Newspaper Page Text
matter of appropriations, we have
not had what was due us, in pro
portion to our importance as a city
on a navigable waterway. We
should have an amount commensu
rate with our needs and our import
ance as a trade center. We are
certainly entitled to all we are ask
ing for. By a concerted effort, we
will surely receive proper considera
tion. I trust congress will act favor
ably and quickly in this matter
that is of such vital importance to
the growth and welfare of the com
mercial and manufacturing inter
ests of Knoxville, East Tennessee
and the entire south.”
KNOXVILLE IRON CO.
Knoxville Iron Company. (W.
P. Chamberlain, president;
T. I. Stephenson, vice-presi
dent and general manager;
Otis A. Brown, secretary and
treasurer.) Iron works and
rolling mills at Knoxville.
Coal mines at Bricevile,
Tenn.
T. I. Stephenson, vice-president
and general manager of the Knox
ville Iron company, stated in an in
terview:
" ‘‘l favor improving the Ten
nessee river and all its tributaries.
Although at the present condition
of the river we do not use it if it
was improved and could be depend
ed upon we could and would use it to
advantage. We sell largely in
Louisville, St. Louis and Cincinnati
and could reach all of these markets
for our product by water transpor
tation at a cheaper rate than we
now pay by rail. We have no fault
to find with the railways and fully
appreciate their importance, but we
feel that there is plenty of room and
business for more than one freight
carrier. The river would regulate
freight rates as it has done for other
cities. I will cite one instance. We
pay nineteen cents more to Dayton,
0., than we do to Cincinnati, be
cause It is off the river, but only
sixty miles from Cincinnati. Com
petition is the life of trade, and an
open river would put new activity
into the freight carrying business,
as well as in every other line of
trade in Knoxville. We are a grow
ing city and to meet the demands of
our growth and Increasing business
we need the cheap transportation
the Tennessee river can furnish.
With a navigable stream the year
round offering cheap transportation,
we. would soon see manufacturing
plants of every kind seeking to lo
cate along the banks of the river.
In a short time Knoxville would
double her population and become
a more important factor in the com
mercial world. Arguments in favor
of this movement are contemplated,
but what we need most Is action.
Let us bring pressure great enough
to convince congress that we are
in earnest in our demands, and then
that great body will no doubt act in
our favor.”
W. J. OLIVER & CO.
W. J. Oliver & Cos., railroad con
tractors. Empire building,
Knoxville.
W. J. Oliver, when requested to
•xpress his views upon the improve
ment of the Tennessee river and its
many tributaries, had this to say:
“Of course, I am in favor of the
Improvement. I think it would be a
great benefit to the city of Knox
ville as well as the entire state of
Tennessee. Knoxville needs more
railroads, and it also needs the im
provement of the river. To my view,
it would create business for the
railroads by inducing many manu
facturing plants to locate here,
where raw material abounds, that
could be handled to great advantage
by water transportation. Then the
finished products of these manufac
tories would go to the railroads.
Every business man in Knoxville
would feel the benefit of an open
river indirectly if not directly.
There is no question in my mind a3
to the advisability of these improve
ments, and I want to see them ac
complished at the earliest date pos
sible for the honor and glory of
Knoxville and for the many advan
tages and benefits it would bring to
us all.’*
J. T. McTEER CLOTHING CO.
J. T. McTeer Clothing Company,
(J. T. McTeer, president, and
also mayor of city of Knox
ville.) Wholesale clothing,
Knoxville.
Mayor J. T. McTeer is in favor of
the improvement proposed. He
said:
“It will be a great thing for
Knoxville, and 1 am enthusiastic
over anything that is good for
Knoxville and East Tennessee and
the entire south. Every local mer
chant and manufacturer would be
benefited by an open river all the
year round. Our business houses
would grow and prosper. Our pop
ulation would increase rapidly and
aeon double itself. New lines of ac
tivity would be noted on every
hand. As mayor of the city, of
course, I would like to see all these
things and am certainly in favor of
the movement to improve the
river.”
