897.
This was one of the reasons for the
making of Columbia, which gained
in respect of being a water terminal
at the expense of Harrisburg.
The Rev. ]. W. Bobst, of Phila-
delphia, is the youngest man at the
r Lutheran conference. He was here
, 81 years ago and does not look it,
Mr.. Bobst's first visit here was as
, a boy when he went away from
/ home to join the army. He enlisted
Q at Camp Curtin, which was located
, almost where he is attending the
!, sessions of the conference at ST.
> Matthew's church at Third and
= Seneca. He was Is years of age
q then, but recognized the camp local
! ity, although the building develop
ment has made many, many changes.
He recalled the old camp pump so
well known to many veterans and
g tells interesting stories of the serv-
? ices of the 12Sth Pennsylvania
. Volunteers, which he joined here,
and of the First Pennsylvania or
!, Juniata Cavalry in which he served
a short time. When this venerable
clergyman, who is more active
than some men half his years, got
here for the conference he wanted
to go to the old camp site and was
delighted to learn that the church
was almost on the grounds where
. he learned to be a soldier. Mr..
Bobst is minister of the Lutheran
Church of the Reformation and one
of the most lovable men in the con-
ference sessions. He is the oldest
active man in the Lutheran ministry
in the State who was in the Civil
War and his age kept him out
, of the last one.
The Philadelphia Press says that
g ex-senator John E. Fox. banker and
lawyer, is a farmer. This is what
d the Press remarks: so If Senator
John Fox, another eminent citizen
of Harrisburg, cannot raise alfalfa,
he can grow pine trees and black
walnuts. And the Senator was a
real success as an alfalfa farmer.
He tells me that on nine acres of
ground he produced for five success
sive years about SO tons year. In
|. ability to get farm labor finally in
duced this yer-agriculturist to
plant $1,000 pine trees. On three
acres of land he will plant black
g walnut. which eventually ought to
be worth a good deal more than the
ground cost the Senator. And these
crops of pine and walnut trees re-