The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1921-04-08
APPLAUD TAR
HEEL ORATORS
Portsmouthians Banquet and
Boost For Dismal Swamp
Highway To This City

Va. and their guests gathered at ban
quet in that city last Thursday night
gave a fousing ovation to Walter L.
Cohoon, of Elizabeth City after he had
made a thirty-minute address on the
need for an improved highway connect
ing the state highway system of North
Carolina and Virginia via Portsmouth
and Elizabeth City. The audience had
listened to other speakers, hut Cohoon
brought down the house. The crowd
cheered and applauded. Hand clapping
wasn't enough. Those otherwise mild
hammered Portsmouthians pounded with
their feet. They liked the North Car
Olina brand of spread oratory
they wanted more Of it. And they got
it. Next on the program was Congress
man Hallet S. Ward. Wards voice was
never in better condition and Ward had
sized up his audience. He knew what
they wanted and he let them have it
with all his punch, pep and humor. He
was in good form, knew it and made the
most of it. And when he said his speech
the Portsmouthians cheered some more.
The occasion was a banquet given by
the Portsmouth Branch of the Virginia
Good Roads Association in honor of the
Virginia State Highway Commission. It
was the occasion of that. Commissions s
first visit to Portsmouth, Portsmouth
was out to do them honor and, incl
dentally to let them know what Ports
mouth wanted at the hands of the Com
mission, And what Portsmouth wants
ana Is determin TO get Is hard sur.
faced road connecting the city of Ports
mouth with the city of Elizabeth City,
via Deep Greek, Va, the Dismal Swamp
Canal and South Mills, N. G. The route
is nearly an airline and puts Elizabeth
City ten miles nearer Norfolk and Ports
mouth than any other route. Pasquo-
tank is building brick road from Eliz-
abeth City to a point in upper Pasquo-
tank near South Mills. More than three
miles of this road has already been con-
structed and the work is proceeding rap
idly. It is purposed to tie this road
with the State Highway system via
Gates county. The building of the Dis
Dlal Swamp road then eventually means
much, not only to the Virginians and
the people of upper Pasquotank and
Camden counties, but to the people of
Gates and other counties as well. =
And Portsmouth wants to connect up
with North Carolina. Portsmouth city
has already appropriated $4,000 to
build good dirt road eleven miles long
from Deep Greek, Va. to the North Car
olina line, on the banks .of the Dismal
Swamp Canal. South Mills township in
Camden county has bonded for $4,000
and will issue and her people will un-
derwrite enough of these bonds to build
a good dirt road from South Mills to
the Virginia line along the canal, to
meet the Virginians. There is already
a cement road from Deep Greek to
Portsmouth. We are building a brick
road from Elizabeth City to South Mills
nearly. It is less than AZ miles from
Mills, the canal bank and Deep Greek.
Portsmouth conceived the idea of a
national coast line highway from Wash
ington, D. G. to the Florida Everglades,
and Portsmouth enterprise made the
Dismal Swamp canal route link in that
projected national highway. A bill en-
bodying this idea was introduced in Con-
gress and was killed in the Senate. But
it just shows how important those
Portsmouthians regard this Dismal
Swamp route.
And so the object of the banquet in
Portsmouth last Thursday night was to
interest the Virginia Highway Commis-
sion in that Dismal Swamp Road: Ports
mouth wants, that road included in the
Virginia state highway system and made
a hard surfaced road. How much of
an impression they made upon the high.
way commissioners is problematical, of
course; but something of an impression
was made +E-r
Friday following HDp banquet the
Portsmouthians took the Commissioners
over the proposed route, using automo-
biles from Portsmouth to Deep Greek
and a launch from Deep Greek to the
North Carolina line, via the canal.
Several North Carolinians were
guests of the Portsmouthians Thursday
night. They were Hon. II. S. Ward,
of Washington; W, L. lCohoon= and W.
10. Saunders, of Elizabeth City; D. E.
Williams, Charles Williams, Frank
Riggs and W., l.. Halstead, of South
Mills.
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