ARMSTRONG LUMBER CO.
Armstrong Lumber Company. (A.
M. Armstrong, president.)
Oak, poplar, basswood and
ash. Empire building, Knox
viiic.
A. M. Armstrong, president of
the Armstrong Lumber company,
when asked what he thought about
the improvement of the Tennessee
river and its tributaries, said:
“I am heartily in favor of the
movement and think it is just what
Knoxville needs. Cheap water trans
portation for the various natural
products, such as coal, iron, marble,
plate, zinc, lumber, etc., with which
East Tennessee abounds, steam
boats and barges loaded with such
freight would pass down the Ten
nessee and return laden with cotton
and other merchandise. Ail river
points get more favorable freight
rates than are made to inland
points. The rate from Knoxville to
Rochester, N. Y., is practically the
same as to New York city, although
the distance is 400 miles further.
Thus we see that all river points
are favored When it comes to freight
rates. We have only to look at the
Monongahela river, with its sys
tem of locks and Sams, to see what
those improvements have done for
Pennsylvania. Her banks on both
sides are lined with manufacturing
plants, the river is alive at all
times with steamboats and barges
laden with freigirt of every descrip
tion. And yet the Tennessee is a
thousand times more important a
river than the Monongahela. Im
prove the Tennessee to a navigable
stage of water, where it can be de
pended upon the year round to
move freight, and you will soon see
the results of an ‘open river’ and
cheap water transportation.”
R. H. CATE & CO.
R. H. Cate & Cos. (R. H. Cate
and R. H. Jones.) Wholesale
liquor dealers and distillers.
Knoxville.
R. H. Cate is In favor of Improv
ing the Tennessee river. He said:
“It would be a great thing for
Knoxville and East Tennessee. The
government has the money now to
spend and I believe there will be a
big appropriation made this year
through the efforts of the rivers
and harbors oommittee. The upper
Tennessee should have its share,
and the only way to get is by a
concerted effort. We have had no
one to urge our cause, and only
small sums, 526,000 or $50,000 have
been allowed the upper Tennessee
river. This has hardly been enough
to keep up the needed repairs from
year to year. We must keep up the
fight for a liberal yearly allowance,
that will do some Improving instead
of merely keeping up repairs. We
buy corn up the rivers for our dis
tilleries and only about seven
months in the year can get it down.
We want a navigable river the en
tire year, and then you will see
Knoxville advance at a rapid rate.
If every one will take a hand in this
movement we will soon get what we
need and want and every time local
trade will be benefited.”
SAVAGE & TYLER.
Savage & Tyler. ■ Manufactur
ers of flour milling machine
ry, Iron and wood pulleys,
couplings, hangers, boxes,
collars, &c. Knoxville.
J. C. Tyler, of Savage & Tyler,
one of the largest concerns in their
line in East Tennessee, expressed
himself as being most decidedly in
favor of improving the Tennessee
river to a five-foot stage of water
every day in the year.
“Then,” he said, “the manufac
turer, the merchant, the business
man In every branch of trade that
does shipping (and who Is it does
not ship), will hav<*a line of steam
ers that can be relied upon, and will
use the river largely without detri
ment to the railroads. The railroads
are all right and we need them, but
we also need river navigation to
reach many places and for a certain
lass of freight. For the growth and
advancement of Knoxville In par
ticular, and Bast Tennessee in gen
eral, put us down as advocating
river improvement at the earliest
possible date.”
DANIEL BRISCOE, BRO. & CO.
Daniel Briscoe, Bro. & Cos. Whole
sale dry goods and notions,
Knoxville.
“Asa firm and as individuals we
are heartily In favor of the im
provement of the Tennessee river
and its tributaries. We fully ap
preciate its value and importance,
not only to Knoxville and East Ten
nessee, but to all the central south
ern states as well. The advantages
to be gained by a navigable river
throughout the year are innumera
ble, when looked at from the busi
ness man’s standpoint. I firmly be
lieve that this improvement would
be a greater help to Knoxville in
building up commercial interest
than anything else it could possibly
do. Nothing, lam sure, would
prove more satisfactory to the busi
ness men of our city than to have
congress pass favorably on the Ten
nessee river improvement proposi
tion.”
