The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-08-05
AUTHORITY GIVEN \
T0.BU|LD CANAL
COLUMBlANS AT HELM TO DE-
VELoP WATER ROUTE TO
JOIN SANTEE AND COOPER
RIVERs-ELEcrRlc LINE
TO GREENWOOD LIKELY.


TO GREENWOOD LIKELY.
Washington, Aug. 3.-The feder-
al power commission this afternoon
authorized it's secretary to issue a
l.:nli' for he construction Of a
canal making navigable the Santee
river to the Cooper river. -,
The permit has not been issued,
but it is presumed that there will be
no hitch in pending negotiations
Nothing regarding terms is made
public.
While the permit covers only navi-
CATION, the development as a result
of a drop of 80 feet in the river will
result in the generation of consider
able waterpower. It is understood
that the promoters have in mind also
the construction of an electric line
connecting Columbia and Green
wood.
G. A. Guignard and associates of
Columbia are the men behind the
Santee canal project which they be-
lieve will be of untold value in the
upbuilding of South Carolina. In ad-
dition to the freight facilities afford
ed by the canal, the large amount of
power generated and the probable
linking of Columbia and the upper
part of the state by electric line, the
canal will drain thousands Of acres
of land not/now usable.
The canal will run from Ferguson
on the Santee to Monck's Cornor on
the Cooper, these points being the
approximate ends. Plans submitted
to the government call for canal
ten feet deep and 200 feet wide. It
is to be 20 miles long.
Mr.. Guignard, president pf the
Columbia, Railway & Navigation
Co., which will build the canal, said
last night that He had received Off
cial notice from Washington of the
boards action and is expecting the
permit in a few days, the latter be-
ing purely routine.
Work on the propect will be start
ed as soon as practicable, he, asid. It
will take considerable time to COM
plete the job.
Much electrical power will he de-
veloped as result of the building
of the canal. Mr.. Guignard, however,
had no announcement to make con-
cerning the distribution of this
power or the use to which it night be
put. The project for an electro rail-
way to Greenwood, he said, was en-
tirely a different matter and he had
no announcement to make relative
to it.
The canal, Mr.. Guignard pointed
out, will place Columbia approx
mately 70 miles nearer tide. water
than at present and will open up to
the city the advantages of such a
port as Charlestog with it's regular
j sailings and it's larger volume of
business. the Columbia Railway, &
Navigation Co., will operate boat
line, Mr.. Guignard said. No effort,
however, will be made to maintain a
monopoly of the river traffic by this
company, and it is expected, Mr..
Guignard said, that the completion.
of the canal will see the beginning
of several boat lines from Columbia
to Charleston with the consequent
reduction of transportation costs on
freight into the city.
If the present conditions prevail
when the canal is completed, MIR.
Guignard said, the boats would make
their stops at CRANKY landing as did
he boats operated between Colum-
bia and Georgetown. The compile
tion of the Columbia canal as origi-
nally planned would, however, make
it possible for the ships to be load
ed and unloaded at every street in
Columbia, he said.