population of New Hope as 208, and it is estimated that in the entire section tributary to the town there is a population of between 1,500 and 2,000. Nearly all shipments to and from New Hope pass over a good macadam road connecting New Hope with Hobbs Island, Ala., a station on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad. The wagon haul over this road to the railroad station is 12 miles, and it is stated that the cost of haulage is about $2 to $2.50 per ton. To move freight from New Hope to Hobbs Island station by water route requires a wagon haul of 1 miles to the landing, transfer of the freight to the boat, then 14 miles by boat, and finally a transfer from boat to wagon and a short haul to the railroad station. In view of the poor condition of the road to the landing, and of the double transfer required in handling the freight by water, and contrasting these conditions with the single loading of wagons and the wagon haul over a good road when freight is moved overland, it seems very doubtful if the cost of transportation by the water route will be $1 per ton less than by the wagon route, as seems to be expected by those locally interested in the improvement. The New Hope landing on the Paint Rock and the Hobbs Island landing on the Tennessee are unimproved, and are both, with the roads leading to them, overflowed every year, and wheel traffic is thereby much obstructed.

11. The existing commerce on the stream consists chiefly of the handling of saw logs by raft and barge. The small steamboat Almande ascends the river above the bridge during high water for the purpose of towing the log barges. There is also a small stern-wheel gasoline boat which navigates this stream between New Hope and the mouth, and the owner of this boat is now constructing a 16 by 60 foot barge to use with this gasoline boat in handling freight between New Hope and Hobbs Island. This boat owner seems to be the chief advocate of the suggested improvement.

12. There are forwarded with this report several letters from merchants of New Hope and other business men of that community which have a bearing on the amount of freight movement to and from New Hope. These letters and the oral statements of local parties indicate that the annual total amount of freight handled between New Hope and the railroad is approximately as follows:

It is believed that the movement of the saw logs would not be greatly benefited by the improvement of the lower 12 miles of the river. These logs are probably mostly cut at points higher up the stream and are rafted down to the mouth or to points where they can be conveniently loaded into barges. The shortening by a few miles of the distance to which the logs must be rafted would not be of material benefit to this trade. As to the approximately 3,500 tons of other freight moved to and from New Hope, it is difficult to say how much of the total would abandon the wagon route in favor of

1 Not printed.

the water route. Were it not for the 1 miles of poor road between New Hope and the river, and the double transfer of freight from wagon to boat and from boat to wagon, it might be expected that the bulk of this freight would move by water at a considerable saving per ton in transportation charges; but under the circumstances it seems likely that only a small fraction of the total would be hauled over the water route, and at only a small saving per ton of freight so moved.

13. In connection with the suggested improvement of the Paint Rock River below New Hope, it should be noted that it is not improbable that the project for the improvement of the middle section of the Tennessee River may be modified so as to provide for an improvement by means of locks and dams. In the tentatively considered plans for such canalization, a location was selected for a lock and dam a short distance below the mouth of the Paint Rock. If this lock and dam are constructed, the low-water level will be raised in the Paint Rock sufficiently to make it navigable at all stages as far up as the New Hope Landing, and probably up to the 12-mile point. The only work necessary to be done in the Paint Rock would then be the removal of snags and of timber standing at elevation below the proposed pool level, and such work would be performed in connection with the improvement of the main stream under authority of the general law. In the event that the water is thus backed up in the Paint Rock by a dam in the main stream, the shoals in the former below the New Hope Landing will be submerged sufficiently deep to render them no longer obstructive to low-water navigation; and if channels have previously been excavated through them at considerable expense such expensive excavation will have been rendered useless by the raising of the low-water surface.

14. There are no questions of water power, water supply, drainage, or flood control which have any bearing on the suggested improve

ment.

15. In view of the probable cost of the improvement, the comparatively small benefit therefrom, as well as the local nature of such benefit, and more especially in view of the likelihood of a better improvement being incidentally obtained by the improvement of the main river. I do not consider the lower 12 miles of the Paint Rock River worthy of improvement at the present time by the United States.