KNOXVILLE WATER CO.
Knoxvile Water Company. (F.
C. Kimball, superintendent.)
Supplies water for city cf
Knoxville.
“The Knoxville Water Company
Is in favor of the improvement of
the river and Its tributaries.”
JOHN F. HORNE.
John F. Horne. Wholesale wine
and liquor merchant. Knox
ville.
John F. Horne is an enthusiast
over the importance of improving
the river. In a recent interview he
said:
“I can engage here in Knoxville
In the wholesale wine and liquor
trade, but I have other interests
that are even larger than this busi
ness. For years I have been an ex
tensive buyer and shipper of grain
of all kinds. I buy principally up
the river and depend entirely upon
the river to ship my grain from
purchasing points to Loudon. For
years there has scarcely six
months in the year when I could use
the river. During the balance of
the year my grain, purchased and
paid for, must be stored, waiting for
enough water to get it out to sell.
So you see, my money has been tied
up and perhaps I have often lost
sales at an advance in prices. View
ing this question from a broad gon
er.. 1 standpoint, it would he a great
thing for our city, putting new life
into trade in all lines, building up
our city with manufacturing plants
that would really locate here if we
had an open river for shipping.
Our population would increase rap-
NEED OF TENNESSEE RIVER
IMPROVEMENT SHOWN BY GRAPHICS.
•* - -- _ . .
(PRESENTED BEFORE RIVERS AND HARBORS COMMITEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IN 1903 BY G. F. MILTON.)
‘fil iffj I Ml" ' r H5iT I N -ST *•••.—-:y . v,
TLMN&SSEE EQUALS OHIO AMD CUMBERLAND- knoxville to tide-watej? r -
)_ . -y- ,
1111 bCOoVoai'c FT~ " Ohio RIVEPt xaanm ODLtACif)
PER SECOND n —-- if
f~~—- I e*\ " I9<as PITT3BVJ2O Te TIDEWATER
Nso‘s~-- AMOUNTS RECEIVED BV TWO RIV£R3
—OHIO RIVE-R
--*l° tV „ estimated.
WE.ee .VCD ro tOM.Pi.eVE
•bX $ 5400000 13304,000
SS. * I ISOOOO C-HIO
. $ ASGOOOO 4.J0C.000
SAINFAU is 4 veexe* 5
l 1 ggn yv -P 2232 3.000 2^04000
l -TEnnesscc. Wivor, A Jlgm,
/ C ' ■ ■ $ ssooooo] 5.700000
/ _ j i oifitMAatE at u vjxviLLcr j
I 3530 CUM*. FT .u MU. —aiiccrm-.a'„: n.-rr37-r.-=.wxucgi.vr:g..-jcm--=a.
30 37 • j// WHAT WOULD COHf-)ERC.E OF
jf 1 Sfc So V\ &REAT LAKES BE IF* OBSTRUCT EX)
\v '' OM|Q *<y*.** A5 SMOWN ‘?p'
OtSCNAMC AT C~vjJ
WjMATTeejoatoA \ nco cus<c rr su.iO. p* } \ I
AVfcfcOfH' object Ltsson m freight rates I /
... . r Lw~. i-4a .—■ ■ - —> ‘ ~
Sfc r/* k as it now is ON THE if (rfr
- Ln* V \ TEHHESSCt- £%*
S J ) A*VMtAH.CH*TT Y
V / [ ■!/ / ocx-e a PASctAK. Sd V .
WA. -eg tca-Ssjars 3oA ■,*
i / ss* (J
( PRODUCTS WAITIINCr TO DE R’E.LEASELD FROM MTS T£i
\ .1 1 MAKE (ftbAL LOCKSOPE.fi 50 TIMES A DAT •
AMOUNT P&ID IN ERtIGhT av KNOXVILLE&C.MATTAHOO&A
A VE.AR 5 2.000 000 00- ' ?x _ ,i
'■ I SAVING shown BY'AVALOK'AvtBAtE 32>i ' c '"yy !
J"‘ 7 *640000.00 -COALV ,-HARBLE- '
(ftarwinii.--' ■ 11—i— J ' 2,00.000000.00 ' WORTH-
CstiMATED savih AMNUALkT g Y ROn|yT<OW ■ . . I
The first graphic in the drawing shows the fact that the discharge of the Tennessee at its mouth is as great as that of the Ohio, just after
it has received the Cumberland.
The second space shows the copious rainfall in the upper Tennessee watershed, averaging over fifty inches annually.
The third space shows that the Tennessee river at Knoxville has over twice as much water in it as the Ohio at Pittsburg.
In the lower left hand space iaan illustration of the possible saving in freight rates to Knoxville and Chattanooga of $340,000 annually. The
rate from New York to Chattanooga via Paducah is $1; direct $1.14.
On the upper right hand is an illustration of the distance from Knoxville to tidewater at New Orleans and Pittsburg to the same place, showing
our coal and mineral fields 285 mivfes nearer.
Next, underneath, gives a graphic showing the comparative amounts expended on the Ohio and Tennessee rivers. Although the latter is a
larger stream, it has received only one-fourth as much and the estimates for completing the project require less than one-fourth. These are from
Major Kingman’s figures several years ago and do not show fully the favoritism to the Ohio.
Next is an answer to the argument that the Tennessee has little commerce. What commerce would the great lakes have if obstructed as is
our river?
Last are the products awaiting shipment.
idly and every line of trade would
notice the increase. One half of
the truck raised up the river Is lost
because the farmer has no means
of marketing his truck. In Knox
ville he would find a ready sale for
it. I can see a great future for
East Tennessee and Knoxville when
we get this improvement, but we
must impress upon congress that we
need enough money at one time to
do some improving. The small
amounts given us from time to time
have not been more than enough to
keep things in repair and no pro
gress has been made. I hope to see
enough pressure brought to bear
upon congress to grant us a liberal
appropriation each year until the
desired improvements are accom
plished.”
CHAPMAN, WHITE, LYONS CO.
Chapman,White, Lyons Company.
Wholesale drugs, paints,
oils, &c., Knoxville.
In an interview with David C.
Chapman, vice-president of the
Chapman, White, Lyons Company,
wholesale druggists and chemists,
said, when asked for his idea as to
the importance of the improvement
of the Tennessee river and its tribu
taries:
“Most assuredly I am in favor of
improving the rivers, to whatever
extent is necessary to give us an
open river all the year round. T
cannot imagine anything that would
be a greater benefit to Knoxville.
It would regulate freight rates, and
we would be put upon the basis of a
river point, which means cheaper
transportation for freight, going and
coming. It would be a saving in
freight rates to every merchant
that would amount to thousands of
dollars each year. Our natural re
sources combined with an open river
365 days in the year, would offer to
the world a location to manufac
tures that is superior to any in the
country. It would be taken advan
tage of In short order. We are en
titled to all we are asking of the
government, and no doubt our peti
tions will receive due consideration
when the matter is brought to the
attention of congress with a
statement of the existing condition
of our rivers and the necessity of
immediate action.
EAST TENN. NATIONAL BANK.
East Tennessee National Bank.
(F. L. Fisher, president; W.
W. Woodruff, vice-president;
S V. Carter, cashier.) Knox
ville.
F. L. Fisher, president of the East
Tennessee National Bank, said:
“Most assuredly I am in favor of
the improvement of the Tennessee
river and every one of its tributa
ries. I hope the day is not far dis
tant when we will learn this appro
priation we are asking for has been
granted. I am in favor of anything
to advance the interest of Knox
ville, and surely nothing could be
of greater importance to our city
and the entire state than the im
provement of the rivers by locks
and dams at certain points that
would give Knoxville n navigable
stage of water every day in the
year. Knoxville is having a steady
and healthy growth and in the past
two years has advanced wonderful
ly. But when you see a line of
steamboats plying the Tennessee
river regularly, you will see Knox
ville grow r in population and busi
ness at a rate that will astonish us.