[For report of Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, see p. 2.]

O

1st Session.

No. 228.

MENOMINEE HARBOR AND RIVER, MICH. AND WIS.

LETTER

FROM

THE ACTING SECRETARY OF WAR,

TRANSMITTING,

WITH A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, REPORTS ON EXAMINATION AND SURVEY OF MENOMINEE HARBOR AND RIVER, MICH. AND WIS., WITH A VIEW TO SECURING INCREASED DEPTH AND WIDTH OF CHANNEL AND TO EXTENDING THE IMPROVEMENT AS FAR AS PRACTICABLE ABOVE THE OGDEN STREET BRIDGE.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1913.-Referred to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and ordered to be printed, with illustration.

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, September 8, 1913.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, dated September 5th, instant, together with copies of reports, with map, from Lieut. Col. George A. Zinn, Corps of Engineers, dated October 28, 1912, and June 10, 1913, on a preliminary examination and survey, respectively, of Menominee Harbor and River, Mich. and Wis., made by him in compliance with the provisions of the river and harbor act approved July 25, 1912. Very respectfully,

HENRY BRECKINRIDGE,
Acting Secretary of War.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,

Washington, September 5, 1913.

From: The Chief of Engineers, United States Army.

To: The Secretary of War.

Subject: Preliminary examination and survey of Menominee Harbor and River, Mich. and Wis.

1. There are submitted herewith, for transmission to Congress, reports dated October 28, 1912, and June 10, 1913, with map, by

Lieut. Col. George A. Zinn, Corps of Engineers, on preliminary examination and survey, respectively, of Menominee Harbor and River, Mich. and Wis., with a view to securing increased depth and width of channel and to extending the improvement as far as practicable above the Ogden Street Bridge, authorized by the river and harbor act approved July 25, 1912.

2. When this investigation was authorized, the project for improvement of Menominee Harbor and River provided for a depth of 20 feet up to the Odgen Street Bridge. The district officer is of opinion that the improvement should be extended above this bridge and that greater channel depth is needed in order to accommodate the deepest draft vessels now used in handling coal. He recommends the enlargement of the channel to provide for a depth of 22 feet below datum, or 20 feet at low water, and a width of 300 feet below Ogden Street Bridge and 200 feet above this bridge to the municipal dock recently established on the Marinette side of the river. The cost of this work is estimated at $46,500. The division engineer is of opinion that the traffic of this harbor will not require the use of the largest lake vessels loaded to their full capacity. He recommends no increase of channel depth, but believes that the harbor should be otherwise improved as recommended by the district officer at an estimated cost of $10,500.

3. These reports have been referred, as required by law, to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and attention is invited to its accompanying report of July 30, 1913, concurring with the views expressed by the division engineer. The board points out that the act approved March 4, 1913, has already authorized an extension of the 20-foot channel above Ogden Street Bridge, and that further authority is required only for the proposed widening to 300 feet of the channel below this bridge, at an estimated cost of $3,400.

4. After due consideration of the above-mentioned reports, I concur in general with the views of the division engineer, and the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and therefore, in carrying out the instructions of Congress, I report as follows: That the improvement by the United States of Menominee Harbor and River, Mich. and Wis., with a view to securing increased depth and width of channel and to extending the improvement as far as practicable above the Ogden Street Bridge, is deemed advisable so far as to secure an available depth of 20 feet with a channel width of 300 feet, increased on curves, up to the Ogden Street Bridge, and of 200 feet above the Ogden Street Bridge as far as the upper end of the municipal dock, as indicated on the accompanying map, at an estimated cost of $3,400 for first construction, and $2,000 annually for maintenance of the project above and below the bridge, these estimates being based on the supposition that the construction work will, as now seems desirable and advantageous, be prosecuted under a first appropriation of the full estimated cost of the improvement.

WM. T. ROSSELL, Chief of Engineers, United States Army.