In ten years we will be a city of
100,000. By all means, let us work
together to this end and secure this
much-needed improvement.”
KNOXVILLE COTTON MILLS.
Knoxville Cotton Mills. (L. D.
Tyson, president and general
manager; C. T. Leonhardt,
secretary and treasurer.)
Knoxville.
Col. L. D. Tyson, pros! of the
Knoxville Cotton Mill, recently ex
pressed himself as follows:
“The Tcnn ssee river is a greater
river than the Ohio. It passes
through a country richer in natural
resources and waters the lands of
a people who have had but little
done for them by the general gov
ernment. Looked at from the
standpoint of a manufacturer of
cotton, I note the Ohio river points
get as good if not better freight
rates on cotton than we do, al
though we are very much nearer
the cotton fields. They have as
cheap if not cheaper ccal along the
Ohio than we have. In addition to
this they are nearer the center of
distribution and pay less freight to
points in the north. Why do they
get this beneficial advantage? It
Is because the government of the
United States has spent millions
upon millions of dollars in mak
ing the Ohio navigable at all times
of the year, as far up as Pittsburg.
This enables manufacturers to com
pete with water transportation over
thousands of miles of river terri
tory. We need the improvements.
They would be a great investment
for the people, which would be re
turned in greatly Increased wealth
and industrial prosperity in this
part of the awakenedr industrial
south. The Tennessee river would
become a greater highway of com
merce than the Ohio, and its banks
would become the home of grerfl
manufacturing industries that are
now sr. eking other rivers upon
which to locate. The coal barges
which would float down the Ten
nessee would return laden with cot
ton and other articles necessary for
great. Industrial enterprises. It
would he of incalculable benefit for
the whole central south. We know
there are but few cities in this
country with a large population
that are not situated on a naviga
ble river, lake or the sea. While
a navigable river dors not neces
sarily make a city, it is a great ad
vantage and makes the growth
more rapid. There is nothin r like a
sentiment in a community that it
is not dependent upon any one way
getting in and out. The tree navi
gallon of a river makes the citizen
feel that his town is independent.
Whatever may happen. Newcomers
are attracted by this, ns much, if
not more, than by any one thing
else in determining upon a site for
locating.”
G. J. ASHE.
G. J. Ashe. Wholesale wine and
liquor dealer. Knoxville.
O. J. Ashe, who has one of the
largest wholesale liquor houses in
East Tennessee, is very much in
favor of river development. Said
ho
“I think it the greatest thing that
could happen to Knoxville. It would
put new life and energy in enter
prises all along the river. The
banks of the great Tennessee would
team with life from the numerous
factories. I buy my liquors and
bottles largely from Cincinnati and
Louisville, and I could receive such
goods by steamboat at less freight
rates than I now paid to the rail
roads. No city has more natural
advantages or a brighter prospect
than has Knoxville. I cannot make
it too strong when I say I rn
earnestly in favor of an open river
365 days in the j • ar.”
VESTAL LUMBER COMPANY.
Vestal Lumber & Manufacturing
Company Incorporated. Band
mills at Knoxville and Bax
ter, Tenn.
Robert Vestal, vice president of
the Vestal Lumber and Manufac
turing Company, Jn ar. intervi- w on
the importance of the Jmprovmnent
of the Tennessee river and its trib
utaries, express and himroU' a. b.-ing
heartily in favor of the improve
ment. He said:
“We certainly need th'* Tenn -s
--see river Improv' and to . iv. i.b!"
stage that can be depend? <1 upon
every day In the year. Recently t
spent six weeks on the low* r riv. r
and was Bupprlsod to s? ?• th * ac
tivity and the large ar;i-* ml of
business that was b ing done on
that end of the river. While the
upper Tennessee, which Is just as
important, if not more . <*. is pm? -
tieally dead. I wondered am! .-iskcd
why it. was so, and was in*'# • ne-d
that is was because only about six
months in the y ar a Ins: t ' an g t
up above* Kingston. This should
certainly not remain th<* r ■ •*.
East Tenn sse** abou Js in natui. 1
resourecs, .such as lumb< r, zirn,
slate, marble, coal, iron, etc*., and
the river is the only reasonable out
let we have for much of it. River
Improvom nt would regulate freight
rates, for Knoxville would be class
ed as a river front. I’ll quote just
one instance in freight rates that
will prove what I say. The rate
on lumber from Nashville to St.
Louis is t? n e nts, the rate from
Knoxville to St. Louis Is 21 rents.
Nashville is a river point, Knox
ville is not. With an open river we
could g>*t almost the rate Nashville
gets. This alone would mean a sav
ing of thousands a year to the
lumber trade.
by all means let us have the up
per Tmimssee ami its tributaries
improved, that Knoxville busimss
interests may have the benefit of
cheap transportation the entire
year. With Increased railroad fa
cilities we will be able to compete
with other cities for business In .ill
directions and at all Lillies.”
SANFORD, CHAMBERLAIN &
ALBERS CO.
Sanford, Chamberlain & Albers
Company. (A. J. .Albers,
president; Edward T. San
ford, vice-president; W. P.
Chamberlain, secretary and
treasurer.) Wholesale drug
gists, paints and oils, Knox
ville.
Captain W. P. f’hamberlaln, sec
retary and treasurer of the Pan
ford. f*hnmb< rl.ain, Albers Com
pany, wholesale drng.qirts, wh**n
appro; 'b* 1 for bis opinion on tin*
subject of tin Improvement of th *
Tennessee river and its trlbutari°s,
said:
“I am certainly in favor ?if Im
proving the river to a stage ?>f
\v: P r that will give Knoxvll! • an
o,i* n river all the year round. We
ji< ! this more than 1 can impress
upon you this time. The smell
appropriations given the upper T* i
ness<*e has practically been of no
avail in opening up n channel Jn !!ie
river, what we want Is a sum ea h
y*ar !. rg enough to make some
adv ip< •■men! in th*' work.
“This means n g r* at Increase in
business in Knoxville and I fe* ]
ESTIMATES FOR TENNESSEE RIVER IMPROVEMENT.
* Gen. Gecrge L. Gillespie, chief cf engineers, in his annual report
1 for the year ending June 3C, 1903, submits general estimates for the
► next fiscal year.
i The Tennessee river gets *>540,000, distributed as follows:
Above Chattanooga, $50,000.
> Between Chattanooga and Riverton, $550,000.
\ Below Riverton, $40,000.
’ The estimates coll for $11,560,753 under continuing contracts; $20,-
' t 743,990 for general rivers and barbers appropriations, and three hun
j dred thousand dollars for examinations, surveys and contingencies.
that our growth and progress de
mand it and our natural resources
entitle us to this improvement.
By ail means let us have the Ten
nessee improved and that as soon
as possible.”
JUDGE RICHARDSON’S
COGENT REASONS
Judge William Richardson, con
gressman from Alabama, made this
interesting speech before the recent
river convention:
It is hardly necessary before this
convention to use statistics to con
vince anyone of the Importance of
the opening of the Tennessee river
for navigation from its source to Its
mouth.
This work has been thoroughly
performed, as Is shown by the en
gineering reports, and more recent
ly by the memorial of this associa
tion to the Fifty-seventh congress.
The two Inquiries that the rivers
and harbors committee makes as a
precedent to an appropriation by
the government for the Improve
ment of rivers and harbors are:
First, is the work practicable? Sec
ond, will the expenditure of the
money by the government result in
commensurate increase of traffic?
That The through navigation of the
Tennessee river is practicable has
long since been demonstrated. Then
the real question is, does the pres
ent and prospective commerce of
the river Justify the necessary ap
propriation by the government to
make the river navigable from its
source to its mouth.
The only fair criterion by which
to determine the prospective traffic
of the river is to find out what it
has done under its incomplete state
of improvements, and under its
limited and restricted opportunities
of the past. The Tennessee river has
never had anything like a fair
chance to show its reasonable com
mercial capacity. The river drains,
as we kmnv, seven large states,
comprising an area of more than
44,000 square miles. The report of
Major Dan C\ Kingman, govern
ment engineer, in 1889, shows that
the river with its principal tribu
taries, forms a system of interna!
waterways capable of being navi
gated more than 1,300 miles by
steamboats and navigable by rafts
arid flatbostfl quite 1,050 miles, ag
gregating 2,400 miles in extent. T
believe that the tendeney of the
policy of our government at present
is to specially promote the naviga
tion of our Internal waterways,
thereby advancing the interest and
prosperity of the general public,
]| is a demonstrated fact that the
value of the commodities annually
transported on the river is worth
three dollars for every dollar ap
propriated by the government for the
past seventy-live years. This amaz
ing result has been achieved under
the most adverse and unfavorable
conditions to the river. Our pur
pose should he to pursue n given
fixed policy for the Improvement of
at id final through navigation of the
river. Such a policy should meet
the earnest and united support of
the friends of the river, until we
secure the uninterrupted navigation
of the river throughout, the year.
I refer especially to the cotton
manufacturing Interest to strength
en tin- position that we take rela
tive to the present and prospective*
commerce of the river. No one now
doubts the continuous growth of the
south in its manufacturing and con
sumption of cotton. The south pro
duces fully 76 per cent, of the cot
ton that supplies the 110,000,000
spindles In the world, and we have
in the south about 7.500,000 of these
snindles. Is II natural or reason
able to expect that we will fold our
arms and sit down and do nothing
more to increase the number of our
spindles? To the contrary, it Is
entirely reasonable to believe that
but a few years will pass before our
southern mills will consume the
cotton produced In the south. We
certainly have the right to believe
this If we will make a short retro
spect. In 1380. the south had 667,-
000 spindles, and now one place,
Huntsville, Ala., located on that di
vision of the Tennessee river hav
ing the greatest obstructions to
navigation, has 203.800 spindles.
Tt Is proper for me to refer to the
fact that prior to the appropriation
of th*' last congress for fVdbert
slioals, the snrn of $783,21.56 had
been expended by the government,
on Colbert shoals. T quote now from
the last report of Major Knight,
which is endorsed, ns I am inform
ed. by Capt. W. J. Harden, the en
gineer now in charge of the river
improvement, as to reeomrnendfl
tlon about Colbert shoals. He says:
“To complete tin* canal an approp
riation of $1,650,000 is necessary, as
contracts amounting to $50,000 of
this sum are now authorized. It Is
urged that, authority be given to
enter Into the contract amounting
1o $1,600,000. tin* work contracted
for to be paid for as appropriation
is made from time to time; also
that one-third *f the amount need
ed to oomph-P thi ••anal be approp
riated during each of the next
three sessions of congress. Only
the lack of funds prevents the work
being carried on on the lower sec
tion of the canal and on the ma
chinery •r 1 gates of both 10-ks
simultan“<’Ußly with the construc
tion of the upper section.” It
seems to me that the policy outlined
by Mr: j. r Knight is the proper mi'*.
Thidcr the re- oimnendatfons scarce
ly three years would elapse before
the riv r would be entirely navig
nb!e through th - * .an.il at ('olhert
shoals if the lowest stages of the
wnP-r. 'Phis great obstruction to
the navigation of the river being
removed, then the traffic and com
merce of the river will realize the
benefit of the vast sum of money,
amounting to quite $5,000,000, that
flu government has heretofore
spent at Rig and Kittle Muscle
shoals arid at. K!k river shoals,
which has pra'-'ically been locked
up and withheld from giving valu
able aid in demonstrating what
the river from a commercial stand
point was capable of doing.
11